Page 6 of Broken Innocence
“That won’t happen,” he growls. My teeth catch on my bottom lip to hide a pleased smile until he coughs into his fist and recovers. “I mean, this building is my responsibility, so it’ll always be me.”
Tomato red is not my color, but that doesn’t stop the flush on my skin from deepening in self-recrimination. Of course, the complex assigns their maintenance workers to zones. That’s a logical way to keep everyone organized. My reading into Luca’s immediate denial of anyone else helping me except for him is aresult of too many nights staying up late to finish my beloved romance novels.
All those alpha heroes have warped my brain if I’m imagining this guy,who is just doing his job, being interested in seeing me again for more than professional reasons.
“Right. Thank you again,” I say too brightly, walking him out once he’s gathered his toolbox. As soon as he’s gone, I slump forward and bang my forehead on the closed door.
But I don’t have too long to wallow in self-recrimination because another knock rattles the doorframe.
“What is going on today?” I rarely get visitors, and now two in one day?
Please don’t be Luca.
My poor body can’t take another encounter with the hot maintenance man so soon after flustering through this last visit. However, instead of a man, there’s a cardboard box that greets me, my name scrawled across the side.
“What do you think it is?” I ask Beanie as she rubs against the box edge after I drag it inside. Tearing off the tape at its sides, I unfold the top flaps to reveal a foam box housing an elaborate bouquet of chocolate-covered fruit. Cool air wafts from the chilled container as I reach inside. The attached card lists multiple fruits and a variety of chocolates.
It’s an extravagant arrangement, and frankly, I’m not sure how I’m going to eat all of this before it goes bad, but I’m sure going to try because this probably cost a fortune.
“This must be the final gift. The grand finale to the Spring Falls welcome campaign.”
Beanie doesn’t respond except to start chewing on the plastic cellophane wrapped around the bouquet. Obviously, I’m not the only one who thinks the new arrival looks delicious.
Unraveling the ribbon tied around the top, I pull the plastic back far enough to grab a skewer with a pretty pineapple starhalf-dipped in chocolate. The first bite is a juicy combination of sweet fruit and bitter dark chocolate, and a hum of pleasure sticks in my throat.
When I researched apartments, I pored over online reviews to avoid getting into a bad situation, especially since my parents’ warnings constantly whispered in the back of my mind. Spring Falls had high ratings and all the amenities I was looking for, but no one mentioned how generous a company they were.
Every few days, a surprise gift has awaited me either in my mailbox or the welcome mat in front of my door. First, the butterfly light catcher arrived. Next, potted tulips, which are my favorite flowers.
Then came a book of recipes for healthy cat snacks.
That one caught me off guard because my browser history is filled with cat recipe sites, and it felt a little toobig brother is watching. But I shrugged off the unease and chalked it up to Spring Falls being extra thorough by gifting items specifically tailored to tenants’ needs. I’m sure the dog owners around here received similar books.
But this last gift…
This is beyond generous, and I’ll miss the surprises.
While each present was unexpected, they were proof that someone was thinking of me—even if it was a random leasing agent.
Someone thought of Eden Marino. The perpetually overlooked and forgotten. And it was a nice feeling. One I don’t get to experience often.
My shoulders deflate. “Guess we better savor this, huh?”
Beanie continues to gnaw at the wrapper in complete agreement.
CHAPTER FOUR
LUCA
“Where’s the food, man?” Rafe drops onto the bar stool in front of where I’m preparing a sandwich for dinner. Despite the bad memories imbued in Blackchapel Manor, the seven of us—me, Mathias, Jonah, Dmitri, Aleksei, Rafael, and Hugo—decided to stay here and make it our home and headquarters after Conrad died. Maybe we should have razed it to the ground, but it’s part of our history.
And as men with clipped roots, any connection is better than nothing. Even if it is an old brick manor that used to serve as more of a prison than a home.
Lifting a wry brow, I gesture around the kitchen. “Look around. I’m sure you’ll find it.”
Rafe shakes his head. In desperate need of a trim, the wavy strands of hair fall over his eyes. “Nah, I’m talking about the fruit arrangement you ordered. When is it being delivered? I’m looking forward to those chocolate-dipped pineapple daisies.”
“What the hell are pineapple daisies? And how do you know my purchase history? Are you snooping through our bank accounts again?”Fucking hackers.Rafael is a whiz on the computer, and he’s excellent at finding information we may need in our quest to bring down The Syndicate, but he needs to learn some fucking boundaries.
