Page 84 of Made to Sin

“Chocolate chip pancakes, your favorite.”

My eyes lit up like a child on Christmas Day. I was taking back all the negative things I said about her in moments of spite.

“Maria, do you know that you’re an absolute angel?”

“I know,” she haughtily said without a shadow of a doubt. “I’ll go get them ready while you freshen up.”

“Perfect,” I agreed before running to do as she said.

—

I came out of the shower and immediately beelined to the kitchen. It hadn’t been more than two weeks since Marco’s death, but my life felt as if it had been switched with someone else. The only crossover was the love for the plate of pancakes in front of me.

“These are delicious,” I said with an unladylike mouthful.

There was something about Maria’s cooking that made everything feel like heaven in your mouth. Aside from being a friend, I was glad she worked for Luciano because I’d missed her food a lot.

“Don’t speak with your mouth full,meu bem. You look like those things under the bridge.”

My mouth dropped open, ready to disagree. “Did you just compare me to a troll?”

She blinked, thought about it, and said, “Yes, those things.”

If I wasn’t so hungry, I would have been offended. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and ate the rest of my meal as we watched TV, her in the living room and me in the kitchen. It was a perk of having an open layout.

Swallowing the last bite, I washed my dirty dishes and grabbed my volunteering bag, ready to head out.

“Okay, I’m going to the organization. Bye.”

“Drive safe,” she mumbled.

I was going to say that I didn’t drive, but it wouldn’t have made a difference. She was too invested with the weather forecaster onChannel 5anyway. She had a crush on the man for as long as I’d met her. If there was a fan club, she would be the highest-ranking member.

I shook my head at the ridiculousness and went to find Arnold. I spotted him reading a book on a hammock under a shady tree. The old man loved to read as much as I did, but we indulge in very different genres, so Book Club wasn’t an option. I didn’t think he would appreciate reading about a mafia boss calling his captive a “good little slut” as much as I did but to each their own.

“Arnold, can you drive me to volunteer?” I yelled across the yard.

He perked up at my voice, nodded, and started walking toward the car. It had become our routine that he would drop me off in the mornings and pick me up five hours later.

While the hours seemed long for an unpaid service, they never felt like it. The organization had a sense of comfort that made me want to stay as time flew by.

I checked in when he dropped me off and got straight to sorting donations. It was my favorite task: mundane and peaceful. There could never be anything wrong when it comes to a routine, and this was mine.

Emily joined me a while later after she finished helping her parents with the morning rush.

“Good afternoon!” I greeted as she came over to my station.

She let out a sigh that told me she didn’t have a similar attitude about this morning. “Good afternoon.”

The smile dropped from my face, concern taking its place. “What’s wrong?”

She started sorting the bin across from me. “My parents shop. I’m glad they’re doing well, but it’s been so busy, I spend most of my mornings dealing with impatient customers. On the bright side, they finally listened to me and hired more help, so it should be calmer next week.”

“The week is ending soon. Just push through a bit more.”

She gave me a meek smile and changed the subject. Emily was the type of person to not cling to negativity, so we moved on pretty easily. Yet the mention of a job reminded me of how much I needed to get one myself.

Luciano didn’t charge me anything to stay at his place, but I felt like such a leech. Plus, I needed to start saving my own money.

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