Page 31 of Jump-Start
“Yes. He shoved his credit card down my shirt for a reason, and I’m going to spend lots of his money. He was such a dick, he deserves to have his bank account take a little hit,” I tell my friend, who grins proudly at me.
After placing everything at the cashier, we wait a while until the person has finished removing all the security tags and scanned the items. I bought myself everything I could possibly need for wherever it is we’re going for his races. I got myself thirty new shirts, five new jeans, jackets to actually keep me warm, sweaters, dresses, and even a few skirts. When I hear the total, I almost swallow my own tongue because that’s a lot of money. I would never, ever spend that much on myself, even for the amount of clothes I’m getting. I chose one of the cheapest stores in London and they even have a sale going on, but this is a lot. I shouldn’t do this. It isn’t reasonable, and Leonard made it clear I’m supposed to spend areasonableamount only. He’s going to be so pissed…
Do it.
I type in his code without giving it another thought. Just the idea of Leonard losing his shit over me spending too much of his money threatens to make me smile. So, Lulu and I grab all of my ten shopping bags—one for Lulu because I got her a blouse from Leonard’s money too—and make our way back to the apartment. We hang out for the next six hours. Leonard’s training, which is why Lulu and I take Benz for a walk. We grab a coffee and by the time we’re back, Leonard is standing shirtless in the kitchen.
“Lulu, Starling,” is all he says as he takes a sip of his water and uses the towel around his neck to wipe away a bead of sweat going down the side of his face.
“God, he’s so hot,” Lulu whispers as she looks him up and down, and I hate myself for nodding along to her words because,fuck me, he is.
His hard upper body, covered in tattoos that I like a lot, is defined and chiseled. The ripples on his stomach stand out more today than any other time I’ve seen him without a shirt, and it makes my mouth drool, just a little.
“Having fun?” he asks me, snapping me back to reality. I narrow my eyes into slits and glare at him.
“I was just thinking that you should take a shower. You’re getting sweat all over the counter,” I say, and he rolls his eyes at me.
“You’re living here for free, little demon, I’d watch my tone,” he replies, forcing anger to course through my veins. Fuck no, he didn’t just go there.
“I knew you’d bring that up the first chance you’d get. I didn’t even want to move in here, but you insisted,” I bark back, but he turns around to refill his water, ignoring me for a moment. I let out a groan, and Lulu nudges me in the side, reminding me to chill considering how much of his money I spent today.
“Okay, I’m going to go. You’ve got this under control,” she whispers and presses a kiss to my cheek. I’m too pissed at Leonard to return the affection. Once the door falls shut, he turns back to me and tilts his head at my angry expression.
“I’m teasing you, Chiara. Please, relax. Tell me what you got,” he says, and I almost stumble backward.Stand your ground. Don’t let him see how guilty you feel about spending his money.
“The bags are at the entrance,” I say, and he walks there to carry them into the dining room where he empties them on the table. Irritation flickers across his face, making an uncomfortable feeling settle in my stomach.
“This is all you got?” he asks, looking for the receipt, I assume.
“Yes, you told me to,” I remind him, but he’s going through my clothes, still searching for that piece of paper.
“How much did you spend?” Fuck.
“Nine hundred pounds,” I say while crossing my arms in front of my chest. “I know it’s a lot of money, but you should have specified reasonable.” I sound confident, which is the opposite of how I feel right now. What happens next knocks the air from my lungs. Leonard chuckles. Leonard fucking Tick ischuckling.
“Nine hundred pounds is a lot?” I nod. He does it again, lets out that same low, sexy sound of amusement. It turns me on far more than I would like to admit. “Nine hundred pounds is a lot,” he repeats, shaking his head and leaning against the table before crossing his arms, mimicking my stance. My head is getting dizzy from the fact that he’s still very much shirtless. “I’m a millionaire, sweetheart. You could have spent nine thousand, and I would have been upset with you for not buying enough.” I roll my eyes.
“Well, good for you. For me, that’s a shit ton, but I’m glad I don’t have to feel guilty,” I reply and let my arms drop to my sides. Leonard watches me closely, the usual scowl returning to his features.
“I asked you to go shopping, to buy yourselves clothes for our trips. This is unacceptable. This isn’t enough and too plain. These clothes are good for at home, not for race tracks and events.” I’m about to say something when he adds, “Grab your bag, we’re going shopping.” And then he disappears into his room without giving me a chance to respond.
God, this man is aggravating beyond belief.
* * *
While Leonard isin the shower, I collect all of my new clothes and bring them to my bedroom. Benz is on my heels as I do so, but we both stop abruptly when I reach my room. There is a brand-new laptop, television, and polaroid camera on the bed. I do my best to keep standing, but the sight of these things, things that were stolen from me only yesterday, weakens my knees. Leonard bought them for me.
There is even a bag from Pandora. I pull out several boxes, swallowing hard. He got me jewelry too. Leonard got me everything that was stolen from me, except fancier. I didn’t have money for a MacBook. My polaroid was a knock-off, not from the real brand, and my television was older than me. My jewelry sure as hell didn’t come from a fancy place like Pandora.
“Oh, wow,” I blurt out after opening the first box and finding a stack of rings in them, some plain, some in the shape of the moon and stars. One of them even has a small diamond on top and another is in the shape of a knot.
I open more of the boxes, finding earrings and necklaces and bracelets. Leonard is a millionaire, yes, but he has always been careful about the way he spends his money. The fact that he would buy me all of this warms my insides. My mind still lingers on the jewelry as I open the polaroid camera and walk over to my suitcase where I keep the small album of pictures I took with my old camera. I like how old-fashioned this is, and the fact that I instantly get the photos to keep forever.
“Are you ready?” Looking at him now, even if he makes me angry most of the time, feels different. I feel my features soften ever so slightly at him, in a way I never thought they would.
“I’m not going shopping again. Look at all the money we’ve spent today. Your account limit must have been reached,” I say, and he snorts at my comment.
“My account limit is five hundred thousand pounds. Now, would you like to walk to the car, or do you need me to throw you over my shoulder?” Assuming he’s kidding, I let out an unamused laugh, but when he approaches me, makes me stand up, and then throws me over his shoulder, I let out a surprised gasp.
