Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
She huffs but eventually caves. “All right. Dressing room’s that way.” She points me in the right direction.
“Thank you,” I say under my breath as I carefully grab the purple dress off the railing.
Vincenzo grabs my wrist, stopping me. His smoldering eyes are directed only at the lady who runs the store. “She said ‘thank you.’”
“It’s fine,” I mutter under my breath.
“No,” he responds in a calm but threatening manner. “She disrespected you.”
The way he looks at her almost makes me want to say a prayer for her.
Who really is this man?
The lady looks embarrassed, and she quickly steps back. “You’re welcome. Take your time.”
Vincenzo’s lip twitches until the woman finally spins on her heels and returns to the front desk register.
Just one look already made her scurry off like a scared little mouse.
Who has that kind of power?
A dangerous man.
I clutch the dress close and quietly walk to the dressing room, not taking a breath until I’ve locked myself inside.
Oh my God. What are you even doing, Emilia?
What were you thinking going along with a man like that?
He could do all sorts of things to you, and no one would ever find out!
But it’s too late to turn back now. He’s right outside this room, waiting for me to put on this dress and see if it fits.
I take a deep breath and start undressing. No point in delaying the inevitable. Though, when I slide the fabric over my skin, I’m surprised by how well it fits.
I chuck my wet clothes onto the wooden chair in the back and open the door when I’m ready. The glinting look in his eyes catches me off guard as they swoop over my body from head to toe, his tongue dipping out to lick the top of his lip.
“Gorgeous,” he says.
And just that one word makes my skin erupt into goose bumps.
Compliments from random strangers have never made me want to blush. And I don’t understand why I so easily go with everything he says and does.
He has this kind of charm about him that’s impossible to ignore.
But it also makes it hard to defy him.
“Almost like it was made just for you,” he adds, making me smile.
He makes me feel something I haven’t felt in a long while … like I’m actually pretty.
But I feel like I’m only playing pretend. “I could never pay for this,” I reply.
“You don’t need to,” he says, and he walks to the desk. “The lady wants to continue wearing it.”
“Of course,” the woman at the desk responds, rolling her eyes.
“She left her old clothes in the dressing room. Dispose of them, if you will,” he says. “Put it on the tab.” Vincenzo puts down his card. “Take ten percent off the dress’s price.”
She eyes him down.
“Or do you want me to tell your supervisor how poorly you treated one of his biggest customers?”
She swallows again. “Of course, sir. Ten percent off it is.” She hastily enters it into the machine on the desk, then grabs his card and swipes it. “Thank you, sir. Would you like the receipt?”
“Keep it.” Vincenzo makes his way over to me and holds out his hand. “Ready?”
I’m still too stunned to even know how to reply to all of these random acts of kindness, but also because I just don’t trust what’s going on.
Who would help a random girl off the streets?
What does he gain by doing all this?
But when his hand folds into mine, I still let him pull me back out onto the street, wearing this fancy, overpriced dress that I would never be able to wear if it wasn’t for him.
The driver opens the car door again, and I step inside. Vincenzo scoots in behind me, and the driver shuts the door.
“You seem overwhelmed,” Vincenzo says, breaking the spell of silence between us.
I shrug. “It’s just that … I’m not used to this kind of …”
“Kindness?” he fills in for me.
I nod. “That, but also this kind of lifestyle.”
He snorts. “Lifestyle. Money isn’t a lifestyle. It’s a tool.” He makes a fist. “A weapon.”
I gulp.
Weapons … to strike who?
“But it also allows me to give to people in need,” he says, relaxing his muscles again when he turns to look my way. “To help those who others have abandoned.”
I lower my eyes. “I wasn’t…”
“You weren’t what?”
“Never mind.” I look out the window.
Telling him everything there is to know about me would be foolish. Not to mention dangerous.
“My mom’s waiting for me at home,” I blurt out. Just to be safe.
When I look at him, all he does is grin. “I’m sure she is.”
Well, that didn’t nearly sway him as much as I had hoped it would.
“I’m still going to take you to dinner,” he says as the car comes to a stop.
I frown, confused why this random, rich stranger would go through all this trouble just for me.