Page 60 of Selling Innocence

“You want to know a secret?” Vance set his bad hand on his stomach and covered it with his other. “Women are a pain in the ass, but they’re worse if they’re bored or upset. It’s a lot easier to deal with them if you spoil them every once in a while.”

Char snorted. “So you’re as useless as he is, huh? We should have locked her up in her room and gone about our business without dealing with her much. Just brought her out when needed.”

I lifted my eyebrow at that.

It was funny how differently the same idea could come from different people, how it changed the meaning.

Char meant exactly what he said, that he would have locked her into her room to keep her out of his hair. Hayden would have locked her up to ensure her safety. Vance would have made a joke about chaining her to a bed.

Me?

The thought of seeing her fearful or upset bothered me in a way I didn’t fully understand. Would I have done it? Perhaps, but it wouldn’t have sat well.

The front door opened, causing all three of us to swing our gazes that way.

We look like fathers waiting up for our daughter after she went out on a date.

It was downright embarrassing how far we had fallen, wasn’t it?

Kenz walked in first, a smile on her lips. It eased me, seeing her happy. That smile had become less and less common recently, as though the crushing reality and threats had worn on her.

It was good to see it, now.

She had her arms wrapped tightly around a large stuffed animal, the creature distorted by her grip enough that it took a moment for me to figure it out. Was it a bunny?

Somehow, that seemed fitting. I could almost picture her like a rabbit, quick footed and far too easy to break.

Hayden came in on her heels, his gaze on her, his expression unusually soft. He needed to work on his poker face, because anyone who saw that would recognize that he did not merely see her as a client.

“You’re late,” Char snapped, his mood even worse now that they’d returned.

“I wasn’t aware I had a curfew,” Hayden answered.

“Dinner is usually at six.”

Vance remained silent during their little back and forth. Did he not want to draw attention to himself? Whatever had happened between him and Kenz, he seemed unwilling to address it head-on.

Hayden set down the large bag he had on the table. “Well, lucky for you, Kenz is nice. She had us stop on the way home and pick up sandwiches from a shop.”

“And the rabbit?” Char asked.

Kenz flashed an impossibly bright smile as she tightened her arms around the stuffed animal, as if that were the most precious item she owned. “We stopped by that new place that has all the really soft stuffed animals.”

“I thought it would help you sleep,” Hayden said, pink on his cheeks. “You had a few on your bed at your place, so I thought maybe you weren’t sleeping well without one.”

You could have just gotten one of hers.

The things people did said so much more about them than they realized. People’s actions told a story, betrayed secrets, and this was no different.

Hayden had taken her to get something for her, a gift, and something rather personal since it was an item to sleep with.

What an interesting development.

The four of us had worked together for five years without much friction. Kenz was a bolt thrown into that machine, and now it ground as it tried to turn as it always had.

Kenz smiled at Hayden, and her expression held affection as well. Romantic? That I wasn’t sure about. “Thank you—I love him.”

Hayden nodded once, his lips softening, a smile pulling at the corners though he didn’t allow it to spread. “Of course. It’s pretty late, though, and you have a class you can’t miss tomorrow. You should get to sleep. I hope he helps.”

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