Amelia was settling in for the night, thinking over her first day of her new job. She had a lot to learn about the system at Farrelli and how they functioned as a team, but it had gone well. She felt confident that she’d fit in and be able to do well. And she was more than relieved to know that a paycheck was coming her way. A very nicely sized paycheck at that. She’d be out of this awful shelter soon. But not soon enough.

It wasn’t a bad place in itself. It was somewhat clean and safe. But it was crowded and there was no privacy. It was often loud and children ran around screaming and causing chaos. She didn’t sleep well here and she never felt completely comfortable. The food was okay, but she wished she could cook for herself rather than eat the heated packaged food that was for every meal.

She was grateful for the place, though. It wasn’t the easiest place to get in, and for women who didn’t have children, there was a waiting list. She’d had to take a pregnancy to prove to them that she really was with child, just not showing yet. But the baby had been her ticket in. The first good thing that had come of her pregnancy. She put her hand to her stomach as she thought of it. Now, for the first time, she thought they might be okay.

“Amelia?” The shelter director stuck her head in the room. “Someone is here to see you.”

Amelia stood from her bed and pulled her eyebrows together. “Me?”

The director nodded, then left the room.

The other women in the room looked at her. Each of them were also sitting on their beds. Anita combed her daughter’s hair, Mikaela read a magazine, Dina painted her nails.

“Oooo,” Anita said. “You got yourself into some trouble? Cops coming to pick you up.”

She hadn’t been thinking along those lines, but now she worried. Was it the cops coming to get her? But what had she done wrong? Could you get arrested for being too far in debt?

She ignored the chuckles and walked down the stairs to the front desk. She gasped loudly when she saw Sebastian standing there, watching her. Her face went hot and she considered running.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Get your things.” He wasn’t smiling, and he didn’t look happy.

“Huh?”

“Get your things. You’re not staying here tonight.”

“But…” She looked at the director, who shrugged. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re moving into my guest house until you get a place of your own.”

“No, no. I can’t do that.”

“I wasn’t asking.” He crossed his arms and gave her a challenging look.

She didn’t want to take orders from him. That was too much like the last relationship she’d been in. But she couldn’t help feeling guilty. The waiting list for the shelter was long. Her staying meant someone else couldn’t. If she had another place to go—and she was sure it’d be a much nicer place—then it would be selfish for her to stay there.

She looked over at the director. “It would free up a bed if I left.”

The director nodded.

“I’ll go with you,” she said. “But only because I want to give someone else a place to stay who needs it. You’ve already done too much for me. You can’t keep doing this.”

He didn’t say anything, but kept looking at her with his arms crossed, waiting.

“I’ll be right back.” She dashed up the stairs and quickly yanked her clothing from the drawers and stuffed them into her bag.

“Well, well,” Dina said. “Leaving?”

“I have a place to stay.”

“Lucky you. Got you a sugar daddy?”

“No. Just a friend.” Though, as she said it, she hoped that maybe this meant it would be something more. She didn’t want to read into it, but it seemed that Sebastian kept coming to rescue her. There had to be a reason.

She went back downstairs and hugged the director. “Thank you for everything.”

“It was good to have you. I’m happy you found a place, and congratulations again on your new job. Good luck.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, then turned to Sebastian. “That’s everything.”

He eyed up her duffle bag before taking it from her shoulder. “This is all you have?”

“That and my car.”

“I’ll have someone pick it up.”

“Oh. I can just drive it, really. I’ll follow you.”

They walked outside and over to her car. His mechanic had done so many things to it that it ran better than it ever had. She hoped it would last a long time now. She couldn’t imagine what the bill had been for it.

“This is your car?”

“Yes?” Hadn’t he just seen it the other day?

“I guess the rain made it look… like it was in better shape.”

She pressed her lips together, but felt her face grow warm again. Was she always going to feel like a loser around him? “This is all I have. And it runs great now, thanks to your generosity.”

“We’re taking my car.”

“It runs great.”

“Is there anything you need to get from it?”

She opened the door and took out an old school bag and a small, beat-up suitcase. They had off season clothing and a few other personal things she wouldn’t need all the time, like books and some jewelry.

“These three bags are all you have?”

“Yes.” She said it a little more sharply than she meant to, but she was starting to feel defensive. Did he just come here to judge her and make her feel bad?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I just don’t understand how someone who’s 22 has so few possessions.”

“Well. First you find a complete asshole, then you date him for a while until he dumps you, kicks you out, and burns all of your things. I’m lucky I have this stuff. This was what I grabbed the night he kicked me out, and everything else, he burned.”

“I hope you pressed charges and that he’s in jail now.”

She laughed. “Right. Yeah, no.”

“Why not?” His expression changed to one of anger.

“There’s no point. It wouldn’t get my stuff back, and when he got out, he’d be pissed and probably come after me. I was trying to keep things on decent terms so that—”

She was going to say so that when the baby came he might be involved and at least help her out and pay some child support once in a while, but she didn’t want to tell him about the baby. Not yet.

“So that you could go back to him someday?”

“No. Just so that I didn’t have to worry about him later. About him coming after me.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“Not badly.”

Sebastian growled under his breath and stormed off toward his car, his hands full of her things. She followed him and got into the car.

“I’ll never understand that,” he said, still a sharp edge to his voice. “Why would you put up with that and not make him pay for what he did to you?”

“Sometimes it’s just not worth the hassle. I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Well, I don’t. This is why we have laws and a legal system.”

They drove the rest of the way in silence, until he pulled up to a mansion.

“Whoa,” she said. “This place is huge.”

“The guest house is much smaller, but I thought you’d feel better with some privacy. A place that felt like your own.”

He drove around the house, down a smaller driveway and pulled up a house that was still big, but was smaller than the main house. It was still much more than she ever could have imagined. Much more than she deserved.

She got out and wandered through the house in awe. “You’re really letting me stay here?” Everything about it looked new and expensive.

“Until you can get your own place, yes. The housekeeper comes twice a week, and you can come into the main house for meals.”

“Can I cook out here?”

“If you want to.”

“I like to cook.”

“Do whatever you want.” He pointed to the dining room table, where several documents were spread out. “I’ve set you up with an expense account. You’re obviously going to need a lot of things.”

She stared at him, blankly. “An expense account?”

“Yes. And I want you to drive one of my cars. Yours is far too unreliable and unsafe.”

It took her a long time to answer. “Why are you doing all this?”

“I want to help you.”

“This is a lot.”

“Look.” He turned to her and crossed his arms again. “I have more money than I know what to do with most days. I give plenty to charities and other causes. What I’ve spent on you so far is much less than I would give to a charity or spend on a girlfriend. I know it’s a lot to you, and I don’t want to sound like a complete asshole, but this is nothing to me. It’s pocket change. So don’t feel like I’m giving you a lot. It’d be like you giving a man on the street $20.”

Right now, $20 was a lot to her, but in the long run, she knew what he was getting at. It didn’t make her feel any better about it or any less indebted to him. Now she felt much smaller in his sight and more inferior than she’d ever remembered feeling in her life.

She swallowed hard, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “Well, whether it’s nothing to you or not, it is a lot to me, so thank you. I could never dream of something like this happening, but you keep showing up to save me. It’s a nice change from the rest of my life.”

He reached out slowly and wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb. For a moment, the way he looked at her, she thought he might kiss her. Her heart raced. Then, he dropped his hand and stepped back.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks.”