Page 78 of Defiled Innocence

She blinks hard. “You had it taken care of?”

“Yes.” I nod.

She laughs. “Of course you did. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“There are a few things.” I bring her the toast and place it next to the water. “You need to eat. If you can handle this, Maria will make you something more substantial.”

She eyes it. “I’m not hungry. My stomach doesn’t hurt, I’m just not hungry.”

“Eat anyway.” I push the little plate closer to her.

“Fine.” She picks up a piece of toast and takes the tiniest bite off the corner before putting it back down.

I merely shake my head at her.

“I don’t understand. I’ve seen you drink way more than I did last night, but you don’t even get tipsy.” She folds her legs beneath her.

“When I was your age, I overdid it a few times, too.” I grin.

It’s been ages since I fell so deep into a bottle though. A lesson everyone learns at some point.

“Besides, you’re not a drinker. But last night you said you were thinking all sorts of things that you wanted to forget. Do you remember?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s nothing bad, just… personal. Let me sort it out on my own, all right?”

It probably has something to do with her admission that she likes me. I suppose given how we’ve cultivated our relationship so far, it would make sense. Realizing there are feelings when you don’t want there to be can be unsettling.

“Does it have anything to do with the investment Christian wants from you?” I poke at a different hornet’s nest.

She thinks a moment, then remembers.

“No. But don’t worry, I’m telling him no. I don’t have that kind of money anyway,” she says.

“You do.” I hand over her phone. “The deposits all went through yesterday.”

“What deposits?” She takes the phone and swipes the screen to life.

After a moment of opening her bank app, she looks up at me with shock. “What is this?”

“The money your brother left you. The only thing left to deal with is the sale of his apartment.” I slide my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “I had his two cars sold.”

She looks at the screen again.

“Dmitri.” She turns the phone toward me as though I should be as surprised as her. “There’s almost five million dollars in here.”

I nod. “Yes.” Most of his worth is tied up in his company. If he had sold those shares, he’d have probably triple that amount.

“Let me guess, you made that before rolling out of bed this morning?” She laughs, still staring at the number on the screen.

“No. That takes me a day or two sometimes,” I tease. “So, you have the money to give him, but I don’t want you to give him any.” I pause a beat. “Ever.”

“Are you asking me not to or ordering me not to?” Now she teases.

A touch of pink brushes across her cheeks and my jeans gets tighter.

Fuck, this woman stirs everything inside of me with just a simple smile.

No. It’s more than that. It’s the way she jokes, the easy way this conversation flows.

---