Page 61 of Mace
Does she really believe that?“You’re wrong. You are a fucking hero. Your siblings would’ve had completely different lives if you hadn’t stepped up.”
Her gaze moves to the street in front of us as we walk, and I’m not sure whether I’ve made her uncomfortable with my praise or if she’s thinking about past incidents that led to her becoming a guardian. “It was a selfish action on my part. I’d lost my mother, and my father was nowhere to be seen. I was eighteen and didn’t want to be alone.”
“I got up close and personal with the foster care system when I was younger. Trust me, nothing you did was selfish.”
She stops walking, the empathy lining her face so open like a book. “I’m so sorry you went through that. It’s not fair the things life throws at us sometimes.”
It’s not even a pretence. This woman I’ve known for such a short time genuinely feels sad for me. I’m not surewhat to do with that, but I can’t deny how it makes me feel.
“Are they why you need the extra money?” I ask, not wanting to get into conversations about my tragic past.
I blamed my mum for a long time for leaving me, for never being the parent I needed, but Maggie helped me understand that she was sick. She had an addiction, a disease that had ravaged her mind and body as thoroughly as the cancer that killed Maylie’s mother.
The slight twitch of her face instantly puts me on alert, especially when she turns to me and that forced smile she has perfected is in place.Does she know I see the mask she wears?
“Of course. It takes a village to raise a family, but they don’t have a village, they just have me. Just keeping a roof over our heads is expensive. I thought I could dance and earn more, but you didn’t seem to agree so…”
Fuck. I don’t want her to feel as if she failed. I stop walking, snagging her arm. My grip is gentle but insistent in a way that also brings her to a halt. “Your dancing was fine.” A little too fucking fine. “But, sweetheart, going up on that stage night after night and taking your clothes off for dumb, horny men, it’ll change you in ways you won’t even contemplate.”
“Well, I don’t really have the luxury of choice, Mace. I need money, and if you won’t let me dance at Temptation, I’m sure there are other bars in the city that will.”
The growl that spreads up my throat is almost feral. “That ain’t happening.”
“My bills are piling up. I’m getting behind on everything.”
I understand her desperation. I’d lived through theutilities being cut off and no food in the fridge. I experienced the fear of being kicked out of the only place I had to call home.
“How much do you need?”
She stares at me. “I don’t want handouts, Mace.”
“I don’t doubt that, but it’s not what I asked. How much do you need to get back on an even foot?”
“You are not lending me the money. I can manage on my own. Is this why you brought me to breakfast? To buy me?”
I’ve offended her, which was not my intention. “I brought you to breakfast because I want to spend time with you.”
People pass us on the pavement, watching our interaction take place. I block them out, focusing only on Maylie.
“You do? Why?”
She seems genuinely confused by the concept that I might like her enough to want to take her out, and I can’t understand that. She’s a pretty girl, and a kind one to boot.How does she not have men lining up at the doors for her?
I step into her space and dip my head towards her. Heat rises in her cheeks as she glances at me from under her lashes. Every part of me wants to dip my head so I can claim her mouth.
“Mace…” I wonder if she sees the need and heat in my eyes.
Kiss her. Fucking kiss her.
I hold back that voice by sheer force. She ain’t ready for me to take her like that. She ain’t ready to let those walls tumble down just yet.
“It’s just breakfast. Don’t make me eat alone.”
Appealing to that kind side of her works. “Okay.”
SIXTEEN
MAYLIE