Marry Me for Money (6 page)

He laughed. “Okay, okay,” he said, raising both hands in surrender.

When the waitress dropped our food on the table, my stomach grumbled at the scent of grease and spices, but I was in no mood to eat.

Kent took a bite of his burrito and paused to praise me. “You’re right. This is good stuff. You and I have a knack for picking great places to eat,” he said before taking another bite.

“I told you.” I ate a chunk of the greasy taco in front of me.

Nowhere near hungry, it took everything I had to force the food down and keep my knees from shaking. There was a disconnect between my stomach and my brain. My stomach wanted to enjoy the meal from one of my favorite places in my hometown, but my brain had me thinking of my purpose, which made me queasy.

My mission had me standing right before the check came. “Excuse me for a second. I have to go to the restroom.”

I rose to my feet, left the table, and jolted toward the door. I squinted through the glass window of the restaurant, and my eyes zoned in on the pink neon lights flashing brightly in front of me. My brisk walk turned into a full-on sprint to Pete’s Pawn across the street. When I entered the shop, Pete stood at attention from behind the bulletproof glass.

“Pete, I’m so sorry,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “I had so much going on. I’m in the process of moving.” I reached in my purse and handed him the pawn slip and payment. “Here, this should take care of it until next month.” I released a silent sigh of relief as soon as the money left my hands, knowing my payment was up to date.

“I feel for you. I do. You know how many sob stories come in here, month after month, with excuses on why they can’t pay for their stuff? I’m sorry, Beth, but if I cut slack for one, I’ll have to do it for all.” He took my money through the window and placed it in the register. “Beth, you can pick up what you can afford. If you just want the jewelry, you can pay for that, and I’ll just sell the rest of it. It’s just junk—old movies, electronics, and—”

“No, I want it all,” I said, stopping him mid-sentence. I felt a tightness in my chest at the thought of losing all of Nana’s belongings.

It was all I had left of Nana, and I’d promised myself that I would buy it all back, every last piece. It was everything she’d used, everything she’d touched, everything she’d worn. I would buy it all back even if I had to get another job to do it.

“When your mom pawned all this stuff, I told her she could pick up the pieces one at a time. Just because I gave her a loan on all of the items doesn’t mean it has to be paid off all at once. I lent her money on each individual item.”

“She’s not my mom,” I said, cringing at the term.

I didn’t want to see sympathy in his eyes, but it was there.

“I’m just saying, Beth. If you want the jewelry, you can just pay for that in full and take that home, so you don’t have to pay interest on everything every month. If you don’t need the rest, which is just junk, I can sell it.”

I twisted as I heard the door open.

“Nice place you’ve got here.”

My stomach dropped, and I could feel the blood draining from my face. If I could have shriveled up and died, I would have.

Damn it.

It was Kent.

“Hey, welcome to Pete’s. Whatever you’re looking for, we have it.” Pete exited from behind the bulletproof glass and strolled to the front of the store.

I watched as he eyed Kent. Kent’s aura, from his clothes to his demeanor, reeked of wealth.

“What are you doing here?” I said under my breath, tugging on Kent’s sleeve. I clenched my jaw as he walked further into the shop.

“I’m in the market for a new watch,” he said, peering at Pete’s display cases of pawned watches.

The glint from his gold Rolex flashed in my eyes, and annoyance started to rise within me. “Yeah, right.” I didn’t even wait for a reaction.

I pivoted and stormed out the door. I heard the door fly open and felt his presence right behind me.

“I saw you running across the street and into a pawn shop of all places.” He laughed. “It’s always the so-called good girls,” he said, amusement in his tone. “So, what’s your habit? Do tell. Is it gambling, drugs, or drinking a little too much perhaps? Hey, slow down, will you?”

I heard his footsteps hit the gravel, briskly trailing behind me to meet my pace.

“So, what’s the truth? What habit does Beth need to support that forced her to pawn all her stuff?”

I wheeled around so quickly that he knocked into me and shoved his chest with both hands. “You want to know the truth?” I yelled. “The truth is that the stuff in there belonged to my Nana,” I said, pointing to the pawnshop behind me. “That’s all I have left from my dead grandmother and I pay every month on that stuff because I can’t bear to lose it. I’ve never done drugs, I’m not a drunk, and I’ve been to a casino once. So, no, I wasn’t the one who pawned that stuff. I didn’t pawn any of it. I’m just trying to save it.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know why I’m even telling you this. I don’t owe you anything. My business is my business, and you need to stay out of it. Do you understand?” I glared at him and did not relent.

A look of shock crept up his face, followed by sympathy. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

I held up my hands to stop him from speaking further.

He wore the exact same face that had met me day in and day out in Bowlesville. It was so familiar. It was the face of every person in my small town who had known my mother was a drunk and hung out every night at the local bar. It had been written on Pete’s face earlier. It was that look of pity for the girl who had endured a messed-up childhood. It was the same look that I’d been trying to leave behind when I moved to Chicago. And now, my problems were following me straight into my new city, my new life, and it just pissed me off.

I straightened out my skirt and stomped toward the car.

“Beth, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to hear it.” I crossed my arms in front of me as I stopped in front of his car. “I want to go back to Chicago,” I commanded.

An awkward silence filled the air, but I embraced it. It was either that or answer questions I didn’t want to answer.

Twenty minutes into the ride, he asked if I’d like to turn on the radio.

I shrugged and looked out to the wide-open fields of land to my right. As the quiet grew, I felt him stealing glances in my direction, but I continued to stare out the window. I wasn’t in the mood to converse. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and pretend today didn’t happen.

After thirty more minutes, he spoke. “I don’t like to fail, and I wouldn’t know the first thing about running a company,” he said quietly.

His words had me turning slowly in his direction. It was the first time I looked at him since we’d gotten into the car. He stared straight out at the open road ahead of him. I should have left it at that, but it was the only thing that came out of his mouth that had broken his confident, arrogant facade. I should have kept my mouth shut, but curiosity won out.

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked softly.

He shrugged. “Honestly?” he asked, meeting my eyes. “It’s only fair, one for one. Also, I have selfish reasons. Looks are deceiving, and I want to know the whole story about why a sweet-looking girl was at a pawn shop today.”

“How do you know you’re going to fail when you haven’t even tried?” I asked.

He shook his head as a melancholy smile crept up his face. “That’s not how it works. I asked you first.”

I didn’t want to continue, but he was curious about me, like I was about him. I wanted to know more. With his jaw-dropping good looks and all the money in the world, he strutted around as if he were king of the universe. In reality, he was a total walking contradiction. Inside, he was rattled with insecurity, and it shocked me.

I let out a long sigh and rubbed the back of my neck. “Jamie, my mother, pawned all my grandmother’s stuff, and I want to get them back.”

“Why would your mother pawn your grandmother’s things?”

I laughed at his perplexed look.

“She’s a deadbeat, Kent.”

He still looked confused.

“She left me when I was six, and I stayed with my grandmother ever since. I’d rather not talk about it, but if you must know, my mother is the one with the habit. Drinking, gambling, and putting herself into debt is more of her thing.” I looked out the window, so I wouldn’t see the familiar look in his eyes. “Once Nana passed away, my mother pawned Nana’s stuff for her habits,” I said, my voice lowering. The heartbroken ache in the middle of my chest was back at the thought of Nana.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his words laced with sympathy.

“Stop right there. I don’t want your pity. She’s dead. I loved Nana. I want her stuff back. That’s it.” My heart constricted, and I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I wasn’t going to cry, especially not in front of someone I barely knew. But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t hide the hurt on my face.

After a while, he broke the silence. “Besides running the company, I’m slightly afraid of clowns.” He made a face, trying to break my mood.

I tucked a escaping strand of hair behind my ear and shot him a bemused look. “So, you don’t want a clown for your birthday?”

“My mother once got me a clown to surprise me for my birthday. I’ll never forget that day. As soon as I saw him, I punched him in the face and ran.” He let out a low laugh as a dimple emerged on his cheek.

“I guess the surprise was on him,” I said.

The rest of the ride back to Chicago was relaxing. It was as if a layer of Kent’s facade had peeled off, and the more he talked, the more I became at ease.

“So, I’ve been kind of wondering about something. You’re not gay, are you?” I asked.

His laughter was contagious. Instead of feeling stupid for asking such a question, I laughed along with him.

“No, I like women, and only women.”

I briefly thought of his earlier comment about me not being his type.

As if he’d read my mind, he said, “I only date women who do not want a relationship, so it’s mutual. I don’t like complications, and I don’t like to play games. My type would be the type who doesn’t expect more.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not offended that I’m not your type. Trust me when I say, you’re not my type either. I’d rather have a boyfriend who works for a living, who is not so spoiled, who is good-looking but not so into his looks, and who is a nice guy overall.”

He let out a carefree laugh. “You’d think I would be offended at what you just said, insinuating that I’m not those things. I’m not though because you are being honest. So, who is the lucky guy?”

“No lucky guy. I had a boyfriend in high school, but we broke up.”

“What happened?”

“You know, same old story. Fell in love with my high school boyfriend, lost my V-card at prom, and broke up before we went off to college.” I laughed, thinking of the memory. “Basically, I grew up, and he didn’t. He wanted to stay in Bowlesville, and I had other plans. He thought my life revolved around him, but my life began when One Financial called to offer me the position.”

“You lost your virginity at prom?” he asked.

“I figured you would pick that after all I said. Yeah, in the back of his pickup truck. How romantic.” I sighed, fluttering my eyelashes.