The Finished Masterpiece Boxed Set - Pepper Winters Page 0,36

only had Gil kissed me while trembling with things he couldn’t survive, but he’d tarnished that kiss with money.

He’d ruined it.

Successfully hurt me all over again.

Will he ever stop?

I suddenly didn’t want to talk after all.

I wanted to finish my wine and sleep. To run away from scars and body painters, money and heartbreak.

Olin Moss: No reason. Hope you have a good night!

Without waiting for his response, I closed Facebook in a rush.

I went to shut the laptop, but an email icon showed I had a reply from an office position I’d forgotten I’d applied to.

Some sterile building with its depressing cubicles and mind-numbing tasks. But at least a steady paycheque that meant I get to keep my clothes on and heart intact.

From: Static Enterprises

Subject: Interview for receptionist

Dear Ms Moss,

Thank you for your interest in our company and your resume. We are pleased to invite you to an interview tomorrow at three p.m. at our downtown location.

Please advise if this is convenient.

I didn’t hesitate to reply.

A steady job.

A ticket out of bankruptcy.

Something to focus on so I didn’t lose myself in the labyrinth that was Gilbert Clark.

If my interview went well and they offered me the job, I would visit Gil and give him his money back.

I’d look into his eyes and demand answers.

I would fight one final time for us.

Chapter Nine

______________________________

Gil

-The Past-

“HEY.” I SHOVED my hands deeper into my tattered jeans pockets and smiled, pretending I hadn’t run here from home or stolen a bottle of deodorant to ensure I smelled semi-decent.

Olin jolted, one hand flying to her throat, the other clutching her messenger bag with white fingers. “Oh...hey.” Her eyes switched from shock-wide to suspicious-narrow. “Where did you appear from?”

I smirked. “Somewhere.”

She glanced over my shoulder at the mostly empty field behind me. Early bird students straggled in, but the majority of the school were still shoving toast and jam down their throats at home.

Tilting her head against the sun’s glare, she said quietly, “You’re early.”

“So are you.”

She shrugged, still not totally at ease with me even though we’d professed a mutual liking of each other last week. That corridor used to hold nasty memories. Now, it held the best one of my life.

A small smile tilted her lips. “I’m always early.”

“I know.” I realised my mistake too late.

“You do?” Her forehead furrowed.

Shit.

“Um...” I raked a hand through too-long hair. “I mean...” Words flew out of my brain. Lies weren’t possible. Truth was too hard. My heart crashed against my ribs in panic. “I’ve...watched you.” I couldn’t look at her. “I don’t mean that in a stalkerish way. I mean...I’ve noticed you.” I swallowed hard. “For a while.”

Her pretty blush was back, pink and innocent. “You noticed me?”

I nodded, catching her stare. “You’re the kindest person at school. I like watching you.”

She blushed deeper. “I’m not kind.”

“No one else carries Millie’s bag to class because it’s too heavy. No one else brings a newspaper from home for Mr. Scoot to read with his coffee in the staff room.”

I waited for her to run away screaming. To file a restraining order. To tell me to stop being a creep watching her from the bushes.

Instead, she studied me in a way that stripped me bare, gave me no place to hide, and made me so grateful I’d been honest. “Is that why you liked watching me? Because I help where I can?”

I’d never had such intense conversations with anyone. Never been trapped wanting something so fucking much all while petrified of losing it. “Everyone needs help sometimes.”

“Do you need help?” Her gaze dropped to my scruffy T-shirt and the patches on my jeans. She didn’t sneer at my poverty. She didn’t back away at my bad luck. She was the only student to look at me without any biased opinion or expect me to be violent just because I preferred my own company.

“In what way?” I did my best to keep my voice neutral and not echo with warning.

Out of anyone, Olin deserved to know who I was. But I wasn’t ready to share. Not yet.

“You’re very guarded, anyone ever tell you that?”

“I don’t talk to other people.”

“Just me.”

“Just you.”

We shared a smile, tension slipping away and leaving us on equal footing again.

“Life isn’t just about survival, you know,” she whispered softly.

I reared back. “I didn’t say it was.”

“I know.” She chewed the inside of her cheek before adding, “I just...I told you things I’ve never told anyone the other day. It made me feel so much better. Crazy really