Page 18 of Loving Vincent

Thirteen

It took Jenna a solid hour of shopping before she finally got into it. That’s how long it took her to just accept the gift Vince was giving her, with whatever strings might be attached. She hemmed and hawed in every store they went into until Jared starting picking things out for her. This was when Jenna decided she needed to give in gracefully, or she’d be wearing something even her 88-year-old grandmother would scoff at.

She giggled as Jared held up a shell pink blouse that looked like it should be on the set of Little House on the Prairie. It was ultra-feminine with lace at the very high collar and wrists. What was even worse than the style was the price tag. $149.99 for an item that should be immediately made into doilies.

“Please tell me you’re kidding,” Jenna said incredulously as she tried to get her laughter under control. “I can’t wear that.”

Jared turned it around and looked at it, his lip stuck out in concentration and his brow wrinkled in a frown. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Never mind.” Jenna took it from him and placed it back on the rack. “Not this store.”

She picked up Lola who was messing around underneath a rack of clothes and strode out of the store, Jared close on her heels. He moved quickly in front of them, his head swiveling from side to side. From the moment they stepped foot out of Vince’s house, Jared had taken his bodyguard duties extremely seriously. He followed closely and blocked the girls with his body, while constantly scanning every store they went into. When Jenna asked what he was looking for he’d muttered something about crowds and exits.

Jenna wasn’t sure what was supposed to attack them in the shopping mall, since Zach wouldn’t have a clue where to find her and as far as Jenna knew, she didn’t have any other enemies. But she was still grateful for the protection. She’d been on her own for so long she hadn’t realized how nice it was to actually feel cared for. The warm glow that started that morning in the kitchen was beginning to grow into hope. An emotion that both exhilarated and frightened Jenna.

She tried to remind herself that she’d only been in Vince’s home for less than a day. That he could easily change his mind. That he basically kidnapped her and her daughter, after threatening her if she didn’t take part in a murder. She needed a reality check. These were not good people, and she would not be easily swayed by homemade pancakes and shopping trips.

Still, she did need new clothes and Lola needed new everything, so she would accept the money and guard her heart.

“Over there,” Jenna pointed at the Neiman Marcus store. It was a higher end shop than she usually frequented. In fact, the entire mall was filled with luxury stores. She hadn’t frequented Bravern shopping centre since her marriage. Back when she’d had the money to shop here.

Once inside the shop she inhaled deeply and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Then she looked over at Jared. “Keep an eye on Lola for me.” She dove into the racks, pulling clothes off of them as she saw items that caught her eye and handing them to the nearest attendant who bustled off to set up a dressing room for Jenna.

She shopped as though she were spending her ex-husband’s money and needed new everything, which she did. She pushed back the feeling that she was prostituting herself by using Vince’s credit card. That was her issue. The guy hadn’t once said she would have to put out for her food and board. In fact, he’d simply told her she’d have to put out. Period. Because he wanted her.

The thought brought mixed feelings. Happiness that someone found her attractive. Desire, because she wanted him too. Eagerness because she hadn’t shared a bed with anyone since Zach. Fear of the unknown.

$5470.36, several bags filled with clothing and a very happy shop attendant later and Jenna was ready to call the shopping expedition done. Lola had everything she would need, since they’d stopped at the kid stores first. She now had a brand-new wardrobe, more toys than any self respecting three-year-old could ever hope for, thanks to Jared’s fascination with children’s toys, toiletries, shoes, coats and a new bed. Jenna had hesitated over the extravagance of a new bed for Lola, but Jared had pointed out that Jenna’s daughter shouldn’t be sleeping on a queen-sized mattress in the guest room. That comment hit home to Jenna that both Jared and Vince really did expect Jenna and her daughter to move in. Permanently.

When Jenna insisted that she was done shopping, Jared shook his head and pulled her and Lola toward the Luis Vuitton store. Jenna balked at the expense of unnecessary items like purses and high heels, but Jared started piling things into her arms.

“Stop! I’ll do it myself,” she said laughing as he grabbed a ridiculously oversized orange purse with chain buckles and threw it on the pile in Jenna’s arms. “You have the worst taste in women’s accessories.”

“Do not,” Jared defended himself.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Jenna asked pointedly, shoving the purses she had no intention of buying back into the shelves where they belonged.

“Nope.”

“Case in point, you scare them off with your terrible taste.”

Jared followed closely behind Jenna as she chose two purses and three pairs of shoes. As they left the mall, their packages having already been taken out to the car by a valet, they agreed to find a restaurant and eat lunch before heading back to the house. Jared, who was holding a sleeping Lola in his arms, gently placed her in her brand-new car seat and buckled her in.

After lunch, where an excitedly chattering Lola managed to get macaroni and cheese in her hair, in Jared’s hair and all over the table, Jenna asked the question that had been bothering her all morning. “Can we please go back to my house? I need to pick up a few things.”

“Nope,” Jared said, without bothering to give her an explanation.

Jenna had expected this answer, so she wasn’t put off by it. She reached out and touched the back of his hand, hoping that human contact would pass her feelings onto him with more eloquence. “Please, Jared. I don’t plan on staying there.” She glanced guiltily toward Lola. “It isn’t fit for her anyway. Too cold, too many hazards and it’s not located in a good part of town.” She lifted pleading eyes to his, seizing on the slight softness she sensed as she invoked her daughter. “I need to pick a few things up. Just some sentimental items, like my grandmother’s good dishes, some letters, pictures, and a blanket my mom gave me when Lola was born.”

He stared at her and then finally nodded. “Okay, we’ll go to the house. But you get in and out in five minutes. Vince won’t be happy if he finds out I took you there.”

“I won’t tell him,” Jenna assured him quickly.

Jared shrugged negligently. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll be telling him myself. We don’t keep shi… uh… stuff from each other.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize,” Jenna said, realizing Jared was probably going to get in trouble with Vince for taking her. “We don’t have to go.”

“Nah.” He shrugged, picked a leftover macaroni off Lola’s plate and ate it. “You should have your sentimental stuff. Vince won’t mind when I explain why we went.”

Jenna was grateful for this big guy sitting across from her. He had the appearance of a hardened criminal with his tattoos, his muscles and his perpetual frown. But he was really a big softy. Things would be much easier if he’d decided to claim Jenna, if she’d been even remotely attracted to him. But he hadn’t and she wasn’t. Her libido was telling her that she wanted his gruffer, scarier boss. Which wasn’t particularly convenient, but then, love rarely was.

Jenna quickly pulled that thought back in. She wasn’t in love with Vince. That wasn’t possible. People didn’t fall that quickly.

They left the restaurant and headed toward Jenna’s house, on the edge of town, in a neighborhood that hadn’t seen paint in many years. Jared picked up Lola, who had fallen asleep again and followed Jenna to the door. She pulled her keys out of her purse and opened the door. Two steps into the place and she realized they shouldn’t have come. Someone had already been there. Had gone through every single thing Jenna owned and did his level best to destroy it. Pictures lay on the floor in tiny ripped up pieces. Dishes were smashed all over the kitchen, her grandmother’s dishes. And the blanket she’d come for, her precious blanket, her last connection to the parents she’d cut herself off from, was in shreds on the floor.

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