intelligent. “And who took you in after they died? An aunt or uncle?”
He shook his head and moved closer. “Jade, I know you like to see the world with rose colored glasses, but that’s not how life really works.”
“I know that. Things haven’t been wonderful for me all my life either. I remember the pain after my own father died so I can’t even imagine what you must have gone through to lose both of your parents. Life was pretty rough.”
“So you can understand when I explain that my aunts and uncles couldn’t take me in.”
“Where did you go?” she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. Her stomach tensed, her heart beating rapidly as she thought about all the horrifying possibilities.
“The state had to take me in. I lived in an orphanage for about five months and then I was transferred to the foster care system. Can we go now?” he asked. “I really don’t like those people in my house without you there to supervise them. You know what you’re doing but they aren’t as careful. Who knows where holes in the wall might end up.”
Jade looked at him for a long moment. She’d known from the start of this conversation that she wouldn’t like where it was going. But the idea of Angelo living in an orphanage, all alone without any mother or father to give him hugs and kisses, to tuck him in at night and explain how life worked, was heart wrenching. In theory, she knew that there were thousands of kids who went through that every year. But she didn’t know those kids. And she didn’t recognize their genius like she did with Angelo. He was awe-inspiring and she hated the idea that he’d raised himself without any kind of love or affection.
“Jade?” he prompted.
She snapped out of her thoughts, realizing that he didn’t want to talk about this subject any longer. “Yes. Of course,” she stammered. She looked down at the sidewalk and forced her feet to move forward. Just one foot in front of the other, she told herself.
They arrived back at his house five minutes later and he disappeared into his office, a room he’d set up all by himself with another contractor who had run wires and wireless thingamabobs all through the room. Despite the heavy door, she heard his deep voice talking throughout the afternoon, but she didn’t venture into his domain. When the work day was finished, she ensured that the workers had cleaned up their current projects then slipped out one of the side doors.
When she was standing in the still hot twilight, she looked back at the house. Should she check on Angelo? What was he going to eat for dinner? He didn’t have a working kitchen and it hadn’t ever occurred to her that he needed food. Of course, that was silly since the man had to eat. He was enormous and obviously worked out pretty hard in order to maintain all those amazing muscles.
She looked through the courtyard where some workers had started putting in landscaping now that the concrete had been repaired. Should she offer to have him over for dinner?
No! She needed to be away from him. Every time they were together, she ended up in his arms. She gritted her teeth and forced her feet to keep moving forward, not looking back even though her heart was aching at the thought of Angelo eating something cold and all alone.
She reached her cottage and went into the kitchen, pouring food for Jasper and Rufus and a bowl of cereal for herself. Rufus came running, eager to inhale his food. But Jasper was nowhere to be seen. The finicky feline continued to hide. Or pretend to hunt. Or just decided that tonight he would be ornery because Jade had come home later than normal. The cat was very temperamental about his schedule.
Because it had been such a crazy day, she pulled out a mystery novel she’d started last week and tried to read the book with a glass of wine at her elbow. She sipped the wine, but the whole time, she had trouble focusing. Her mind kept coming back to the mystery of Angelo Donati. How had he gone from an orphan to a foster child to his current amazing success? What had happened in his childhood that had pushed him to such a level that he was this successful?
And where was Jasper? His fluffy head should have poked