Traded(71)

Her excitement was contagious. I already had plans for that night, but was keeping it all a secret. “Yeah, Alan still curses me out every time I see him for not bringing you to him sooner. I’m excited to see your first performance.”

“You’re coming?”

“I have front row seats.”

“But . . . I’m really excited . . . but I don’t want you to feel like you have to go.”

“Elena, have you ever known me to do something I didn’t want to do?”

I thought she might say something about the conversation we had the other night about our parents, but she left it alone. “No. Unless you count getting stuck with me.”

Covering her hand with mine, I got lost in her eyes for a moment. “I didn’t get stuck with you. If I hadn’t wanted to help you, I wouldn’t have taken Dominic’s offer. I would have dealt with him the way I normally handle that situation. And, I want to see you up there. Trust me when I tell you that.”

“I do trust you,” she said, solemnly.

Our food arrived not long after and we slipped into easy conversation. I still didn’t understand the connection with Elena. She’d been so shy in the beginning, now there she sat, offering me her trust. It was perfectly obvious at that point—I wanted Elena even after the three months were up. I had to come clean, but how?

Was it about getting her away from Tolley? Hell fucking yes. But more than that, I wanted her for myself, even if I couldn’t define it, or knew what that meant.

“I want to go and see Gretchen sometime next week.”

The only thing I knew about Gretchen was that she worked with Elena at the diner. They’d been friends since Elena started there three years ago, and the smart woman continually pushed for her to leave Tolley.

“Okay. I’m guessing she’ll be glad to know I’m not keeping you locked up somewhere.”

She giggled, the sound rushing over me. “I told her you weren’t some crazy creep when I called to tell her I was taking some time off.” She gave me a pointed look.

She’d been upset the night I told her I’d talked to her boss at the diner and told him she was resigning, although, she’d tried to hide it. I explained that I wanted to help her find something better. At the time, I hadn’t known how good she was at acting. I never imagined she’d be working downtown in one of the theaters.

“That sounds like a good idea. You can tell her all about your new job. When are you going to meet her?”

“I was thinking that I’d meet her at the diner in a day or two.”

That caught my attention. “Do you think that’s a good idea?” I knew Tolley lived only a few blocks from the diner, and if he knew she was there he might visit, starting shit when I wouldn’t be there to protect her.

“Why wouldn’t it be? I worked there for years.”

“Yes, but at that time you weren’t considering getting a divorce.”

She shrugged. “I’m stronger than I was.”

That certainly was the truth, but . . .

“Elena, please don’t take this the wrong way, because you are a hell of a lot stronger than you were, but you haven’t seen him since the night he left you with me. I have, and trust me when I say there’s nothing you need to hear from his mouth.”

Her eyes flashed. “You don’t think I can stand up to him?”

There was a small piece of me that worried she might cave if he pulled the same bullshit as the other night. Then again, I knew she needed to do it for her to ever be completely free of him. “No, it’s not that. He’s a complete asshole and I don’t want you to have to deal with him. If it were up to me, I’d keep you as far away from the fucker as possible.”

The tension left her shoulders. “Yeah, I’d like to never see him again, but that’s not realistic. We live in the same city—I could see him anywhere. And like you said, I’ll probably have to see him for the divorce proceedings.”

The thought of it made me want to punch something. Not that I had any idea how any of that shit worked, but I’d be doing my research. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it. How about you invite Gretchen to La Tratoria for lunch? Then she can meet me—see for herself that I’m not some pervert, holding you hostage for sexual favors.”

She laughed and I knew we were in the clear again. I hadn’t meant to get her all pissed off on a day where my goal was to impress her.

“How about Thursday?”

“I can do that. I’ll set up the table myself.” I lifted her hand from the table to my lips.

“That was delicious,” she said, setting her napkin down on her now empty plate.