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 No. Unequivocally. Thomas might have given his word, but Penelope would rip off her own limbs
before she allowed Chloe into Ophelia s sphere without her protection.
Burn for Me
Her perusal of bacon packages was interrupted by the rabid snapping of a rubber band. Penelope
turned to look at the grumbling eleven-year-old at her side. Hat pulled down low over her eyes, Chloe was
yanking on the thick red rubber band at her wrist. Yet another idea of Raul s, this one to curb Chloe s
language. Apparently, it had been his trick for learning to stop getting smacked in the back of the head by
his father for the same offense.
Given that the man still swore as if it were a dying tongue only he could preserve, Penelope didn t
have a lot of faith in it, but at least Chloe had stopped coming home from school with notes from her
teacher. Pen still hadn t decided if she was upset about how much Chloe was snapping it or the fact that it
was working.
 Don t you have any other words you can use?
 None that feel as good.
Pen glanced at the bright red skin on the inside of Chloe s wrist.  Yeah,  cause that looks like it feels
great.
 Dad says I should use it when I m thinking things I shouldn t say either, so I don t accidentally say
them.
Perfect. Not only would she end up amputating her hand, the child would end up mute. Penelope put
the bacon down and crossed her arms.  What are you thinking then?
 Nothing. Snap. Not that Pen needed the giveaway sound to tell Chloe was upset. Chloe was glaring
down because she wasn t allowed to challenge her mother with a fit and she knew it.
 Look at me.
Chloe shook her head.
 Chloe. The hissed whisper bothered Penelope, but it was out and she couldn t pull it back. Her neck
ached; she had been tired, stressed and irritated long before she ever reached the grocery store. She felt like
she d been that way for weeks and she didn t need Chloe playing games on top of it.
She had enough on her hands dealing with Raul s games.
For a month now, he d been respecting her wishes, with his own special twist. He d stopped pushing
her boundaries, which would have made her happy if he didn t make it a point to watch her with those dark
eyes of his smoldering so hot that it was all she could do to keep breathing normally. He made not the
slightest effort to hide how much he wanted her, which had her staff swooning and half the town thinking
she was insane for avoiding him.
Which was another thing that bothered her. After his little stunt at the local watering hole, he had the
gossips eating out of his hand. Suddenly, instead of being regarded as the joke of a crush gone wrong, they
were being regarded as some kind of town love story. Oh how sad, poor Penelope s afraid to trust the man
she loves& If it was what he d hoped for, it backfired on him because when people asked her when she
planned to put him out of his misery, she generally asked if she should take him out behind the shed.
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Dee Tenorio
Worse, he d started leaving notes for her at her front desk in sealed envelopes so Cara couldn t get
away with opening them that held messages about the most mundane things. That he d bought Chloe
some school supplies or asking if there were any allergies he should be aware of. Sometimes just an
itinerary of what his schedule would be for the week. Nothing personal, nothing that warranted so much
privacy. She d checked each message, sometimes up to three times, but there was never anything and the
disappointment she felt made her angrier each time she looked. As if he were trying to get her angry at him.
She outright refused to give him the satisfaction.
Now, facing her child, Pen wondered if there were satisfaction to be had at all. Especially when the
hat brim rose and she was treated to the militant stare of her loving daughter.
 What were you thinking?
The small chin jutted out, her bottom lip rising in the middle. After a darting glance around, Chloe
switched languages.  Je pense que t es jalouse.
Penelope reared back with a gasp, forcing herself not to look around and see who might be listening to
their exchange. Someone Chloe didn t want to understand what she d said. Part of her demanded she heed
the concern, because if Chloe was worried, it was probably for a good reason, but the part of her that had
gotten louder and louder since Raul had shown up in her office six weeks ago just about blew its top.  Of
what am I supposed to be jealous?
Chloe shook her head, lowering her glare again.  It doesn t matter.
 It matters to me. Because Penelope had the dark worry that Chloe might be right and she hated that.
She hated a lot of things these days, mostly how out of control she felt. Her life had once been ordered. Not
thrilling by any means, but she d known day in and day out what was coming. Now all she seemed to think
about were the things she didn t allow herself. The things she d never tried, the possibilities she d never
given herself permission to consider. A night out with her friends. Clothes that were flirty instead of
professional. One more night with Raul. Yelling at her disobedient child in the middle of a grocery store.
 Fine, Chloe burst out, her cheeks flaming.  You re jealous of me and Dad! You hate that he s my
friend now. That I have anyone to talk to other than you!
 I m not jealous. She forced herself to say the words calmly even though part of her was calling
herself a liar.  I m glad you and Raul are getting along. You deserve to get to know each other.
 So why don t you talk to him, then? Why do you always leave when he s around? And then you
won t let me spend time with my family, like you don t like them or something. Like you re better and
you re not. You re acting just like her and I hate it.
No need to ask who  her was.
Lorna.
When the hell did you lose what made you special?
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Burn for Me
It wasn t the same question, but it might as well have been. Losing Raul no, giving up Raul was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]