Cherry Creek - Dani Matthews Page 0,20

seat. I sit there for a long moment, scanning the interior. If mom could see me now.

Roman taps the hood to get my attention. “Have fun,” he says before he turns and walks out of the garage.

I spend five minutes familiarizing myself with the car before I dare to turn it on. It purrs to life, and I can feel the power the engine holds. I can't believe I am going to drive this. I'm super careful when I work up the nerve to drive it out of the garage. It's a smooth ride, and I make my way up the paved path that goes along the side of the mansion and intersects with the main driveway.

I admit it. The car is fun to drive. When I reach the gate at the end of the drive, I'm feeling a bit more confident. I glance up at the visor, and I'm not surprised to find two little gray boxes clipped to it. One for the gate, and one for the garage. I press the first one and it opens the gate. A second later, I'm cruising past the gate and down the road.

Relief sweeps through me, and I can feel the tension easing from my muscles. For the first time in twenty-four hours, I am alone. I'm not in the mansion or around prying eyes. And I'm driving a kick ass car.

Might as well enjoy it.

***

I spend about thirty minutes driving around Cherry Creek. It's smaller than what I am used to, but it has a quaint feel to it. Trace was right, the center of the town is only about several blocks, and it is lined with shops on each side of the busy streets. I'm disappointed there's no train or bus station, but I know Minneapolis will certainly have one or both.

After I familiarize myself with where everything is located, I decide to park the car in a restaurant parking lot. I want to walk around the town and get some fresh air. There are other residents out and about, and some of them look at me curiously, but no one approaches me. I walk around aimlessly with no destination in mind. Eventually, I sit down on a bench across from a couple stores as I let my mind wander. Why am I here? What kind of life am I supposed to lead in Cherry Creek? I'm definitely not comfortable with Khristos's wealth. I don't want it, and I guess if I could, I'd wish for things to go back to the way it had been before Brad attacked me. I'll take the small shabby apartment over this new life that has somehow become mine.

As I stare at the stores in front of me, I see that one has a 'help wanted' sign in its window. Suddenly, I get an idea, and my mood perks up. That's it. I'll get a job. That way I’ll have my own money and won't have to use Khristos's. There's no rent to pay, so anything I make will be mine. Maybe I can even save up for a cheap car of my own.

I'm not sure how Khristos will feel about me working, but frankly, I don't really care. If he wants me to be happy then he shouldn't care if I get a job, right?

I'm walking to the store the second I make my decision. That's when I spy the mannequins in the window wearing scanty bits of lace. It's a lingerie store. I glance up at the name above the doorway. Sinfully Yours. Hmmm. Well, as long as it's not a sex-toy shop, I think I can handle selling lingerie.

When I step inside, I’m relieved to see that it’s a classy shop with what looks like high-end lingerie. The walls are painted a pale lilac color while the floors are hardwood. There are racks all over boasting differently colored arrays of lingerie, and the tables have white, satiny cloths over them with an assortment of panties lined up in perfectly strategic displays on top. Bright sunlight shines into the room from large windows that line one entire wall, giving customers a glimpse of the street outside and people passing by. I hadn’t noticed the windows when I’d walked past, so I’m assuming they are darkened on the outside so those walking by can’t see in.

Luck must be on my side today, because the manager, a pretty blonde named Selena, seems to take an instant liking to me. I think it has