Eve paused and looked at Patrick. She shook her head. “No, my father didn’t believe in indulges. He said it tended to let the devil in.”
****
A muscle bunched in Patrick’s jaw, but he kept quiet. There was a lot he’d have to teach her about life. Her father had done a lot of damage to the precious young woman, but Patrick was determined to make her happy.
The maids came and took the plates.
“Girls, do you want to go up to Eve’s room? Maybe you could go over the things she might need and make a list for me.”
Brylee and Larkin instantly stood while Eve turned distressed eyes to Patrick. “I don’t want you to get anything for me. I’m overwhelmed with what you’ve given me already.”
Patrick stood and helped Eve to her feet. Standing so close to her, he realized how tiny she really was. He grasped her shoulders. “It’s going to take some getting used to, but I am going to spoil you horribly.”
“But…”
“You deserve everything I can give you. Please don’t take the pleasure of spoiling you away from me.”
Eve studied his expression for a long moment and then slowly nodded.
Patrick pressed a kiss to the top of her head, released her, and let Larkin come and pull her away.
“Come on, man. We want to go over some things you might find interesting,” Darian said and strode toward Patrick’s office.
Patrick closed the door behind him, poured three glasses of scotch, handed them out, and walked to his desk chair. “What have you found?”
Gage passed him a file. “The woman he goes to see a few times a week is a prostitute he’s been seeing for several years.”
Patrick raised his eyebrows. “Interesting. My private detective is getting pictures of them together. I will have him record a few of their … what shall we call them? I suppose meetings would work.”
“He also has a gambling problem,” Darian said.
“Where in the hell does he gamble?”
“Online. He’s racked up quite the dept,” Gage informed him.
“How much are we talking?”
“Close to a twenty
-five thousand dollars,” Darian said.
“Holy shit,” Patrick cursed. “Do you think he’d be desperate enough to let Eve go without a fight if I pay that off?”
Darian nodded. “It’s a strong possibility.”
“I’ll use that as a last resort. I don’t want to make the man’s life any easier if I don’t have to.”
The other men nodded in agreement.
The three talked about business for a bit before Darian stood.
“I think I should get Larkin home. Call us if you have any problems. I can always bring her back if needed.”
Gage said the same thing as the men made their way up to Eve’s bedroom. They stood right outside the door and watched with tender expressions on all their faces.
All three girls were brushing out the dolls’ hair as they talked about their favorite things.
Patrick noticed Larkin and Brylee had a lot of opinions, but Eve stayed mostly quiet. In time, he’d find out what made her happy. At the moment, he just wanted her safe. They would work on trust and the rest later.