Fallen Woman(24)

I watched my friend the rest of the morning. She moved slower than I’d ever seen, and I was concerned she might have a fever. She refused to let me show her any attention or go to the store to get her anything for a cold. “I’m nearly eighty years old. I know what’s I need, and it ain’t you fussin’ over me. Hear?”

“Yes, ma’am. But promise me if you do need anything, you’ll let me know?” I made her promise before I’d leave. And as I walked out the door to take Derrick and the kids to the park so she could nap, I dropped a couple hundred dollars on her kitchen counter. I wanted to do more, but I needed to take the kids to get clothes, get some food…and now it appeared I’d be visiting another specialist. Despite several paychecks and two “dates,” I still wasn’t caught up and had nothing in savings, but I wanted to do something, and I knew she wouldn’t take it if I just handed it to her.

This way she had no choice.





Chapter Six





“Babe, he’s not going to bite, and neither is his family.” He couldn’t stop laughing at me over lunch. I’d met him at Fifth’s after taking Emmy to the doctor—another dose of potent antibiotics while we detox and wait for lab results and hoped it didn’t get worse.

“But when I agreed to this stuff, it was supposed to be business types of things, not personal outings,” I whined.

“Same difference. None of his family lives here, so you ride an hour there, do the whole reunion crap, pretend to be his date, and come home. Why is it such a big deal?”

“How am I supposed to pretend to be anything other than a friend to Max? I don’t know him any better than I know Willum. This stuff being business related is what makes doing this easy. No one really knows anyone else. I mean a few people may, but not since birth. Come on, Jase; surely you get where I’m coming from?”

“Not really. You’ll understand when you meet them. They don’t know him any better than people at a business function because they spend no time together—hence the reason he can get away with bringing a girl with him they’ve never met. They’ll all act like he’s talked about you for months because they won’t know any different and won’t want to look like they’re not in the know. Just trust me.”

“Couples touch, Jase.” I quirked my eyebrows at him and waited for him to realize what I was saying.

He stared at his plate, contemplating a response, before saying, “He won’t touch you.” His voice was low and gravelly, and I detected an edge of protectiveness which I’d hoped for. Every day I spent time with him, my feelings grew deeper, but he never broached the subject and never made any move to be anything more than my friend. He continued to push my outings with his buddies, so I tried to accept my role in his life.

“You don’t think people will find that odd?” I quipped.

“Have you spent much time around people with a lot of money?” he questioned.

“No, not the kind of money you guys have.”

“People don’t marry for love. They often marry for convenience, connection, or appearance. You’re well educated, drop-dead gorgeous, well spoken, and brilliant. No one will question Max being with you. They might, however, question why you’re with him.” He laughed at his own words, although I still didn’t buy it. “Look, Gia, if you don’t want to go then tell him no. But I think you’re making a mistake.”

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to eat any more. “Fine. I’ll go. But if he touches me or things get weird, I’m coming after you.”

“Deal.” He winked and stuffed the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth.

I just shook my head and smiled back. The truth was, I loved this man. I’d only known him a few months, but in that time, he’d taken my heart and breathed life back into it like it was a balloon that needed inflating. He was my confidant, my friend, and holy hotness Batman, just a beautiful man. One look into those stormy gray eyes and I was a goner.

As we got back into the car, I buckled my seatbelt to prepare for the ride to work. Our lunch outings were becoming more frequent, but I tried to make sure I was back within my allotted hour every day—today being the exception since I was late coming in. I didn’t want people to think I was treated any differently than anyone else because of my friendship with Jase. I meant it when I said I wanted to work my way up, and other than today, I hadn’t missed any time.

He took his eyes off the road for just a moment and put his hand on my knee. I prayed he’d leave it there, but he was simply trying to get my attention. “What are the kids going to do while you’re off gallivanting around with Max?”

It was the first time he’d really inquired about them, and it caught me off guard. He knew I’d had to take Emmy to the doctor but hadn’t asked any questions. “Um, well, I assume they’ll stay with Miss Pearl. Why?”

“Can I take them for the day instead?” he stared straight ahead. The vein in his neck pulsed a fast beat as I stared at him, wondering what his motivation was and how I’d hide Emmy’s unnatural fatigue.

“I guess that’d be okay. Are you sure you want to do that? Having them an entire day when you’ve never had them alone for an hour is a lot. Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?”