Southern Promises: The Complete Series: (A Contemporary Romance Standalone Box Set) by K.G. Fletcher

Author:K.G. Fletcher [Fletcher, K.G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kelly Genelle Fletcher
Published: 2020-04-08T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

They sat next to each other at the tiny kitchen table in the studio breakroom. Hart watched as she stirred sugar into hot tea, the rims of her beautiful eyes tinged with red.

“You’ve been living here for how long?” he asked tenderly.

“Several months,” she replied in a whisper.

He had somehow managed to get her to calm down and agree to tell him everything.

“Where do you bathe, Gia? There isn’t a bathtub or a shower in this space.”

She wrapped her hands around the chipped mug and sighed. “There’s a drain in the bathroom. I usually just stand over it and use a sponge from the sink. It’s not that bad.”

It was worse than he thought.

“You don’t even have a stove or an oven, just that tiny refrigerator and microwave. How do you cook for yourself?”

“I eat at the diner almost every day. Half the time Angel doesn’t charge me because I really don’t eat that much. And you’d be surprised what you can make in the microwave.” The look on her face pleaded with him. “Please, Hart. Don’t get all worked up. You’re the only one who knows about this, and I’d like to keep it that way. It’s too embarrassing.”

Hart closed his eyes with shame, knowing she had been going through this all alone. He should have done something sooner—if he had known the truth. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why have you been keeping this a secret from all your friends and me?”

Her eyes were downcast as if she struggled to find an answer. “I don’t know. I guess I thought it would only be for a week or two. And then the weeks turned into months, and it just became my new normal. I’m used to being on my own, Hart. It’s no big deal.”

He reached toward her, pushing her dark hair behind her ear. The way she looked back at him made his heart leap in his chest. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this area is?” he asked quietly, cupping her cheek. “You’ve been coming here late after working all those damn entertainment jobs. What if some homeless guy from the park followed you or someone tried to carjack you in the parking lot? You know Atlanta is a huge hub for human trafficking. What if you were taken against your will by some predator? It’s not safe here, Gia. You’ve got to know that. You’ve got to know the truth that your business has no future here either.”

He struggled to get the words out, but she needed to know. Everyone he had talked to in the real estate market told him he was crazy to think he could get a buyer on board to revamp the area into something more desirable. The research was dismal. It was one of the highest crime-ridden areas in the state of Georgia. No one would come near this property with a ten-foot pole.

“I know.” Her body language deflated. “I’ve just been putting off the inevitable. But don’t forget, I grew up around here.

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