“Okay,” I told him before I even knew that I was speaking.
His brows rose with shock and it made me giggle.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow night then.”
I wondered if he’d checked my schedule before he’d come in tonight. I was off and it was awfully convenient that tomorrow was the night he happened to pick. And sure, it was a little soon. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’d just agreed to go out on a date withthe boss.
He quickly finished his drink and like a gentleman, walked me out to my car.
A wonderful first date turned into a second. Then a third. He managed to show me the city and spoil me with expensive meals while not coming off like a pompous jackass.
He brought me flowers and always walked me to my door at the end of the night. He never acted like he assumed I would invite him in. He was actually the first man in my life that didn’t come off as expecting sex right away. That might have been a big factor in why I agreed to the next date, and then the one after that.
The most important thing was that he didn’t bother me at work. Like he’d said, he kept his distance and didn’t interfere. I didn’t start to get special treatment and it was almost as if no one knew that we were seeing each other. There were a few whispered rumors behind my back and side glances in my direction for a few days after the night he’d caught me leaving work. But they soon died down when I gave nothing away to fuel the fire. I had no idea if he would keep his word if things went south, but for now, I was enjoying the time we spent together.
After date three it kind of became a whirlwind. Yeah, it all got to me in a good way. The sweet texts at the end of the day simply telling me goodnight. The ones in the morning wishing that I have a good day. The flowers. The sweet kisses. The way he actually listened to me when I talked. Even the way he didn’t seem to care that I was clearly in a different league from him. I didn’t have money and I didn’t even try to pretend like I did. I wasn’t classy. I wasn’t polished. But it seemed like that was what he liked most about me.
Before I knew it, I was moving into his huge penthouse condo. There were no reservations as I packed up my stuff and said goodbye to the shady side of town. We might not have been dating that long, but I didn’t have any warning bells going off in my head. Things were going well and I figured this was the natural next step. Maybe this really could be something.
I quickly found out that he worked a lot. I mean, he did own a number of businesses. I could only imagine that keeping up with all of that was time-consuming. It was nice in a way, having the place to myself most of the time. I was pretty independent so I wasn’t bothered by the nights where he would come home late or the days at a time he'd be gone on business. When he was there, let me tell you, he was all about me. That sure did help. All I ever wanted was a man to make time for me and be mine during that time. And I was all his.
I felt like I was falling and it wasn’t even something I could help.
I suspected that a few people at work had their suspicions about me dating Ray. I never said anything though and I wasn’t going to. It was my private life and no one needed to know. I was just glad that I still had a job to keep me occupied on the nights when he was away. Sitting around wasn’t really my style. Because of the whole thing, I didn’t really get close to my coworkers. I didn’t want to make friends and then have to lie to them. Or worse, tell them the truth and have them treat me differently. It would have been nice to have someone else to hang out with but then again, keeping the drama down was more important. I’d had enough of that in my life, that was for damn sure. Besides, Ray and I were still getting settled in our relationship. I knew I’d have time to make friends later, once I got to know the city more.
The longer the days went on, the more I started letting myself picture a future with him. You know, marriage and kids and all those things. It was too early to talk about stuff like that with him but I could see that his thoughts might have been heading in the same direction. It was the little things. And he never stopped trying in cute, small ways. I liked that he didn’t throw money at our relationship. Everything he did stemmed from a thought or idea he had. Or came about because he actually listened to me when I talked and he definitely took mental notes about the little stuff.
I was happy.
Really, really happy.
Maybe for the first time in my life, I felt safe and truly wanted. My past, my experiences, they didn’t matter to him. He saw me and somehow found beauty in what he saw. That was all I’d ever wanted. Even since I was a little girl. To be beautiful the way I was and simply loved.
Every night I fell into bed with a smile on my face and it didn’t go away until I fell asleep.
-3-
Silas
“Is that…” Nadya started and she didn’t have to finish for me to know what she was talking about.
I held the stack of broken picture frames that I’d picked up off the floor. My fight with the angry biker long forgotten as I stared down at an image that pulled at my brain.
I blinked at the photo in my hand.
There was no way it could have been.
But those eyes. Damn, just staring at them in the photo nearly had tears filling mine. I had no fucking doubt about it.
I’d spent years searching. Dark corners. Seedy alleyways. Homeless shelters. Looking anywhere I stopped to findher.
It had been so long since I laid eyes on her that my thirty-six-year-old mind was starting to forget what I was even looking for. Then again, it wasn’t like she would look like that nine-year-old girl anymore.
She’d be twenty-nine now. Just a year younger than my sister. Twenty damn years I’d been trying to find her. I knew the reality of how it played out. She was probably no longer alive. But I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t stop. Not for that little girl with the bright smile and damaged heart. Not for my sister that took to that little girl so quickly. And not for myself. I’d failed. Sure, no one would say that to my face but it didn’t change the fact that I had. I hadn’t been able to save her.
She still haunted my dreams.
Well, it was more like they were nightmares that kept me up at night.
