Sparrow

I sometimes wondered if she knew life wasn’t some big, ongoing sexual joke.

“Daisy!” Lucy swatted her shoulder. “Birdie isn’t going to sleep with him just because her poor excuse of a father sold her to him.”

I felt my skin heat again as I buried my lower face inside my jacket. I enjoyed the night of our date more than I was willing to admit.

Lucy turned to me, her face twisting with dismay. “Jesus Christ. Don’t tell me—”

“Of course I didn’t sleep with him,” I said, cutting her off.

“Not that it would be the worst thing in the world,” Daisy interjected. “A few of my friends rolled between his sheets. Rumor is The Fixer can fix you up with multiple orgasms and is into some pretty kinky shit.” She stopped, picking up a bottle of perfume and examining it with interest, popping her pink gum loudly.

She was completely oblivious to the fact Lucy and I wanted to get rid of Connor. Lucy took the bottle from her and grabbed her arm, tugging her along.

“Geez, what’s the rush?” Daisy flipped back her glossy hair.

“So, did he make you sign a prenup, or what?” Lucy asked, always the practical one.

I moved my jaw back and forth. I hadn’t considered it before. “No,” I said, as surprised as Lucy was to hear my answer.

“Really?” Daisy looked intrigued.

Lucy glanced behind us and dropped her voice down when she saw Connor was just a few feet away. “I’m pretty sure the guy’s loaded. Heard he’s living in Back Bay.”

“He is,” I confirmed, “and he drives a Maserati.”

Daisy nodded. “I’ll bet his dad left him a couple of trust funds and a ton of real estate before he was murdered and dumped in the woods. I dunno, Birdie. If he didn’t make you sign a prenup, looks like he’s planning to keep ya.”

I opened my mouth, just about to answer, when I felt a strong hand grip my elbow and pull me out of the throng.

Lucy’s spine straightened, and she spun in my direction, knocking into a woman pushing a stroller. A diaper bag spilled at her feet.

I turned to face the person the hand belonged to. Connor.

He’d never touched me before. His face was expressionless, and a cell phone was suddenly glued to his ear. He was nodding and kept repeating my name. Shit. I’d talked about Troy and now I was going to pay for it. I knew my mouth was going to get me into trouble the minute he told me he’d marry me.

Stupid you, Sparrow. Why couldn’t you just accept your fate?

“What’s your problem?” I asked him, realizing it was one of the rare times we’d spoken.

I was scared and angry, and the last thing I wanted was to involve Daisy and Lucy after my claims about Troy not being so bad. Connor worked for Troy, and he’d grabbed me like I was a teen caught sneaking out of her room at night.

“Should I call nine one one?” Lucy asked. Daisy’s mouth rounded in an O.

“No, it’s fine. I just need to go. I’ll text you later.”

I let Connor lead me away, giving them a wave and forcing a smile, but as soon as I was sure we were out of sight, I jerked hard on my arm.

Connor grunted and held tight, hustling me, with a little force and a lot of determination, through the shoppers and sightseers. People were looking, and I felt self-conscious to the point of horror. I couldn’t let him drag me around like a rag doll without him even explaining where we were going.

“Let go of me,” I hissed, trying to wriggle free.

Connor stared ahead and continued walking. As if I was a piece of furniture he had to move from one point to the other. “Yes, boss,” he barked into his cell, pacing faster, “she’ll be there before takeoff.”

“Get your hands off of me. I mean it,” I demanded.

Wait, takeoff?

What the hell did Troy have in store for me now? I was really in no mood to find out. I was done playing nice with Troy’s crew.

I jerked my arm hard enough to catch Connor off guard and ran in the opposite direction of both him and my friends. Since running was my passion and Connor was about as wide as he was tall, outrunning him in the crowd was easier than I hoped. I was half way to the street I wanted before I twisted my head to see if he was behind me.

I saw his pink, furious face as he tried to catch up. I picked up my pace, worried about what Lucy and Daisy might be thinking after that little scene. They probably thought I was going to get killed or something. And maybe they weren’t so wrong.

I cut into a side street, where the pavement narrowed and bumped into a wide shoulder full force. The impact propelled me backward, but a warm hand steadied me, righting me before I hit the ground.

Brock.

I shook my arm free of him. “He sent you, too?” I seethed, feeling my body temperature rising. Goddammit, Troy Brennan.

“What?” Brock looked puzzled. “Sparrow, I’m here to do some shopping with my son. Kindergarten is only half-day and I decided to take the afternoon off. No one sent me. Is something wrong?”

I glanced over my shoulder. Connor was getting close, waving his fist in the air like he was about to break me to pieces. And Sam was right there as well, clutching his father’s palm and looking at me like I’d gone completely mad.

“Oh, hi.” I looked down at him and forced a reassuring smile.