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“Yeah. Fine. We’ll talk later.” The frustration in Rocco’s voice told me he was annoyed but that was a problem for another time.
She was almost running at this point, but with her short legs she wouldn’t out distance me. Her head was ducked down and turned to the side as if she was trying to hide her face from those walking toward her. I was less than ten feet behind her when I saw a tear slipping down her cheek. Anger surged through me like a blaze of heat. I needed to find out who had hurt her and make sure they suffered for it.
“Princess!”
She didn’t even seem to hear me, so I sped up until I could reach out and touch her shoulder.
Her scream at the gentle contact was laced with terror. I raised my hands to try and calm her, but she stumbled and I had to rush to catch her before she fell. My back ached at the motion, but I ignored it, pulling her to my chest and wrapping my arms around her. Alyssa was shaking and I wasn’t sure she knew it was me holding her. Her eyes when she finally looked up were filled with shock and so much pain.
“Gabriel?”
“I didn’t mean to startle you, princess.” I ran my thumb across the apple of her cheek wiping away the moisture. She leaned into my touch for a moment then stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest.
“What are you doing here?”
“I know we weren’t supposed to meet for another hour, but I couldn’t wait to see you.”
She looked down and her hands played nervously at the hem of her shapeless black top. “About that. I didn’t have your number, so I couldn’t call you. I can’t see you again.”
Her last sentence was so quiet it was tempting to believe I hadn’t heard her correctly. My chest tightened. Had I been dreaming of the future while she was searching for a way to get out of seeing me? I tilted her chin up and her emerald eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “Is that what you really want?”
“No.” Her voice broke on the word. “But it doesn’t matter, I can't go on a date with you.”
Her denial gave me hope. Whatever had gotten into her head we would find a way around it as long as she wanted to. I just needed to know what I was fighting against. There was a semi-private seating area farther down the concourse outside a coffee shop. I nodded to it.
“Let's sit down and talk.”
She let me take her hand and lead her over to the small sofa. Not caring that we were in public, I pulled her down next to me and enjoyed the way she snuggled into my side. It was like she was meant to be there. The only thing that would have been more perfect was if she was on my lap.
I gave her a minute to settle before speaking again. “What happened that got you so upset?”
Alyssa ran her gentle fingers over my shirt in small circles for a minute before she took a deep breath. “A lot is going on. I don’t even know where to start.”
“Let's start with whatever had you walking out of your work with tears in your eyes.”
“My boss is a jerk.”
“Does he often make you cry?” If he did, then I was going to use every contact I had to make sure the man lost his job. Abuse of power on my part? Maybe. Did I care? No.
I couldn’t remember his name, but he’d made a point to come out and greet me personally when I’d arrived at the spa. I’d been in too much pain to talk and the man had gotten visibly frustrated when I cut off his welcome speech. I knew too many men like that who made themselves feel important by sucking up to or cutting down the people around them.
“Sometimes.” She shrugged.
“What did he say to you today?” I needed to know if I had to go back and teach the asshole a lesson immediately or if it could wait. Her hand clenched then relaxed as if remembering the conversation made her angry.
“He said I’m not allowed to fraternize with a guest without management approval.”
She wouldn’t look up at me and I sensed there was more to the conversation. “Is that all he said?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“Was it all he said, princess?”
“Yes.” The word was slow and drawn out making it obvious my Little girl couldn’t lie worth a damn, which was a good thing for me, not so much for her.
I tilted Alyssa’s chin up and showed her with my gaze. I wasn't happy. “Do Little girls lie to their Daddies?”
“You’re not my Daddy. You can’t be.”
