by Anya Summers
She sighed in defeat. “There’s no use arguing with you about this, is there?”
“Nope. Might as well just relax and enjoy.”
A few minutes later, they arrived at Houmas Assisted Living Facility. It sat on a few acres of fields that were lushly green. Toward the back of the residence was a tall, ivory, twelve foot wall. Sabrina knew from looking at brochures that there was a whole garden out back, where they did activities with the interested residents. The wall was for the residents’ protection. The place was also monitored by surveillance twenty-four-seven. The manicured lawns were meticulously maintained. The building resembled an ivory Greek revival home.
There was circular drive with a clearly marked visitor’s parking section, and Dante pulled into one of the empty spaces. Sabrina took a deep breath, calming the anxiety creeping in telling her that she was making a mistake, that she was abandoning her brother.
“It’s a beautiful place,” Dante said with a comforting smile, like he knew what this was costing her. He escorted her up the steps, and in through the first set of double doors. There was a nurse behind a window who made Sabrina think of a movie theater booth ticket seller. She was about Sabrina’s age, with bright, curly ginger hair, and a bored expression on her freckled face.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked.
“Yes, I have an appointment with Mister Fischer. My name is Sabrina Thomas, and this is my… uh…” How was she supposed to introduce Dante? She looked at him, bewildered over how to respond.
“Bodyguard, love,” he said, squeezing her hand.
“Yes, my bodyguard, Dante,” Sabrina said, flustered.
The nurse sized him up, and then her. Pasting a smile on her face, Sabrina acted like she appeared for appointments with a bodyguard all the time. The door next to the nurse’s window clicked.
“Go on in, and head to the first office, that will be on your right,” the nurse said with a jerk of her head.
“Thank you,” Sabrina replied.
Inside, the air smelled of disinfectant. They had attempted to make the place that specialized in mentally handicapped individuals homey, with comfortable chairs and couches. There were plants stationed around the room, and lots of natural sunlight filtering in from large windows in the back. A man shuffled by in a bathrobe, with a nurse walking beside him. With Dante at her back, Sabrina entered the office. There was more than one section inside, with an exterior workspace with an assistant stationed behind a mammoth desk.
The woman had to be about ten years Sabrina’s senior, and glanced over with an expectant face at the interruption. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m Sabrina Thomas. I have an appointment with Mister Fischer about getting my brother admitted into the center,” she said, trying like mad not to feel bad that she was going to relinquish Alex’s care to strangers.
“Ah, yes, I have you down here. I’ll let him know that you’ve arrived. Why don’t you have a seat, and he will be with you in a moment,” the woman said, picking up her phone.
They sat in the small waiting area. There was a couch and two chairs in a light gray, meant to make the place appear comfortable and friendly. Dante steered Sabrina over to the couch to sit, staying at her side—and, if she were being fanciful, she would say giving her strength to get through this business.
“You all right?” he murmured quietly by her ear.
She nodded and whispered, with her heart in her throat, “Yeah. I just wish there was another way for me to do this, to care for Alex. I can’t seem to move past that I feel like I’m failing him somehow.”
Dante rubbed her back. “I know this is hard. Tell you what, when we’re done here, I will take you for a Snoball to cheer you up.”
“Yeah? I haven’t had one of those in forever.”
“Well, we have to change that now, don’t we?” he said, and hugged her close.
“Miss Thomas?” a nasal, male voice said.
Sabrina looked up, rising from her seat. The man looked like he was in his fifties, with salt and pepper hair, a trim build, and smartly attired in a steel gray suit. “Yes, I’m Sabrina Thomas and this is my bodyguard, Dante Rousseau.” She gestured to Dante.
“I’m Chris Fischer, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Chris didn’t bat an eye at Dante’s presence, but there was a gleam of this broad has money in his mud brown gaze.
Sabrina shook his hand.
“Why don’t we start with a tour of the facility? I’ve spoken with your brother’s doctor already, and think that Alex will fit in well here.”
“That’s what Doctor Humbolt indicated to me as well,” Sabrina replied as he escorted them out of the office.
“We try to make this place as comfortable for our residents as we can, while at the same time easing the burden these types of diseases can place on families,” Fischer explained, and pointed to an open space filled with couches, plants, skylights, and a piano. “This is one of the common rooms that our residents enjoy relaxing in.”
They walked down immaculate halls. “Over here is the art room.” He gestured to the classroom they passed, which had a few residents at tables, and one standing in front of an easel holding a paintbrush.
They toured the cafeteria, and the room where her brother would be living. It was like his own tiny apartment. It had a bedroom with an adjoining room that held a small couch and television area, and a private bathroom. Fischer then took them outside to see the gardens that had a walking path. They were beautiful, with plenty of flowers and trees. Residents sat in the shade—one was rolling in the grass with joy on his face—and they each had a nurse with them.
It was exactly what Alex needed.
“We have physical activities for the residents each day, outside as long as the weather permits it. If not outside, they are moved into the gym. We try to make physical activity, even just walking around the garden paths or through the halls, a priority. We think it helps them manage their illness.”
On their way back toward his office, Mister Fischer asked, “Do you have any questions over what you have seen, or about the care your brother would receive?”
“No. I was just wondering how soon we could move my brother in,” Sabrina said, hoping it could be done quickly. Not just because she was leaving Saturday morning on her first plane ride, but because she wanted her brother settled, wanted him cared for in ways she never could manage herself. She hoped that here, having people around him who didn’t need to catch a few hours of sleep to make it through another twenty-hour day, he wouldn’t have to be sedated all the time. Maybe it was wishful thinking on her part, but she hoped that he would be better off.
“Once you sign the papers admitting him into our care. Then there’s a contract. We would need to receive the first month’s payment, plus there’s also a sizable deposit on the room, given the fact that many of the items in our residents’ rooms are damaged during episodes and the like, it’s an insurance coverage. Come on back into my office and we can go over all the particulars, then get the move-in date scheduled.”
Dante had been plodding along at her side and had taken a back seat while they had talked. But when they moved into the man’s office, he said, “Forgive me, but since the first month her brother will be living here, if he were to start tomorrow, has only twelve days left in it, shouldn’t the amount for the first month be prorated?”
Mister Fischer’s brows rose at Dante’s question. “We don’t normally give discounts.”
“Oh come now, I’m a businessman, and have quite a few properties I own that I rent out. There’s always a way to close a deal that’s satisfactory, where both parties win.” Dante settled in and took over the negotiations. It was fascinating to watch him, and in truth, Sabrina was immensely relieved that he did. It was a huge financial decision, with plenty of fine print.
By the time Dante had finished haggling with Mister Fischer, her brother ended up with the premiere amenities at a discounted rate, the first month was prorated—as long as she paid the
prorated amount, along with the second month’s rent, which wasn’t an issue—and there was a caveat that any of the deposit used toward replacements in Alex’s suite would be approved by Sabrina first, and any of the deposit not used would be refunded, should she decide to switch him to another facility. Dante had them change the items in the contract before allowing her to affix her signature and write them a check.
“I think that’s everything. I will get housekeeping into your brother’s rooms today, and have everything cleaned before he moves in tomorrow morning. I must say, it has been a pleasure doing business with you today, Mister Rousseau and Miss Thomas,” Mister Fischer said with genuine enthusiasm as he escorted them out the front door.
When they were back in Dante’s Escalade, Sabrina turned to him and said, “Thank you for your help in there. Without it, I would have likely just signed on the dotted line and not challenged anything.”
“Think nothing of it. I wasn’t going to let him hose you. And places like these expect people not to worry about the fine print and all the extra details.” Dante shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Well, thank you just the same.” She leaned over the center console and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. His shadow beard grazed her lips and made her shiver as she sat back.
Dante threaded their hands together and lifted them up to his lips before brushing them over the back of her hand. “Anytime, love. Why don’t we go get that Snoball? And then we will get some more shopping done.”
“I find it hard to believe I will need more clothes than we already bought yesterday.”
Dante kept her hand in his as he drove them away from the living facility. “What we picked up yesterday is a drop in the bucket compared to what you will need. He’s got this weekend in LA. You fly back Monday. On Wednesday evening, there’s a charity auction for one of his company’s charities to attend. Then, the following weekend, there’s an event with the Mayor. And we have to plan that, once news of the engagement—fake though it might be—hits the news cycle, you can expect to potentially have reporters and cameramen follow you.”
“Really?” She didn’t know how she felt about being put on display that way.
“Not to worry. That’s why, as far as anyone is concerned, I’m your bodyguard. They don’t need to know that once you are ensconced in the penthouse, I plan to take you to bed and make wild, passionate love to you for hours.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip, feeling the blush infuse her cheeks and heat saturate her belly. At Dante’s low, husky chuckle, she murmured, “I’d like that.”
The Snoball Hut sat on the corner and there were a bunch of red picnic tables beside the parking lot. There wasn’t a drive through, but since it was the middle of the day, they had the place almost to themselves and selected one of the tables. Dante bought her a cherry bomb flavored Snoball and a grape flavored one for himself.
“I was just thinking that I don’t know much about you when you seem to know everything about me,” Sabrina said, enjoying her Snoball, and the fact that she was here with Dante on this fine May afternoon with the heat just below sweltering. The crickets were out in full force and humming away.
“What do you want to know?” he asked, taking a bite of his grape. She watched his mouth work. The way his lips had a thin line where they met that was becoming tinted purple. And then how his tongue lapped up the Snoball off the spoon, and the way his Adam’s apple moved in his muscular neck.
Everything. He fascinated her. With his overprotectiveness, his deeply sensual nature, the way he could kiss her and make her forget everything, the way he assumed command of a situation. And she sat there, lusting after him in a way she had never done with a man before. “Well, do you have any family? Do they know about your lifestyle?”
Dante regarded her with his spoon in his mouth. Removing it, he said, “I have an older brother, Gio, and two younger sisters, Isabella, and Rosalie. I come from a big Italian family in New York, with so many cousins who are constantly reproducing at astronomical rates that not even I can keep them all straight, or remember just how many there are.”
“And your parents?” she asked, thinking how wonderful it must be to have that large a family. It had been just her and Alex for so long.
“My mom is formidable. Raised the four of us on her own, moved us here from New York, and started a restaurant. You might know it, Mama Marie’s Italian Kitchen in the Quarter.”
“That’s your mom? I’ve picked up to go orders of their lasagna. It’s amazing.”
A small smile played around his lips. “I’ll take you one day next week for lunch if we get a chance; you’ll get the royal treatment.”
“And are your siblings married?” she asked, scooping up more sweet cherry and reveling in the flavor, in the way this felt like a date, as dorky as it sounded. But in a way, he was romancing her with the shopping and the spa day, and telling her that he planned to make love to her for hours. It made her as giddy as a schoolgirl.
“Both of my sisters are, but not my brother. All three of my siblings and my sisters’ spouses help run the restaurant. Isabella has two children. And I must say that my niece and nephew are darling kids. Rosalie is pregnant with her first,” Dante explained.
“And what about your brother?” she asked, her fascination only seeming to grow deeper the more she learned about him.
“Gio likes to play the field a bit. He was engaged once. But we all hated Rena, and were glad that he ended things. Now, if you’re done, we should get that shopping taken care of. I know Michael needs some time with you this evening before I get you back home.”
“I’m finished. Let’s go shop.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon in stores with Sabrina trying things on. Today wasn’t just about more clothing, but accessories, jewelry, more shoes, belts… until Sabrina lost track of everything they were buying.
She sighed when she finally climbed into his vehicle, with the back packed to the brim with bags and packages.
“While you were in the dressing room, I called a moving company for you, and have it set for them to move you out on Friday.”
“But I don’t even have a place to live, or to store everything in there yet,” she argued. It was all moving at the speed of light. Her entire world had done a one-eighty, and she still hadn’t found her balance yet.
“Once your brother is moved into Houmas tomorrow and we have you installed at the penthouse, I don’t want you needing to go back there. We have extra storage space at our building, where we will store your things. When the time is up, and you can take as long as you need, we can help you get moved into a new place. That way, tonight is your last night there.”
“I hadn’t thought about it. This is all just happening so fast. But you’re right, I wasn’t planning on staying there. Rent’s been paid. But I figure I can pay out the lease,” she replied.
“Whatever it costs, I won’t let you go back there. As of tomorrow night, you will no longer live there.” Dante laid down the gauntlet.
She felt an internal knee-jerk response bubbling inside, telling her to blast him for his heavy-handedness.
But she didn’t have the energy, not when it was what she had intended to do herself anyway. Just the other night, she had wished that she could lean on him a bit. Well, she’d gotten her wish. It felt different because she wasn’t used to it.
“And what if I had said that I wanted to live there? It’s a little overbearing on your part to assume or make decisions, don’t you think?” she asked, curious, as he drove them into the private garage for the building.
He snorted. “You’d best get used to it. It’s what Doms do. And if I had known that was where you were living before this, how dire your situation was, I would have stepped in before and moved you out.”
“It wasn’t anyone else’s responsibility but mine.”
“As noble as that line of thought is,” he said parking the car, “it’s a useless exercise, because I have a feeling you would have
slapped away any help.”
She winced. He wasn’t wrong. “I’m independent because I’ve had to be.”
“And you still aren’t getting it: that you don’t need to be any longer. That’s what I’m trying to get through that thick, stubborn skull of yours.”
She shrugged. “Not for the next thirty days, you mean.”
Because she couldn’t forget that as much as she was reveling in the attention and shopping sprees and flirtation, it would all come to an end. This was make-believe. A beautiful, once in a lifetime opportunity to experience a fantasy in full surround sound, the hills are alive type of dream.
His gaze shuttered and went flat. “Perhaps. Let’s get you upstairs.”
Perhaps? Just what in the world did that mean? But she kept her thoughts to herself as they carted bags and boxes to the elevator.
“I’ll come back down and get the rest after we get this load upstairs. If Michael’s not back yet, I can help you get your things arranged. We’ve set aside an entire closet for you. I already have the purchases from yesterday in there.”
Sabrina knew this elevator ride well after cleaning for him and Michael for the last two years. But stepping off the elevator, knowing that this was going to be the place where she would be living for the next slice of time, was surreal.
This was her life now.
Chapter 9
Michael was home for the day already. He was resting on one of the leather couches, with his bare feet up on an ottoman. When had Sabrina ever seen him barefoot and not dressed to the nines? He was dressed casually for a change, in blue jeans and a gray tee shirt that made him look almost plebian. He lifted a brow at the surfeit of bags loaded in their hands. “Another successful shopping trip, I see. Sabrina, you look lovely.”
“Thanks, ah… you too,” she said, a little weirded out by the compliment. The dynamic of her relationship with these two alphas had shifted and done a complete turnabout. She could feel the blush spreading, and cursed herself. She had to get better about that if she was going to convince anyone that she and Michael were madly in love. It was just that Dante had always been the more accessible one, more open and friendly, down to earth. Whereas Michael, with his golden good looks, had always appeared more aloof and reserved in their dealings. Theirs had been a true employer and employee relationship with a line of demarcation separating them, but in the last two days, that line had been erased.
