Page 75 of Craving Francesca

“Why do you think?” I countered. I hadn’t even realized I’d been doing it.

“I think that you made it clear what you wanted when you barely gave me a chance to get dressed before you kicked me out,” she replied, lifting her chin.

I jerked in surprise. “That’s not how it happened.”

“Sure seemed like it.”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

“Yeah, well…” She looked away, crossing her arms over her chest.

After all the time we’d spent together, that was the moment she’d chosen to evaluate me by? I let my hand drop.

“You’re skinny as fuck,” I said bluntly. “You’ve got bags under your eyes, and they’re practically blue. Every single smile I’ve seen since you got here was fake. I don’t know how the hell you’ve convinced everyone that things are fine, but there’s something seriouslywrong. What is it?”

“Can I come out of the bathroom?” she snapped.

“By all means.” Reaching out, I grabbed her hand and tugged her toward my room. Her hand was freezing.

If she’d resisted, I would’ve stopped, but she didn’t. She followed me all the way inside and stood still as I closed and locked the door behind us. “Tell me.”

“I’ve just been stressed out at work,” she replied, throwing her hands in the air. “There’s no big mystery, all right? Work sucks, and I haven’t been able to find another job yet.”

“Why are you so stressed at work?”

“It’s summer.” Her voice was thin and reedy as she desperately tried to find any way to talk around what I fuckingknewwas happening. “Construction business is crazy in the summer. Ask Tommy, he’ll tell you.”

“It was summer in June, and you didn’t like you were about to fall over then.”

“Well, it’s busier now.”

“Francesca, tell me what’s happening at work.”

“I just told you!”

I didn’t bother to respond, just waited, my jaw clenched tight.

“He’s always there,” she finally blurted. “Asking me out and sending me flowers and telling me that my shoes make my ass look tight and flirting and making plans and then complaining when I ignore them. Okay? It makes my fucking skin crawl!”

I thought I’d been angry when I’d seen her. I thought that had been rage. It was nothing compared to the wave that damn near took me out when she laid out what she’d been dealing with. She’d assured everyone that he wasn’t a problem. When I hadn’t heard from her in a while, I’d asked around, and the boys had told me that she hadn’t mentioned him again.

I should’ve fucking known that she wouldn’t have said anything no matter how bad it got.

“It’s fine,” she stuttered, her voice high. “I swear, it’s just annoying. It’s been a real pain in the ass trying to find another job and—”

She stuttered to a stop as I pulled her against my chest.

“Shh,” I murmured, kissing her hair.

The tightness in her body relaxed in small increments as I held her. First, her head rested on my shoulder. Then her arms found their way around my waist. Eventually, her entire weight sagged into me. The moment it did, I lifted her and walked over to the bed, sitting down so I could hold her in my lap. She shuddered and held me tighter as I gently rubbed her back.

“He scarin’ you?” I asked quietly.

“Fuck no,” she replied defensively. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It’s creepy. I don’t think he’d do anything—physically—but I never know what the next thing will be.”

“You shoulda come to me.”

“I appreciate it,” she said. “But you’ve already done enough. I can take care of this on my own.”

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