Page 16 of Her Defiant Heart (Damaged Hearts 1)

Got to be.

I had to break down and let Rhett pick me up at my house, after he kept telling me again and again he wanted to come get me.

You don’t have a car. You’ll have to ride the bus to meet me at the restaurant, he told me when I asked where he was taking me. Let me come get you.

I just told myself that when he arrives at my house, I have to meet him out front, so he can’t come inside. Not that I have anything to hide—my true identity isn’t obvious, I’ve hidden everything I own that refers to Jennifer Fanelli, not that he’d have a clue who that is.

And not that there’s much to Jennifer Fanelli in the first place.

Truthfully? I don’t want him to see my meager belongings and judge me for it (he’d never judge you for it, he’s the perfect almost boyfriend!). Everything I own came from a thrift shop, Walmart or Target, and some of my furniture I even found on the side of the road, like the scratched-up coffee table and the dresser in my bedroom with the drawers that don’t open all the way.

Thank God for Savannah. When I spotted the furniture, I called her up to meet me in front of the house with the dresser and coffee table waiting on the sidewalk. She helped me shove the furniture in the trunk of her car, the both of us laughing the entire time as we tried our best not to break anything.

She’s my first real friend here, yet I’m not real with her. Not at all.

I go all out for the date, wearing my best jeans and an old pair of black slip-on Vans that still look decent. I splurged and bought a new black long-sleeved T-shirt. So simple, yet it looks pretty good on me—everyone looks good in black, right? Savannah recently cleaned out her makeup stash so I used some of the stuff she gave me, adding layers of mascara to my eyelashes and slicking on the berry-colored lipstick until my lips shine.

Checking my reflection in the mirror, I tell myself I look good. Good enough. I blew my dark blonde hair straight and I’m wearing the tiny diamond earrings my dad said belonged to

my mom. They’re not real—she got them on QVC or the Home Shopping Network, he couldn’t remember—but she left them behind when she left us, and I’ve kept them with me my entire life.

For some weird, stupid reason, they make me feel closer to her.

By the time I hear a car pull up in front of my place, I’m already out the door and locking it, leaving the front porch light on, the dingy yellow glow better than complete darkness when I return home. It’s cold out—a storm is supposed to move in tomorrow and I sort of wish for a coat, but it’s too late now. No way am I going back inside. Rhett might follow me in.

“Hey.” Rhett is already out of his sleek black car and jogging up the front walk toward my front door. “You’re ready, huh.”

“Why do you sound so disappointed?” I’m teasing him, but I also want to know his answer.

He stops just in front of me, tall and broad, clean and fresh. I can smell his soapy scent, appreciate his floppy damp hair, the appreciative glow in his eyes no doubt matching my own. There’s no denying Rhett is attractive, and for the briefest moment, I wallow in his dreamy good looks. “I was hoping to meet your roommate.”

I blink at him, trying to compute what he said until it finally sinks in. “I don’t have a roommate.”

He frowns, his dark brows furrowed. Damn it, he’s extra cute when he does that. “Are you serious?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Everyone I know has a roommate.”

“Including you?” I already know the answer to this question.

“Yeah, including me.” He looks at my dark house, his brows still furrowed. “So you live here alone.”

“I sure do.”

“How can you afford it?” His gaze meets mine.

“Look at this neighborhood.” I hold up my arms, waving at the houses nearby. My voice is full of amusement, but deep down inside, I burn with shame. “It’s not the best side of town, so rent is cheap.” Well, not that cheap, but definitely less expensive than his neighborhood, I’m sure.

“Looks dangerous.” He sounds almost…angry. On my behalf?

Probably.

Like I said, too good to be true.

“It’s not that bad.” It’s awful, but it could be worse. My neighbor is kind of shady, pretty sure he’s a dealer, but I mind my own business.

Now Rhett’s examining the neighbor’s house, the street, the entire neighborhood. “I don’t like thinking of you alone here, especially at night.”

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