After giving Nana a hug and thanking her for the meal, Christy asked Nadine to please follow her into the living room. Anthony, who’d said little during the entire visit, stood behind Christy listening to the women discuss what came next.
“Nadine, I know that you’re hurting. I know that you’re raw right now. But can I please ask you a favor?” Christy begged.
“Of course,” Nadine answered, nodding stoically.
“Can you promise me that you won’t take him back? I know that’s a lot to ask. Everybody deserves a second chance, right? Before you answer me, let me tell you what’s going to happen. He’s going to run out of money and Marcia will dump him and he’ll show up at your front door. He’ll be changed. He’ll promise you the moon and he’ll probably do his best to prove to you that you made the right decision to take him back.” She paused then and tucked her short hair behind her ear. Looking away for a second, her eyes returned to Nadine. “But he’ll do it again. I know he’ll do it again. I didn’t warn you before. I’m warning you now. You don’t need him. I know you have a good job, but I also know you don't make enough to stay in a neighborhood like this one.” She swallowed then and said, “And that’s where I need to beg for a second favor.”
Nadine’s eyes were filled with tears, and her chin started to tremble. She nodded.
“Do you like it here? Do you like Naples? Can you see yourself staying here or do you think you’ll go back to the east coast or possibly somewhere else?”
“I love Naples, Christy. I love this home that you are so graciously letting me live in. I’ll stay here as long as you’ll have us. And you're right. I could never afford this house on my salary, but I can give you something toward rent.”
Ignoring Nadine's last admission, Christy let out a big sigh. “Oh, I’m so glad, Nadine!” she cried, pulling the woman in for a hug. After a moment, she pulled back and said, “I can’t imagine not having you and Nana and the boys in my life. I’m so relieved. So, you want to stay, then? You’re certain?” she asked.
“Yes, Christy. I’m certain,” Nadine said, with a small smile.
“Good. Because while Cody was playing, I called my attorney. He’s drawing up the papers to have the house put in your name. He’ll also take care of getting the title for the car transferred into your name as well. I didn’t have a lot of time to go into details with him so he’s calling you later today or tomorrow.”
Nadine was so overwhelmed she couldn’t say anything. Tears made their way down her smooth cheeks.
“Also, a locksmith will be here shortly to change all the locks, and an alarm company will be here later today to arm the house.”
"You...You're giving me this house?" Nadine asked with a look of total bewilderment.
Christy smiled and nodded. She then turned to Anthony who stood there expressionless. “Are you ready to go?” she asked him. He gave a quick nod. She hugged Nadine one more time and was almost out the front door when she turned back to address the woman.
“Oh, there is one more thing. I also called the police.”
She didn’t look up but she could feel Anthony’s stance change. “I talked to someone who said that based on Richard’s past and the trouble he’s been in before, he poses a potential threat. If you go down to the station tomorrow you can file a restraining order. It will keep him off the property. I don’t know if he’d ever do anything to physically hurt you, but he’s desperate and angry and I don’t think you should take that chance. Ask for Detective Kimberly Cochran. She’ll be expecting your call.”
They weren’t even out of the subdivision when Christy addressed Anthony. “I called the police. I could’ve told them about you, but I didn’t.”
“That was smart,” he replied in an even voice.
“Right. I know that, but don’t you see my point? You can trust me,” she told him.
Anthony couldn’t immediately respond. This woman was an enigma and he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he was a little intrigued by her. Every time he thought he’d figured her out, she tossed a wrench in the spokes of his train of thought and tripped him up. He was self-righteously smug when Christy turned down Nadine’s request to stay at her house. He was stunned when Christy chose Nadine and her small family over her own brother. He was impressed when she trashed the Camaro. He wasn’t expecting the older boyfriend revelation that Richard offered before driving away, but it didn’t surprise him. Anthony’s first thought had been that she did it to defy her parents. Running away to be with an older man would certainly have caused a stir in their upper-class sphere of establishment. He was surprised during lunch when Nadine confessed after Christy left the room that she was glad to see Christy had a friend. Especially a male. Nadine didn’t say it, but she didn’t have to. Anthony knew that Nadine thought Christy might be a lesbian. He could only guess that Richard had never shared Christy's older boyfriend revelation with Nadine. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was a little awed by how she deceptively manipulated the play session with Cody so she could fire off some phone calls right under his nose. Suddenly remembering how he’d been played by Van, Denny, and possibly his bookkeeper, his aggravation over the whole situation was suddenly reignited.
“I don’t trust anyone,” he snapped. That wasn’t entirely true. There were a few he trusted implicitly. Alexander, Nisha, Grizz. A spoiled blonde heiress would never fit in that small group. She could never belong.
“What do I have to do to prove myself?” she pleaded.
“You don’t have to do anything except for what I’ve already told you. You stay with me until I find Van.”
“You haven’t left my side. How are you even looking for him?” she asked incredulously, her frustration obvious.
“I have my people looking for him,” he answered, his tone one that she knew not to challenge.
Christy let out a resigned sigh and thought that quite possibly she was going about this all wrong. She tried to fight him in Vivian’s bedroom. She tried to pay Van’s debt and introduce a business proposition before they left the house. She tried to show him that she could be trusted by coming clean about her call to the police. Nothing worked. He was immovable, a brick wall. Maybe staying with him could benefit her in the end. After all, they both hated Van and maybe he was bad enough to do things to Van that she couldn’t or wouldn’t know how to. Then again, maybe he was bad enough to do things to her if he didn’t get what he wanted from Van. This man was a puzzle. He seemed motivated by money yet refused her offer to write a check. There was something else driving him. Maybe his dark eyes weren't void of emotion like she'd originally thought. Maybe there was a simmering wrath he managed to keep hidden. He must be mad about something and her gut told her it went deeper than Van's outstanding debt. She could only hope that if she was right and still went along with this charade that he would never aim that rage at her. A shudder she’d been repressing rolled over her.