Page 19
“Other clothes?”
“Yes, the ones you left in the bedroom yesterday?”
He raised a brow. “You said you didn’t like them, so I donated them to a charity shop on the mainland.”
Guilt slammed into me like a freight train. He’d bought me nice clothes, and because of my stupid stubbornness, he thought I was being ungrateful. Again. “Oh, it wasn’t that I didn’t like them. I just…” I trailed off, words failing me.
“Just what, angel?”
I lifted my gaze to meet his, a hint of amusement flickering in them as he stared at me. At least, I thought it was amusement, but what could possibly be funny about this situation? I thought over my reply for several seconds before I released a breath and decided to go with honesty. “Being able to choose my own clothes was probably the only sliver of freedom my parents granted me. If that’s taken away from me, I guess I lose a little bit more control over my life.”
His shoulders instantly slumped, and his features fell. “Fuck, I’m sorry, angel,” he sighed, squeezing his eyes closed and hiding the sadness that had filled them. “That’s my fault. I, uh…I want to take care of you, and part of that is picking out pretty clothes for you to wear, but I’ve overstepped the mark.”
Sorrow laced his words, and the guilt already flowing through me turned into a waterfall, pulling me under its suffocating waves. I wasn’t used to someone wanting to take care of me without there being a reason behind it, and now, all I’d managed to do was hurt Jacob.
“No, it’s my fault, Jacob.” I lowered my gaze, unable to look at him any longer. “I’m so used to my parents telling me what to do for their benefit; I guess I thought you were trying to control me as they did.”
“Angel.” He was on his feet in a heartbeat, standing in front of me again and tilting my chin up. “I would never try to control you. I just want you to be happy here.” A shy grin lifted his lips. “But I’ll admit, I quite liked picking out those dresses. I could imagine how beautiful you would look wearing them. Well, more beautiful than you already are.”
My heart swelled, and before I could think better of it, words tumbled from my mouth. “No, I’m sorry, Jacob. You did a nice thing for me, and I was ungrateful. If it makes you happy, then I can wear what you pick out for me.”
A beaming smile lit up his face, and my breath caught in my throat. “That would make me happy, but I don’t want you to think-”
“I don’t,” I replied, cutting him off. “You’re nothing like my parents, and even though I’m still getting used to this situation, you’ve been nothing but kind to me.”
“Thank you, angel. That means a lot.” For several seconds, I couldn’t move, captured by the warmth filling his eyes. A weight that I didn’t realize had been hanging around me lifted from my shoulders. It wouldn’t be so bad wearing clothes Jacob picked out for me. Not if it made him as happy as he was now. Besides, whatever he wanted me to wear was much better than the bedsheet. Jacob eventually cleared his throat. “I’m really sorry, angel, but I’ve got to get back to work. There was a huge data breach at one of our comms centers that I’m trying to fix.”
“Of course.” I turned to leave, but remembering I still didn’t have access to clothes, I spun back around. “Before I go, what happened to your clothes in your bedroom wardrobe?”
He paused as he lowered himself into his desk chair, his brows furrowed. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I moved all my belongings to another bedroom. I know you weren’t comfortable with us sharing a bed.”
If I felt awful about the clothing situation, it was nothing compared to how terrible I felt at learning I’d inadvertently kicked him out of his room. “No, Jacob, you shouldn’t have to move into a different room because of me.”
He shrugged. “It’s fine, angel. I wanted you to have the best room in the house-”
“But that’s your room.”
“And now it’s yours,” he said softly.
My chest tightened as I shifted from foot to foot and chewed my lip. Would it be so bad to share a bed with Jacob?
Sure, I’d only known him a few days, but the first night I was here, I’d spent most of the night wondering what it would be like if he’d slept next to me. I’d be lying if I said a part of me hadn’t wished he’d pushed harder to insist we sleep in the same bed.
“We can share,” I replied, the words almost inaudible and laced with fear in case he rejected me.
His head tilted to the side as if weighing up whether I was telling the truth, before he asked, “Is that what you want, angel?”
“Yes,” I replied, more confident this time because the longer I stood there, the more I knew that it was the truth. Besides, we would just be sharing a bed; it wasn’t like anything had to happen.
His boyish grin spread over his lips. “I’d like that.”
I grinned back at him as a wave of something I could only describe as euphoria slithered through my veins until the shrill tone of his phone blared from his desk, snapping me from my daze and reminding me that he had work to do. “I’ll leave you to work.”
“Okay, angel. I won’t be much longer.” I crossed to the door, and as I reached for the handle, he called my name. “Charlotte, why don’t you go and have a nice soak in the bath, and when I’m done here, I’ll sort some of my clothes out for you to sleep in for tonight. I won’t be able to get you new clothes delivered until the morning.”
I nodded my agreement. A relaxing bath was exactly what I needed now that my nerves were frazzled at the thought of sleeping in the same bed as Jacob tonight.
It was only as I soaked in the bath and replayed our conversation that a thought occurred to me. What had Jacob expected me to wear every day if he’d taken away all the clothes he’d picked out for me?
