Page 14 of We Three Kings
Weird. “Why don’t you just bake some?”
The glorious smile falters from my question. She sets the canister on the beige Formica and keeps her gaze down.
“Butter, eggs, vanilla, and all the stuff you need is kind of expensive. This was only seventy-five cents because the back is scratched up.”
At least she’s honest. I just hate that she’s embarrassed. “Well then let’s check it out. Do you have any matches?”
Some of the uncertainty fades, and she smiles. “Yes.”
She yanks open a drawer and pulls out a small red and blue box. The sudden blaze, after she strikes the tiny stick, mimics the inferno smoldering between us, that lasts long after she lights the wick and blows out the flame. “Perfect.”
I mean her, and I think she knows it with the blush streaking her cheeks as she sets the burning candle on her cruddy kitchen table.
Eager to touch her again, I hold out my hand and once her fingers wrap around mine, I lead her to the living room rather than the bedroom like I want.
The rickety couch creaks under my weight when I sit down, and I make a note to have the sofa replaced when my guys come in to install cameras and other security measures for her.
Zero resistance when I draw her down next to me and keep our entwined hands on my thigh. I give her a reassuring squeeze as she attempts to adjust her leg so she’s not smooshed against me. I want her there. “It’s only November so you must really love Christmas if you’ve already decorated.”
Careful not to offend her, I keep my tone teasing. I don’t want her to think I’m insulting her. Luckily, she seems thrilled and her plump lips part quickly to launch into her explanation.
“It’s my favorite time of year. Everyone’s usually in a good mood and all the lights and trees are so pretty. So even if you don’t have much it still feels like something really special.”
Bitch foster mother.
Dead brother.
Dumpy apartment.
All that trauma, and she’s still cheerful. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as irrepressible as her. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
My agreement pleases her, and the exhilaration bubbling under the surface explodes. She twists toward me with her soft tits shoved against my bicep.
“My brother won a football scholarship, and I got to move into an apartment with him on campus. They made us promise not to tell anyone since he was a freshman and supposed to live in the dorm. But he said they made a special exception for us since he was my guardian and they liked how he handled the ball. He told them he wouldn’t come without me, so they set it all up in secret.”
I nod in encouragement, eager to learn more about her.
“Anyway, the girl he dated in high school went to college there too, and she came over all the time. Quinn loves Christmas, and said her family put up their decorations on November first. Halloween came down and Christmas went up. Now I do the same thing.”
Emotion cracks her voice despite her grin, making me assume she lost the girlfriend when she lost her brother. “What happened to her?”
Seraphina wraps her other hand around mine, seeming to steady herself. “She dropped out of school after Gabriel died. She didn’t handle it very well either. They were going to get married.”
Grief hangs between us, and I don’t push. I want to know the rest. My guys can get everything on her background, but I’d rather hear the details from her.
“She called me a couple of times after the funeral but when I had to move out of my brother’s apartment, we lost touch because I didn’t have a cell phone or anything.”
I’ve never experienced dread before. I do not like where this story is headed. A quick estimate of their ages makes me guess she was too young to be on her own. “Where did you go then?”
“Back to my old foster home.”
A shudder engulfs her body. I release her hand only to wrap my arm around her and draw her against me. She clutches my suit coat seeking comfort I’m more than happy to give her. I stroke her head lying against my shoulder. “They were assholes to you.”
Not a question because I already know the answer. I already know they will suffer once the team tracks them down.
“Yes, they punished me for losing all that money while I was gone. It was a long six years with them.”
Rage coils my body, and I have to bring myself back to this moment with her snuggled in my embrace in her happy little holiday world.