My mother was a mistress that apparently scored when she got herself knocked up with me. Though my father wanted nothing to do with me, he paid the bills and put us up in a nice condo. That was until I turned eighteen.
Once he stopped footing the bill, my mother was done with me too. She had to find someone else to take care of her, and an eighteen-year-old daughter didn’t fit into the picture. She took off with some schmuck who would realize soon enough what he’d gotten himself into.
My stomach starts to turn as the longer we drive, the nicer the houses get. Reese turns in to a well-known gated community, and my palms sweat. I know this neighborhood because my father lives here with his real family. He has a beautiful wife and a few kids that are all older than me.
This isn’t happening. I’ve spent my whole life saying I’d never end up like my mother.
How the hell did I get here so damn quickly?
Chapter Ten
Reese
When we pull up to the house, the staff is already outside waiting. Two people go directly to the back of the SUV and begin to unload the stuff.
“Reese, we should really talk about this.”
“We will.” I turn to look at her as I take her by the elbow. “Inside.”
“Good evening, Miss Miller,” Mae greets.
“Heidi, this is my housekeeper, Mae. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask.”
“It’s so nice to meet you.” She smiles at Heidi, but at her blank expression, she turns to me. “Dinner is ready in the kitchen. You requested a more casual setting tonight?”
“Yes, thank you. We’ll serve ourselves.” The men come in with Heidi’s things, and I nod toward the stairs. “In the master suite on the second floor,” I instruct, and I feel Heidi tense at my side.
“Reese,” Heidi begins to protest, but I shake my head.
“This way.” I hold on to her arm firmly as I turn us away from the marble foyer and head to the back of the house.
Normally when I have guests, we eat in the dining room, but since it’s just me most of the time, I usually eat in the kitchen with the staff. I might not know everything about Heidi, but I can tell she wouldn’t want to be overwhelmed any more than necessary. And I’d say kidnapping her from that dump she was staying in and forcing her to come live with me might be on the edge of overwhelming.
When we walk through the doors that lead to the kitchen, Heidi’s feet falter. “Oh wow.” She looks around, and I smile down at her.
“Are you hungry?”
“Um, I guess.” She swallows, and I can see her eyes widen at the spread of food.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like so I had them make a little of everything.”
“No crap.” She presses her lips together quickly like she didn’t mean to say it out loud. “Sorry.”
I can feel the corner of my lip turn up as I fight a smile. “Come sit down and tell me what you want.”
Once she’s seated, I take off my jacket and place it on the back of my chair with my tie. I unbutton my cuffs, and as I roll them up, I notice that Heidi has her eyes narrowed in on the movement. After that, I take her plate, and she tells me what she likes as I fill it up. When I’ve set it down in front of her, I move to get my own. She hesitates to eat until I sit down and then nod to her food.
“Eat,” I order, and she finally picks up her fork.
“Reese—” she begins, but I shake my head.
“You eat, I’ll talk.” I wait for her to obey, and she finally nods. “First things first, stop trying to protest this. Let me take care of you, and don’t fight it.” When she opens her mouth to argue, I raise an eyebrow, and she stops, then goes back to eating. “Like I said, I’ve obviously got plenty of room. I told them to take your things to the master because most of the first floor is being renovated and isn’t furnished. The master is the nicest and has the biggest tub.”
Her eyes widen, and I know I catch a sparkle of excitement at the mention of a bath.
“You’ll stay here.” I think about my phrasing and decide I should be a little more subtle. “You can stay here as long as you like, rent free.” Then I remember what sent me into a panic to get her out of there. “I don’t even know what the hell was going on in that place, but your room was trashed like it had been broken into. I don’t know if they took any valuables, but mostly it was just ransacked.