Page 54 of Second Chance for Mr. Alden

“I found her outside a restaurant. She was digging through the trash, eating out of a dumpster. She was severely malnourished which is why she’s stayed this small. She’s about a year old as far as we can estimate. She was so afraid of me at first...”

“And yet she now likes to go everywhere with you,” I responded with a smile.

Jess smiled back. “Yeah, the purse thing started because she jumped into one of my purses and wouldn’t come out. She felt safe in there. So I started carrying her around that way and it just became our thing.” She smiled sadly. “Now she’s spoiled and thinks I should carry her everywhere.”

“She’s a little princess.”

“Yup.” Jess laughed again.

I loved the low, sexy sound of her laugh.

“Oh.” Jess pointed out my window as we made our way through Providence. “It’s the big blue bug! I’d almost forgotten about him. Do they still dress him up?”

“They do.” The Big Blue Bug was a Rhode Island landmark.

“What’s its name again?”

“Nibbles Woodaway.”

“OMG, that’s right.” She laughed, then reached into her pants pocket and frowned. “What the fuck?”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I reached for my phone, forgetting it was gone. I was going to take a picture of Nibbles and post it on my accounts.” She leaned her head against her seat.

“I know it sucks, Jess. Lexi said she’d take care of posting to your accounts. I know it won’t be the same, but you did say you’d scheduled posts for the next two weeks already. Besides, if you post the bug, it could tip off your abductors where you went.”

She angled her body to face me and said on a broken whisper. “True, but you don’t get it, Alden. This isn’t just some rich girl hobby. This is my life, my job. And it’s something I’m finally good at. What if we’re gone longer than the two weeks? What if I lose followers, or my sponsors?”

“You won’t.” She was damn brilliant at what she did from what I’d observed over the last few months. Jess depended on her sponsors now, more than any other time in her life.

“I hope not,” she responded quietly.

I cleared my throat and forced myself to look anywhere but at her chest. “I do get it,” I finally said, my voice hoarse. “But keeping you safe is more important to me.”

“What am I supposed to do if I lose my sponsorships? My parents keep threatening to take all my money away.” She sighed. Since she informed her parents about the fake engagement, she’d taken every step she could to save, and learn to live off of her own money. Not her trust fund. I knew she was tired of them holding it over her head.

“You’re one of the smartest women I know, Jess. You don’t need their fucking money to succeed. I have no doubt you can survive without it.”

Her lashes blinked at a rapid pace. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have a college degree, nor do I have controlling shares in my grandparents’ company. These sponsorships and the money I get from my parents is how I make my life work.”

I wish she could see what I saw when I looked at her. A force to be reckoned with, and someone who had more business sense than she realized.

After the marketplace, I found out that Jess had been mentoring Lexi from the start. Now that their relationship didn’t need to stay hidden, it all came tumbling out how Jess had been the one to steer Lexi in the right direction and had helped guide her in all of her successful business decisions.

“Jess—”

“Let it drop, Alden.” The sharpness in her tone stilled me. She didn’t believe these things about herself. It made me want to strangle her parents for twisting her sense of self like this.

Ten minutes later we pulled off the highway at the North Main Street exit. I navigated various twists and turns until we reached Hope Street. The apartment we were staying at was off of this road.

I found our turn and pulled into the driveway of a dark blue Craftsman style house. A little porch featuring white spindles, and pink flowers hung in baskets brightened up the front.

I parked at the back end of the driveway. Jess and I looked up at the small apartment above the unattached garage.

How would the two of us survive for an undetermined time in such a tiny space?

With a tentative smile tossed my way, Jess grabbed our small bag of clothes, and stepped out of the car ahead of me. Moving quickly she found the small plant with the key hidden inside. As she walked up the stairs, I got out of the car.

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