Sass—another foster sister,” she explained when he frowned, and she pointed to a petite woman with long black hair out on the dance floor. “They refused to leave the building until it was agreed that I would also be going home with them.”
“Unlike that ass who compared you to an animal, I am glad the Panuzzis were able to recognize quality when they saw it.” Fury whipped up hard and fast at that long-ago social worker. He looked deep into Scout’s eyes to see how much damage those careless words had caused, but for some reason all he could find was surprise at his statement. “Now I begin to understand.”
“Understand?” She shook her head, her gaze clinging to his as if she didn’t have the power to look anywhere else. Dear God, but he liked having her undivided attention, much more than he probably should. “Understand what?”
“Why you have such devotion to these people, even after all these years. Without even knowing you, they heard the strength of you in your words. They saw the unbreakable spirit in you as you rose to the task of defending yourself. By this they knew your worth. It pleases me to see you understand this deserves devotion. And,” he added, catching her free hand in his, “it pleases me that unlike your earlier caretakers, these foster parents knew better than to crush such a delicate flower.”
He thought she might have whispered his name before she at last looked away. The moment he lost that connection, his stomach twisted in a way he didn’t enjoy at all.
“I’m no delicate flower.” She slipped her hand from his and shook her head as though trying to snap herself out of a stupor. “Let’s grab a seat and eat, okay? I don’t want to miss out on the Chicken Dance, and I sure as hell won’t allow you to miss out on it either.”
With that ominous statement, she led the way toward the head table.
Chapter Five
Scout was in trouble. Big time.
She made her way through the food on her plate on autopilot, tasting nothing and taking in her surroundings even less. The only thing she was aware of was Ivar sitting in the chair next to her. If he would just stop saying things that made her catch her breath and ache to reach out and touch him, everything would be fine. But everything wasn’t fine. At all.
By this they knew your worth.
Her throat tightened with an emotion she couldn’t define, and she took a tiny sip of water to unknot it. It was almost like he knew she’d struggled her whole life to feel like she was worthy of being in the lives of the people around her. Obviously that was a leftover from her craptastic childhood, the infamous Unwanted-Kid Syndrome that haunted most parentless children. But she was an adult now, damn it. She should have grown out of that insecurity a long time ago.
Nevertheless, it touched her way down deep that he understood she needed to hear she was worthy .
“So, Ivar.” Belatedly she heard Mama Coco’s voice, and the sound spawned a wave of comfort that calmed her inner restlessness. She glanced over at the small, birdlike woman with her halo of short red-henna hair, a style that had gone unchanged from the time when Scout had first met her all those years ago. “I haven’t heard Theresa mention your name before, and it’s a name I’d remember. Have you two known each other long?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Scout watched Ivar’s blank eyes suddenly blink with recognition at her given name. “Not at all long, Mrs. Panuzzi—”
“Oh, make it Coco, cutie. We’re not big on formality around here.”
She smirked. Coco calling a former supermodel “cutie” was absolutely fabulous. Then she almost rolled her eyes when he tilted his head in a gracious gesture that was very much like an Old World sort of bow. No matter how uncertain she was of him from a personal standpoint, at least he had some kick-ass manners.
“I first became aware of Scout a couple months ago when I contacted House Of Payne regarding a
“Unlike that ass who compared you to an animal, I am glad the Panuzzis were able to recognize quality when they saw it.” Fury whipped up hard and fast at that long-ago social worker. He looked deep into Scout’s eyes to see how much damage those careless words had caused, but for some reason all he could find was surprise at his statement. “Now I begin to understand.”
“Understand?” She shook her head, her gaze clinging to his as if she didn’t have the power to look anywhere else. Dear God, but he liked having her undivided attention, much more than he probably should. “Understand what?”
“Why you have such devotion to these people, even after all these years. Without even knowing you, they heard the strength of you in your words. They saw the unbreakable spirit in you as you rose to the task of defending yourself. By this they knew your worth. It pleases me to see you understand this deserves devotion. And,” he added, catching her free hand in his, “it pleases me that unlike your earlier caretakers, these foster parents knew better than to crush such a delicate flower.”
He thought she might have whispered his name before she at last looked away. The moment he lost that connection, his stomach twisted in a way he didn’t enjoy at all.
“I’m no delicate flower.” She slipped her hand from his and shook her head as though trying to snap herself out of a stupor. “Let’s grab a seat and eat, okay? I don’t want to miss out on the Chicken Dance, and I sure as hell won’t allow you to miss out on it either.”
With that ominous statement, she led the way toward the head table.
Chapter Five
Scout was in trouble. Big time.
She made her way through the food on her plate on autopilot, tasting nothing and taking in her surroundings even less. The only thing she was aware of was Ivar sitting in the chair next to her. If he would just stop saying things that made her catch her breath and ache to reach out and touch him, everything would be fine. But everything wasn’t fine. At all.
By this they knew your worth.
Her throat tightened with an emotion she couldn’t define, and she took a tiny sip of water to unknot it. It was almost like he knew she’d struggled her whole life to feel like she was worthy of being in the lives of the people around her. Obviously that was a leftover from her craptastic childhood, the infamous Unwanted-Kid Syndrome that haunted most parentless children. But she was an adult now, damn it. She should have grown out of that insecurity a long time ago.
Nevertheless, it touched her way down deep that he understood she needed to hear she was worthy .
“So, Ivar.” Belatedly she heard Mama Coco’s voice, and the sound spawned a wave of comfort that calmed her inner restlessness. She glanced over at the small, birdlike woman with her halo of short red-henna hair, a style that had gone unchanged from the time when Scout had first met her all those years ago. “I haven’t heard Theresa mention your name before, and it’s a name I’d remember. Have you two known each other long?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Scout watched Ivar’s blank eyes suddenly blink with recognition at her given name. “Not at all long, Mrs. Panuzzi—”
“Oh, make it Coco, cutie. We’re not big on formality around here.”
She smirked. Coco calling a former supermodel “cutie” was absolutely fabulous. Then she almost rolled her eyes when he tilted his head in a gracious gesture that was very much like an Old World sort of bow. No matter how uncertain she was of him from a personal standpoint, at least he had some kick-ass manners.
“I first became aware of Scout a couple months ago when I contacted House Of Payne regarding a
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