Page 153 of The Young & the Sinner

“Weird? I guess that’s one word to describe it.”

My smile dimmed a little. “Sorry. We bumped into each other, and I was just checking to make sure you were okay.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m still standing. Bye.”

She turned to leave and I grabbed her shoulder without thinking. She glared at me, then at my hand touching her. I quickly pulled back.

“Sorry. I just…” I looked at her clothes.

Without thinking, I pulled off my coat and tried hard not to shiver. I was in nothing but my hoodie now. She frowned at me.

“Um, it’s cold outside.”

“I can see that,” she said drily.

I almost smiled. This girl reminded me a lot of Lizzie, even though they looked nothing alike.

“Why don’t you put this on?” I moved my coat closer to her. It was pretty new. Max bought me new coat every time the weather turned cold. I think I had three more in my closet still in good condition.

She didn’t say anything for a while, and I really thought she would ignore me, but then she grabbed the coat and put it on. She was so lean it hung off her shoulders.

I unzipped my purse next and pulled out my hat, gloves and scarf. They were things I never left the house without because I couldn’t tolerate the cold very well. Today, they came in handy.

She eyed the clothes in my hand suspiciously, and I wondered what happened in her life to make her so cynical.

When she finally grabbed the items from my hands, I let out a small sigh of relief and smiled at her. Her eyes softened, and one corner of her mouth tilted slightly upward. That was probably the most I could get out of her.

I watched her put the rest on and was relieved to note she wasn’t shivering as much as she was before.

“What do you want?” she asked cautiously.

What did I want? I didn’t even know why I chased her down the street in the first place. I was lucky she didn’t punch me in the face for it, although she looked like she would the very moment I said the wrong thing and wouldn’t feel an ounce of remorse about it.

I schooled my expression, pulled out my wallet and grabbed all the cash I had in there. It was around 300 dollars the last time I checked. I shoved the cash in her hand, and she stared at me in disbelief.

“I know this is probably only going to last you a couple of days, but I hope you find somewhere warm and safe to stay tonight, and maybe a hot meal, too.”

When she didn’t say anything to that, I offered a small smile and walked away.

I was maybe fifteen feet away when I looked back, and the girl was gone.

I didn’t know why I felt so empty afterward, even if I had done a good thing.

* * *

By the timeI got to Mason’s work again, I was shaking so bad, the security guard shot me a slight frown.

He was here the first time I came here to visit Mason, and many times since. He knew why I was here, but I didn’t want to go up to Mason’s floor. I didn’t want to see the bitchy receptionist again, who, I suspected, liked Mason.

I pulled out my phone and texted Mason, telling him I was here, and when he didn’t respond right away, I put it away and took a seat at one of the red recliners nearby, looking out the window. It wasn’t long after I sat down that I felt eyes on me.

I looked up, and I didn’t know why, but my heart nearly gave out when I saw Logan just across the room, heading toward me.

I sat up a little straighter.

I hadn’t seen any of Mason’s friends since that night we went out on what was probably one of the most awkward nights of my life. I had no wish to repeat it, but it didn’t look like I had a choice.

Logan stopped when he was about three feet away from me. He was just as handsome as I remembered. With beautiful hazel eyes and golden olive skin against dark brown hair, he was like the American dream come to life. Especially in that black expensive suit, white button-up shirt, and eye-catching deep blue tie.

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