Page 17 of Ravaged By the Dark (The Righteous 2)
Francine stopped and patted her cheek.
“Yes, you do. More than one should have to bear at your age, but don’t forget to live. You used to have friends. What happened to them?”
Renee lifted a shoulder and shifted her weight, not wanting to talk about her lack of life in general. “They ended up not being good friends. Or maybe I’m not great friend material.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. You’re a wonderful person. You just need to get out there.” Francine shrugged herself into her coat. “One day, you’ll wake up and look in the mirror and wonder where your youth went and realize you missed out on way too much. And I tell ya that if that boy out there can make you all fluttery like this, then I think you should see what else he can do.”
“I’m not fluttery,” Renee lied, heat spreading across her cheeks.
“Oh, sweetie, if you were any more flustered, I’d ask if he already impregnated you with that smile of his.”
“Stop it,” Renee said but couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up. She loved Francine like an aunt, and Renee didn’t know how she’d get by without her help. “Here, take this. It was a good tip night.” She dug in her pocket and pulled out an extra twenty.
“You keep it, sweetie. I better go. These old bones don’t like these late nights so much anymore. Sorry I couldn’t get him to go down.”
“Don’t worry about it. I know how he can be when he’s amped up.” Renee held open the door for Francine and made sure she got down the stairs. “Thanks again. See you Thursday?”
“I’ll be here, my dear.”
Disappointment flooded her body as she searched for Arek on the sidewalk and didn’t see him. This was so stupid. She told him to leave her alone, yet she was disappointed he wasn’t sitting on her doorstep. She needed to lay off the romance books. Renee watched her neighbor until she was safely in her own home just down the street and then locked her door. She leaned against the cool metal and closed her eyes for a moment as she re-calibrated her emotions.
Why did everything have to be so hard?
