Page 7 of Claimed

“You think it’s the right thing?” I ask.

“Give her a chance. You don’t like what she has to say, you can always tell her to leave.”

Okay…okay. I nod to Mr. Santini. “Make the call.” He leaves the room and I turn to Gage nervously. “Do you think she’ll like me?”

“Of course she will. She’s going to love you.”

“I don’t know…all these years…what if I can’t forgive her? She didn’t have to give me up. Daddy would have taken care of us.”

“Stop thinking about it. Just keep an open mind. Listen to what she has to say and then make a decision.”

Again, he’s right. I know he is, but…eighteen years’ worth of pain and abandonment issues can’t be erased in a few minutes. I can’t even begin to imagine what will be going through my mind when she shows up.

“Will you stay with me? When she’s here?”

“If you want me to, of course.”

“I want you.”

“Okay then. That’s settled.”

I give him a small smile, but something beyond his shoulder catches my attention. “Where did those come from?”

He picks up the vase of beautiful lavender roses and brings it closer.How did I miss it until now?

“I brought them.”

“You?” I ask in disbelief.

“Yeah. Is that so hard to believe?”

“You picked them out?”

“Yeah. Closest to blue I could find.”

I can’t believe he bought me flowers. Roses. Mr. I-Don’t-Do-Romance bought me roses. Granted, this isn’t really a romantic situation, but the fact that he would even think of getting them might mean a crack in that hard exterior. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The door opens and Mr. Santini walks back in, followed by Sheriff Renley and one of his deputies. I squeeze Gage’s fingers.Have they come to arrest him again? Could they have found my attacker? Is it too soon?Renley glances down at our joined hands and raises a questioning brow. Gage moves closer to my bed and gives him a ‘yeah, so what?’ look. Renley clears his throat and removes a pen and notepad from his pocket.

“Miss Alvarez, we won’t take up much of your time. We just need to ask you some questions.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s start with what you did yesterday. From the beginning.”

“Not much. Gage and I had a late breakfast at Jenny’s, then he dropped me off at the salon on Main Street. Ellen picked me up around three. We had lunch at Millie’s and then she took me home.”

He scribbles on his notepad then asks, “What time was that?”

“Around five-thirty, I think.”

“And then what?”

“She left and I got into the shower to get ready for my party.”

“Did you notice anyone watching or following you? Yesterday or before?”