Haze

"May I have some water please?" she asks so softly. Her voice is so vulnerable that my heart aches for her. "I'm thirsty."

I nod before I pull myself up and walk out of the room, knowing that whatever I have to do, I'm going to protect her.

***

"Mr. Ryan," she begins before she hands me the empty glass. "Garrett is advising me not to settle with my mother, but I think I want to."

I brought her a full glass of water almost thirty minutes ago. Since then she's sipped at it while telling me about her mother's quest to get her greedy fucking hands on Isla's inheritance. What mother steals from her child, not once, but twice? The woman should be held accountable for what she's done, not given a portion of the money intended for Isla's future.

"Tell me why you want to settle." I place the glass on the nightstand. "Where is that coming from?"

She glances at me. "When I was a little girl my mother loved me a lot. She doesn't anymore."

Jesus. Please. How can anyone mistreat her?

I can't offer her anything in response to that. My mother may not be perfect, but she loves me. I know that wholly.

"I moved to New York because one day I want to play with the Philharmonic." Her expression shifts. "My grandmother wanted that for me. I want that for me."

"I believe it will happen, Isla." I don't say the words lightly. She's determined, and beyond that, incredibly talented.

"Since I came here, my mother has been sending me things." She purses her lips together. "Letters, gifts, pictures."

"Why?"

Her brows arch. "At first I misunderstood. I thought she wanted to repair things between us. I thought she'd drop the lawsuit so we could mend our relationship."

I'll ask even though the answer is painfully obvious in her face. "That wasn't her intention, was it?"

She inches forward on the bed and I sense her need. I tug her into my lap, pulling her close to my chest, cradling her in my arms.

I feel the deep sigh that flows through her as she settles next to my chest. "She did it to try and make me feel sorry for her. She told me that any decent daughter would take care of her mother. All those things she sent me were just meant to remind me that once, a very long time ago, she loved me and I could pay to have that back."

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Isla

"Have you considered studying at Juilliard?" He asks as soon as I pull the bow from the strings. I'd played three of my favorite compositions for him while I sat cross legged on the bed, wearing only his dress shirt. He's sitting in the chair nearby, a white robe open around him.

Our discussion earlier ended when I went to get my violin case so I could play for him. I know that he wanted to talk more about my fucked up relationship with my mother, but I couldn't bear it. I felt so exposed, so vulnerable that I had to retreat to the place where I feel safe. That's with my violin. It offers a comfort that nothing else can.

"I was accepted to Juilliard," I confess softly. "I was granted a full scholarship before I graduated from high school."

"So you studied there and then took a job at Liore?"

I'm pretty sure if I studied at the most prestigious music school in the country that I wouldn't be hawking expensive lingerie in his store.

"No." I cradle my instrument in my hands. "The scholarship offer was withdrawn."

"Why?" He moves from the chair to the corner of the bed in one fluid motion. "Why would that happen?"

My chest tightens. "I was suspended from high school more than once. I broke the rules."

A ghost of a grin flies over his lips before he pulls them into a thin line. "What rules did you break?"

"Name one," I say flippantly. "I broke most of them."

"You were truant?"

"Truant?" I repeat back. "You're asking if I skipped classes?"

"Yes."

"Many."

"You had bad grades?" He bends his leg at the knee. "Did you fail some of your classes?"

I stare at this cock long enough for him to tap my thigh to get my attention. "I didn't fail anything in high school. That's not a rule."

"Tell me what you did that got you into so much trouble."

I trace my fingers over the weathered wood of the violin. It was a gift from my grandmother. It had been her instrument for years before she purchased another. It's my most treasured possession.

"I was late for class a lot. I got caught. I made out with a boy on school grounds. I got caught for that too."

"Those aren't serious infractions. You lost your scholarship because of those things?" His eyes are warm, his expression understanding.

My brows rise. "I lost my scholarship when I was caught cheating. That's one of the hard and fast rules you can't break."