Despite the Gentleman's Riches: Sweet Billionaire Romance (For Richer or Poorer Book 1) by Easterling Aimee

Author:Easterling, Aimee [Easterling, Aimee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wetknee Books
Published: 2014-11-05T08:00:00+00:00

***

I had hoped that Jack would both literally and figuratively get my message, spurring him to come home or at least to give Lena a call letting her know that she hadn't been forgotten. But, instead, Jimmy showed up at our door the next afternoon with another offering.

"Seriously?" The word slipped out of my mouth as soon as I saw who was knocking. The poor kid was holding a potted plant in one hand and a bundle of balloons in the other, and I had a hard time believing that even Mr. Fish Sticks was so dense that he thought simply switching gifts around would be enough to appease his little sister.

"Does he think I'm five?" Lena asked from where she'd come to stand by my side. The girl's words were angry, but at least she was engaging with the world again, which decreased some of the worry that had been building every time I waded through the teenager's deep silences. Anger beat out depression any day of the week.

"Here, give them to me," Lena demanded, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Was my charge going to accept Jack's gift after all? But she simply snatched the ribbons out of Jimmy's hand, then released the colorful orbs into the air, where they quickly rose out of sight—not particularly good for the environment, but a huge stress reliever if the expression on the girl's face was a realistic indication of her feelings.

"And I'm guessing you want me to take back the plant," Jimmy said, looking back and forth between the two angry women in front of him, and I tried to soften my expression into a smile as I nodded my head in confirmation. "Maybe you want to write on the card?" the kid offered.

"Nope," I replied simply. "He'll get the message."

But Mr. Fish Sticks did not get the message. The next day, Jimmy was back with a teddy bear for Lena and a basket of fruit for me, and on the sixth day the offering was fancy cheeses and spa toiletries. I got madder and Lena got quieter as the evidence of Jack's disinterest grew, and it was growing harder and harder not to shoot the messenger. But I did my best to give the kid a break and send him away each time with a kind word, if no smile.

Between deliveries, I tried to think of outings that would take Lena's mind off her brother, but the interested girl who had glad-handed Cuadic members was now gone, hidden beneath a cloud of despair. The teenager wasn't particularly unpleasant—I could tell that Lena was trying not to bite my head off in the same way I had tried to be cordial to the delivery boy. But the best Lena could come up with right now was silence.

Until, that is, her stillness broke in the middle of the sixth night. I awoke to the sound of sobs emanating from my charge, who was supposed to be sound asleep on the couch.

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