AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I think we better take it slow. Don’t you?” She looked so dejected that he regretted even suggesting it. “I mean... I don’t want to rush you into anything.”
“You’re not rushing me into anything Luke.” She was worried about this. And the very reason she never reciprocated his interest. Once he found out she was a high paid call girl, he would run the other way. Giving him an out, she spoke as honestly as she could. “Unless you don’t want to be with me because of my past.”
Taking her chin in his hand he looked her deeply in the eyes. “Don’t ever think that. When you get right down to it, if you hadn’t, we never would have met,” he murmured brushing his lips against hers.
The sound of the grandfather clock striking midnight had them jumping apart. A nervous laugh slipped past her lips. “For a minute there I thought that was Kim coming to check on us.”
“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she comes in any second,” he said. “You better get in your own bed, otherwise she will be planning another wedding.”
Brit nodded then crawled over to her own mattress. Sliding between the covers, she laid on her back and covered up.
He lifted a strand of her hair and was amazed at how silky it was as it slipped between his fingers. “Can I ask you something?”
Sleepily, she nodded. “Yeah sure.”
“What is the escort service you worked for called?”
“They didn’t have a business name.”
His fingers running through her hair slowed down “What do you mean?”
She turned her head and looked at him. If he gave any indication of fear when she told him what she was about to, she would wait until he fell asleep and then go and pack a bag and leave Pearl Lake in the dead of night. Taking a deep breath she said, “It’s the MacGallan family. The Irish Mafia.”
Luke was stunned but he didn’t let on. “Well, that’s a bombshell if I ever heard of one. How did you get tangled up with them?”
She made a sound between a groan and a grunt.
“Tell me, I don’t care how you did, I’m just curious, is all.”
She sat up and looked at the fire. “I never knew my father; he passed away when I was six. But before that my mother left him and filed for divorce when I was just a baby; she didn’t want him to corrupt me. She told me it was an ugly divorce and that the only reason she was able to get one was because her family was influential.”
“How so?” he asked, rubbing her back.
“They were in politics, not sure in what aspect as she never shared that with me. But a deal was made, nonetheless. I never fully understood what was so bad about him that she didn’t want him around me. Not until she got sick, and the money ran out.”
She laid back down, on her side and as Luke pulled the covers up around her shoulders, he said, “You don’t have to finish.”
“It’s fine. It feels good to finally be able to tell someone.” She ran a finger over his cheek then snatched her hand back and tucked it against her chest as if she feared to show him any affection. “When I knew I could no longer work a full-time job and take care of her is when she told me to contact the MacGallan family, that they would help.”
Luke frowned. “Did you?”
“Oh yeah.” She nodded. “I was desperate. Imagine my surprise when I was told they were expecting me to call.”
“Did your mother contact them first?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “They knew she was sick and also knew it was only a matter of time before they heard from me.”
Luke sat up and pulled her with him. Holding her arms, he looked her straight in the eyes. “You’re a MacGallan, aren’t you?”
She let out a shaky laugh. “How did you guess?”
“It’s the only logical thing. But why? Why would they offer you a job as an escort.” His eyes turned stormy. “Why not just help you?!”
“Because my mother disgraced the family when she divorced my father. One just doesn’t divorce the boss of the Irish mafia and not reap the repercussions, deal or no deal. Doesn’t matter that my dad has been gone for over twenty years.”
“But still.Youare still their blood.”
She saw the sincere look in his eyes and wished her family felt an ounce of caring for her like he did. “It didn’t matter Luke. They didn’t care. The only way I would agree to become an escort was if my mother never knew.” She sighed. “They at least honored that much. After she had passed, the deal was that I could leave. My cousin, Declan, fought for me but the new boss, his father, refused. And so, when the opportunity arose to come work here at the inn and hide away from them, I took it.”
