Page 4 of The Last Bachelor Dragon

“I needed to get out of that room,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I wanted to return the dress you let me borrow. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to wash it.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” Marie said, hanging the stack of clothing up on a rack. “I want you to keep the dress; it’s perfect for you, and I have a few more things that I want you to have. We can’t have you wearing the same clothes every day, it wouldn’t be right.”

“Oh, Marie, that’s so generous of you,” she said, a bit overwhelmed. “But I can’t take the clothes, it wouldn’t be right. I have no way to pay for them.”

Marie waved her hand in the air. “I make plenty of money, I can afford to give away a few things when I choose to,” she said. “This is my passion, my joy, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Max. Seeing you in my creations would make me very happy. Come and look what I have for you, you might change your mind.”

She let out a long sigh. “You’re just trying to make me feel guilty,” she said but walked over to Marie. “But if you insist, I’ll take a look.”

Fifteen minutes later, she was standing in front of the mirror trying on the last of the outfits Marie had picked out for her and wished she could accept the woman’s generosity. “I shouldn’t have tried everything on,” she said. “Now I want it all.”

A big smile spread across Marie’s face. “See, I told you,” she said. “It’s all yours, my treat.”

She turned from the mirror. “Marie, I can’t take all of this, it wouldn’t be right,” she said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but if I can’t pay for the clothes, I don’t think I should take them.”

The older woman’s face fell, and then the smile appeared again, “I have an idea,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Come work for me. You can pay off the clothes with your wages, and then we’ll both be happy.”

“Marie, the only thing I know about clothes is how to shop for them,” she said. “I wouldn’t be much help around here.”

“Nonsense, you could help customers, clean the back room, and I could teach you to sew, it isn’t hard,” Marie said, dismissing her concerns. “The more I think about it, the better I like the idea. I’ve always wanted an apprentice.”

“What if Max changes his mind and makes me leave? I mean, lets me leave,” she said, tripping over her words. “I don’t know if I’d be able to pay you back then.”

“How about we worry about that if it happens,” Marie suggested, as if she knew something Nora didn’t. “We’re both getting a good deal with this agreement. Let’s not worry about the future, it will all work out just fine, you’ll see.”

She looked at herself in the mirror again, not wanting to give up the shorts and tank top that fit perfectly, just like the rest of the clothes hanging nearby. “Okay, you talked me into it,” she said, turning to face Marie. “You’ve got a new apprentice, but I have to warn you, I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“That’s okay, you might just find a hidden talent insideyou,” Marie said, then shrugged. “If not, you’ll learn a few useful skills.”

“When do you want me to start?” she asked, looking around the backroom, feeling a surge of excitement.

“Bright and early tomorrow morning,” Marie said. “We’ve got a shipment of fabric coming in. We could use some help unloading it and carting it up here.”

“I’ll be here,” she said, giving Marie a hug. “This is going to be fun.”

She left the shop ten minutes later with several large bags in her hands and a huge smile on her face for the first time since she realized that Joe had double-crossed her and she was in big trouble. Marie’s kindness had boosted her mood, but more than anything, she was relieved not to have to sit in her room all day doing nothing, and she might just gain a few marketable skills before Max finally gave in and let her go.

The thought dimmed her smile just a bit, but she couldn’t stay on the island forever. It wasn’t where she was supposed to be, and the longer she hung around, the more she risked Max figuring out who she was. As excited as she was to start her new job, she had to keep fighting to get off the island, but she was looking forward to seeing the look on Max’s face when he found out she had a job. It would prove to him that she was capable of taking care of herself.

The chance presented itself as soon as she turned toward the food court, her stomach growling loudly. “It looks like you’ve been doing some shopping,” Max said, stepping into her path, his eyes roaming over her body and making goosebumps break out on her skin.

“This was Marie’s idea,” she said, holding up the bags. “I just went in there to return the dress I borrowed for the wedding.”

“And you came out with a new wardrobe,” he sneered at her. “How did you manage that?”

“She tried to give me all this stuff, I told her I wouldn’t take it so she hired me as her apprentice until it’s all paid off,” she defended herself. “I would have kept walking around in that one outfit I had on when I got here, but she insisted.” I don’t know why you dislike me so much, but I’m not a bad person.”

CHAPTER 3

***MAX***

Seeing the confusion in Nora’s eyes melted the anger that he’d been clinging to like a life preserver, leaving only the desire that pumped through his blood, making his entire body tingle. Damn the woman for being a decent human being, he thought, trying to find his equilibrium again, but he found it difficult while looking into her blue eyes, and he had to force himself to look away.

“I don’t dislike you, I don’t trust you,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “If you’d just tell me who you are, this could all be solved with a little help from a few of my friends, and you could be on your way to Bermuda.”

He saw the change in her instantly. Her entire body tensed up, her chin came up a few inches, and her eyes filled with distrust. “Oh, now I see how it is,” she said, glaring at him. “You don’t trust me, but I’m supposed to trust you. That doesn’t seem quite right.”

“Look, I saved you from that jerk who was going to sell you to the highest bidder,” he said, blowing out a frustrated breath. “That alone should prove that you can trust me. Ithink you’re just being stubborn, I think you’re just doing this to…well, I don’t know…”

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