Page 59 of Sinful Secrets

“That’s not what caused me to freeze.”

“Then what did?”

Should I be honest with her? Should I tell her I’ve pictured her as the mother of my children?

No, definitely not. That will for sure scare her away. She’s younger than me and deserves to have a career.

“I have something to tell you, and I’m not sure how you will react.”

She drops her fork and turns toward me. “I think I already know.”

“You do?”

Confusion must be written all over my face because she scrunches up her face for a moment.

“What are you talking about? What do you need to tell me?”

I take a deep breath and let it all out. “I paid your tuition, room and board, and upgraded your meal plan for the rest of the year. I even have a single dorm on hold if you want to have a suite all by yourself.”

Her smile immediately disappears.

Fuck. That’s not the reaction I was hoping for.

I figured she would show some hesitation, but she’s irate.

Her lips are pressed together so tightly they are nearly non-existent. Her gaze is locked onto her food and her hands are clamped together in her lap.

“Savannah, what’s wrong? Did I totally fuck this up?”

She sighs. “I wanted to do this by myself. I wanted to be able to prove to myself that I am capable of taking care of myself.”

“You are more than capable, Savannah. I just wanted to do this for you so you don’t have to stress about coming up with that much cash right now.”

Her gaze doesn’t move off her plate. “I feel like I always need someone to bail me out. This was going to be my one chance to show the world that I don’t back down when I’m faced with a problem.”

I reach over and rub her thigh. “And you still can. Save the money you’ve already made and use it to start your own design company once you graduate.”

“I know about the mafia and the Savannah Sharks.” Her voice is barely above a whisper, but it filters through my ear as clear as day.

How did she find out about the Sharks? She didn’t even know my last name.

How the hell did she find out about Arturo and the mafia? Did someone tip her off?

Who could have gotten to her?

“I promise to answer any questions you have, but I’d prefer to do it in private, where no one can overhear. Is that alright?”

“Yeah.” Her voice cracks, like she’s holding back tears.

“I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but the money I used to pay your tuition is from a side gig.”

She looks over at me and whispers, “The drugs?”

“Yeah. That’s how you were going to pay for tuition. Besides, you are way better at it than I am. You even made more than I was able to.”

“That’s because men will gladly pay more from a half naked woman.”

Jealousy bubbles up inside of me. If I’m going to support her temporary job, then I need to get used to hearing things like this.

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