Page 31 of Vows of Betrayal

She pushed the table against the wall and took her gloves off. After she dropped them in the garbage, she said, “I hope you get back on your feet soon, Stefan. And I hope you never have another gunshot wound. Anywhere on your body. Stay safe.”

And then—

She walked out.

10

Francesca

Oh, my gosh. The last hour of my shift dragged so badly.

Absolutely dragged.

I couldn't believe I'd never see Stefan again.

He'd become such an important person in my life so quickly. And I'd allowed it.

All of this was my fault.

I'd crossed the line.

No, I'd pole vaulted over that sucker.

And given Stefan the completely wrong idea about—us. I mean there was no—us. There couldn't be.

My life was in total chaos at the moment. And it wouldn't be fair to pull anyone into a mess that was my own.

From the sound of it, Stefan's life wasn't exactly a cakewalk. Gunshot wounds aside, his family life seemed to be in rough shape.

But even if none of that was going on—Stefan and I still wouldn't work.

He was some rich guy who got expensive haircuts and probably played tennis three times a week. I couldn't even afford a tennis ball.

And yeah, he said that Giselle and Eve came from “humble” beginnings. But there sure wasn't anything humble about them now.

Not their shoes.

Not their clothes.

Not their hair.

Not their makeup.

And not their men.

Giselle and Eve had definitely married well.

And good for them if that was what turned their crank.

That wasn't my thing.

They probably had memberships at all the fancy clubs. And they probably lunched with other well-to-do ladies.

I was not and never would be a lady who lunched.

That thought was bizarre in my mind. Especially when it was a daily struggle to eat. And pay rent. And get my crappy little car to and from work on time.

Speaking of my crappy little car, I looked around for it in the parking lot. I'd been close to being late this morning. And now I couldn't remember where I'd parked.

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