Beneath These Scars (Beneath #4)(26)

Why didn’t he send Jerome in the first place?

I studied the old man and my eyes halted on the bag in his hand. Normally people left here with bags; they didn’t enter with a paper sack giving off some of the most tempting aromas I’d smelled all day.

The last browsing couple called a quick thank-you as they pushed open the door and left, leaving me alone with Jerome.

He set the bag on the counter. “I heard you were shorthanded, so I’ve brought lunch and have come to offer up my services.”

What in the world? “Titan sent you to . . . help?”

“He actually told me to locate a temp agency to find someone with suitable qualifications, but I decided that after all the chattering Levi has done about this place, it was my turn to play shopkeeper. If you’ll have me, that is.”

My smile was wide and genuine this time. “I’d love to have you. Thank you so much. I’m . . . stunned.”

He grinned. “I was also instructed to return your car and retrieve the keys to Mr. Titan’s vehicle.”

Which was as I figured, but I still rolled my eyes. “He tell you to check for scratches too?”

Jerome shook his head. “Not at all. He did mention that you need a new vehicle, however. Apparently the indignity of driving a Jetta not from this decade nearly unmanned him.”

I laughed at the visual of Titan driving around in my Blue Beast. “I’m sure.”

“Now that I’m temporarily hired, you are taking a break to eat.”

I looked at the bag. “Lunch?”

“Yes. Mr. Titan was very concerned that you might not have had time to feed yourself properly, and I was instructed to make sure you ate.”

What the hell? I didn’t like this guy meddling in my life. I was a grown woman, completely capable of taking care of myself. I didn’t need someone else trying to do it for me.

I didn’t realize I’d mumbled the words aloud until Jerome replied quietly, “He can’t help but meddle. He’s a fixer, my dear.”

My eyes jerked up to Jerome’s blue ones. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s fine. I know he doesn’t come off as the most kind and thoughtful man, but there’s a lot you don’t know about Mr. Titan.”

Uh-oh. We were treading into dangerous territory here. “I think I’m probably better off not knowing. Except for you helping me out today while I straighten out the temp situation and his brother working here when he gets back from his trip, I don’t think I’ll ever have another encounter with Mr. Titan.”

I emphasized the “mister” and I had no idea why. To raise some kind of mental barrier? Whatever.

I pushed the thoughts away and rubbed my hands together. “So, what did you bring?”

Jerome unloaded a prime rib sandwich dripping with juice, along with hand-cut potato wedges and a green salad.

My eyes widened. “Dang, I should be paying you instead of putting you to work.”

“Nonsense. I quite enjoy feeding people. It’s my nature. Now eat, while I familiarize myself with the merchandise.”

I began to eat, tucking away the sandwich first—it was heavenly—and then digging into the wedges and salad. Jerome made a silent circuit around the shop and on his second pass, he began shooting questions at me. Mostly how old were several pieces of the jewelry, and what was their provenance.

When he reached the Cinderella dress, he stopped and sighed. “This would look lovely on you, my dear. You’d be quite the belle of the ball in this dress.”

I laughed. “Considering I’m not going to any balls, I think it’s better on that display.”

He turned to look at me. “But what if someone else buys it? That would be tragic.”

My smile died. “I can’t keep them all, Jerome. Otherwise I’d be living in the back room instead of my apartment.”

“Understandable, but surely . . . This one, it’s exquisite.”

“They’re all exquisite, trust me. I need to have some willpower.”

“Speaking of your apartment, you had some sort of trouble there? Have you sorted that out yet?”

The lunch I’d just eaten rolled in my stomach, and I forced a smile. “It’ll be fine. I’ll handle it today after I get out of work. I just got spooked, is all. You’d think that a girl who’d grown up in Tremé wouldn’t be capable of being spooked.”

Jerome turned and crossed the shop to stand in front of the counter. “I think we’re all capable of being spooked. Do you want to tell me about it?”

“It’s fine. Not an issue.”

Surprisingly, I did feel the urge to spill and tell him everything. Was it his kind blue eyes, or the way he seemed to be so even-tempered? It had taken me a lot of years to trust my gut again when it came to people, but my instincts told me that Jerome was a good person—and a good ally.

But his close connection to Titan stopped me from sharing my entire life story. It was a sad one anyway—married at eighteen, broken ribs by my husband at nineteen, and still I stayed with him for another two years, perfecting my makeup skills covering bruises. No, I wouldn’t share that. I didn’t want to see those kind eyes shadowed by pity.

Jerome raised a gray eyebrow. “If you change your mind, the offer does not have an expiration date, my dear.”