Save The Date!. Kate Hardy
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stood and moved back. Holding Nell’s hand when she was upset was one thing. Holding it when she fired back to life was altogether different.
Different and compelling and bewitching.
‘Besides, those jewels would’ve been more trouble than they’re worth. I’d have had to be constantly looking over my shoulder waiting for my father to try and take them.’
Rick had grown up among people like that, but it made his gut clench that the Princess had experienced it too.
‘For heaven’s sake, look at me! Sitting around here comfort eating and feeling sorry for myself. How pathetic!’
She was a lot of things, but pathetic wasn’t one of them.
He shifted his weight. ‘If someone offered you a pot of gold to get you out of this fix...and it’d mean you’d get to keep your grandmother’s rings, would you accept it?’
She bit her lip and then shook her head. ‘No.’
He breathed easier.
‘I want to do this under my own steam.’
Good.
‘So while you go and play bailiff I’m going to get my grandmother’s ring out of the safety deposit box and make an appointment with a jewellery evaluator. An antique piece like that...it might even be worth placing in an auction.’
A coil of tension in his chest loosened at the colour in her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes. Way to go, Princess.
‘I think it might be a good idea for me to attend that appointment with you.’
She stared at him and then a Cheshire cat grin slanted across her face. ‘While I have absolutely no intention of being taken advantage of, I think that’s an excellent plan. I dare anyone to even think of it while you have my back.’
Exactly. ‘I’ll see you back here in a couple of hours.’
‘Won’t you need more time?’
The addresses were all within twenty minutes of Nell’s house. ‘I don’t think so.’ He made for the door.
‘Rick.’ She bit her lip. ‘Don’t let any of them make you feel like a second-class citizen. You have more true honour in your pinkie finger than any of them have in their entire bodies.’
Something inside him expanded. He couldn’t utter a word.
‘And you—you who have every reason to bear me a grudge—have shown me more true friendship than just about anyone.’
As she spoke she moved towards him. All he could do was watch. Common sense told him to back up, but his feet refused to move. Reaching up on tiptoe, she kissed his cheek, drenching him in all of her sweetness. A groan rose in his throat, but he swallowed it back.
‘Thank you.’
The sincerity of it shook him loose. ‘No sweat, Princess.’ He had to break the moment or something would happen—something earth-shattering that had the potential to break both of them.
It doesn’t have to.
But it would. Guys like him didn’t end up with girls like her.
He cleared his throat. ‘I don’t suppose you could spare a cupcake or two for a hardworking bailiff on his weary travels?’
She laughed at that, retrieved a large cardboard box of them and pushed it into his hands. ‘Maybe you could leave one with each of them as a gesture of...goodwill.’
He grinned. ‘Behind that pretty face you’re evil, you know?’
She blinked.
‘Because we both know one cupcake is never enough.’
That slow smile spread across her face again. ‘Give them hell, Rick.’
He tipped an imaginary hat at her and left. He fully intended to.
* * *
Rick returned to find Nell waiting for him. She immediately leapt up to put the kettle on to boil. ‘How did it go? Were they horrible to you? Did they say mean things to you?’
Not: Did you get my money? Not: Was the mission successful? But: Were they horrible to you? He stopped dead and just stared.
Her face darkened. ‘They were.’ He watched in a kind of bemusement as her hands clenched. ‘I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have asked that of you. I should’ve done my own dirty work and—’
‘I had a ball.’
She eyed him warily. ‘You did?’ she finally ventured.
He could see she didn’t believe him. ‘Ever since I got out of jail, people like those clients of yours have made me feel like scum. I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to turn the tables. Do you have any more outstanding debts I can deal with?’
That surprised a laugh out of her—as it was meant to. She pushed him into a chair, set a plate of sandwiches in front of him and grabbed him a beer. ‘One thing’s for sure. You’ve earned lunch.’
She stood over him then with arms folded. He glanced up, a sandwich halted halfway to his mouth. ‘What?’
‘I don’t think you should let anyone make you feel like scum.’
That was easier said than done, but... It struck him then that Nell had only ever treated him as an equal—someone deserving of respect and consideration.
The realisation tightened his chest. He bit into the sandwich then took a swig of his beer. Neither loosened the tension growing inside him. He pulled three cheques from his pocket and handed them to her.
She flicked through them and her eyes widened. ‘You managed to get them to sign cheques for the entire amounts outstanding?’
He wanted to puff out his chest at the delight bubbling up through her. ‘What were you expecting?’
‘More promises. Part payment at best.’ She perched on a chair across the table from him and crossed a leg. ‘It couldn’t have been easy.’
‘Princess, it was a piece of cake.’
* * *
Nell stared at him. It might’ve been simple for him, but there was no way on God’s green she’d have been able to manage this same outcome. She checked the amount on the cheques again. ‘This is amazing.’
He was amazing.
‘This will keep the wolf from the door for a little while.’ Enough to give her some breathing space at least.
‘Were you really friends with those people?’
Some of the golden delight leached out of her. ‘I thought we were.’ If a single one of those people had found themselves in the same desperate financial straits that she had, she wouldn’t have dropped them. She might not have been able to give them financial aid, but she’d have offered them moral support. She’d—
‘Princess?’
She snapped to. Although she tried to keep her face composed she couldn’t stop her lips from twisting. ‘It seems my entire life has been a series of very poor judgement calls.’ Letting her parents browbeat her into saying Rick had taken her locket; working so hard to earn her parents’ love and approval to discover that they’d never been worth the effort, that they didn’t know the meaning of the word love; spending her free time with people who only liked her when she was successful—shallow, callous people who enjoyed playing power games with those less fortunate than themselves.
It wasn’t noble, but... ‘I hope you gave them a seriously hard time.’
‘I can assure you that they didn’t enjoy the experience.’
The warmth in his eyes almost undid her. She leapt up to pour herself a glass of