Heart of a Stripper (14 page)

“Then why don’t you marry the whore? You two can have each other.”
Mitchell replied turning to walk away, but Bruce grabbed him.

Slamming him up against the wall, h
e held him tightly by his shirt. Mitchell groaned in pain as he got the wind knocked out of him.

“You think because you throw some words around that anything’s changed? I own you, I created you. Without me you’d be nothing! So you watch the way you speak about your fiancée.
Because you
are
going to marry her.”

“I’m not gonna let you run my life anymore.”
Mitchell grunted, trying to get free but his father over powered him.

“Is that so?” Bruce chuckled.

“Do your worst.” Mitchell bit.

Bruce finally released him and
Mitchell leaned over as he caught his breath.

“You’re going to regret this.” Bruce smiled striding out of the office.

Mitchell watched Nevaeh as Jaxon gave her a hug. Jaxon was carrying her books and obviously saying his goodbyes as everyone left school for the day. Mitchell was sitting in his black Chrysler waiting for her. Glaring at them, jealousy ate at him in the deep pit of his gut. He wanted to be the one helping Nevaeh carry her things, but knew that wasn’t possible. They needed things to be discreet if things between them were going to work. But his father’s visit had put him on edge. Kate had spilled her guts to the prick and Mitchell knew they needed to be careful.

Nevaeh slipped into the car and leaned over to kiss
Mitchell on the cheek. Turning to her, he kissed her passionately and that caught her off guard. He wasn’t one to kiss out in public at school. Good thing his windows were tinted enough for no one to notice. A moment later, he pulled out of the parking lot and zoomed away from the school.

“Seems like you and
Jaxon are getting close.” He grumbled.

Nevaeh glared over to him with a raised eyebrow.

“We’re just friends. You know that.” She retorted.

“Are you sure? Because—”

“Mitchell I’m all yours.” She said, placing her hand on his free one.

Taking a deep breath, those three words put him at ease. He could feel the jealousy boiling inside of him, and he didn’t like it. It wasn’t him to be suspicious, but what Kate had done had left him ruined to say the least. If she could do that to him right under his nose, and he was none the wiser, it left him analyzing everything. He felt like he couldn’t
trust anyone.

“Why do you want to be with me?” he asked, waiting for her to react
the way Kate had.

“
Because Mitchell—every time I’m with you, my heart misses a beat. No matter what you found out about me, you made me feel comfortable, and I can be myself when I’m with you. Besides that, you make me want to be better. You make me want to reach my full potential—whatever that is.” She giggled. “But most of all, being in your arms makes me feel like I will never be lost again.”

Mitchell
’s heart warmed as he listened to her. It was definitely words coming straight from her heart, not some bullshit she pulled out of a hat. She as genuinely in love with him.

“I want to take you somewhere.” He said kissing her hand.

“Ok.” She smiled, sitting back for the ride.

After buying a dozen roses and a bouquet of lilies, t
hey ended up at his family’s private memorial park. The roses were clearly for her, but he left the lilies on the back seat. Hopping out of the car, he led her over to a gazebo. She was spooked to say the least because graveyards weren’t her things, but he’d obviously dragged her there for a reason.

At least she hoped so.

Standing over a plot, he kneeled and placed the lilies in its holder after removing some wilted ones.

“Nevaeh, I wanted you
to—meet my mother.” He said running a hand through his hair nervously.

“Not meet but—”

“I understand.” She said grabbing his hand as he stood, and she felt him trembling.

“I’ve never brought anyone here to—to see her. I—it’s a place I come to, to talk to her.” He said swallowing hard
because he was nervous.

It was obviously a sensitive subject to him, and she could tell.

“You two were close.” Nevaeh muttered.

“Very.” He whispered “She was the only thing that could clear my head when I had no clue when up was down.”

“So, you’ve never brought Kate here?” she asked looking up to him, and he shook his head.

“Never.”
He responded softly. “I just didn’t want anyone tarnishing this place for me.”

“Then why bring me?” she asked still holding his hand tight. 

“I trust you.” He said kissing her.

That in
itself meant a lot to her. Just to know he brought her to his mother’s resting place of all things had showed her where they stood. It was something he never shared with another soul, so for her to share that moment with him meant the world to her. She watched him as he knelt to the tiny headstone, and it broke her heart. Kissing his fingers, he placed it on her headstone and said his goodbyes.

“Come on.” He replied, getting up and pulling her to leave. “I have one more place to take you.”

Not too long after, they pulled up at the ‘Gandy Dancer’ restaurant. The place was beautiful on the outside to say the least. It was layered in old brick and looked fit to be a castle. The sun was setting, and it only added to the places beauty.

“You’re taking me to dinner?” Nevaeh asked stunned.
“In public? I thought we agreed not to—”

“Would you just trust me?” he asked, staring over at her with a smile planted on his face.

Getting out of the car, he walked around to her side and opened her door. Grabbing her hand, he helped her out of the car before closing the door behind her.

“I’m not dressed for a place like this.” She muttered as he held her hand and walked her to the entrance.

“You look gorgeous,” he assured as they went inside the restaurant.

Looking around, she saw the place
was completely empty. The place was huge and completely mesmerizing. There was a built in water fall that changed colors, and lights everywhere. The place was dim and soft music was playing. Her mouth gaped open slightly as a host walked over to them.

“Chef Goutier is expecting you.” The short male smiled nodding at them. He was dressed in a penguin suit and had short brunette hair.

Following them, Nevaeh marveled at the scene in front of her.

“
You did this all for us?” she whispered to Mitchell.

“No.” he replied, looking over at her. “I did all of this for
you
.”

Clutching him tighter, they stopped at a candle lit table. The table cloth was red, and there were rose pedals covering the floor. The table was set perfectly, and there was a gift box in the chair.

“Mitchell!” they heard a husky voice call in laughter as the chef emerged from the kitchen.

Releasing Nevaeh, he gave Goutier a handshake. He had long curly black
hair and a chef’s jacket on that read ‘Gabriel’. If he hadn’t gone into cooking, there was no doubt that he could’ve been a model. His accent was thick, so Nevaeh could tell he was from France or Italy.

“It’s been awhile.” Gabriel smiled brightly.

“Haven’t been able to come out here.” Mitchell replied.

“So, is this the lovely young lady of the evening?” he asked s they both looked over to her.

“It is.” Mitchell gushed. “That’s for you.” He said noting the gift in the chair.

“Me?” she asked
, grabbing the big box as Mitchell nodded.

Opening it, she saw a chef’s outfit. It definitely wasn’t
what she expected.

“What’s this?” she frowned confused with a smirk.

“You’re chef’s outfit. You’re going to cook us dinner.” Mitchell smiled.

“You can’t be serious.” She protested.

“Very. Gabriel here is a five star chef and I’ve known him for years. He’s agreed to teach you everything he knows.” Mitchell said walking to her and grabbing the chef hat. “Nevaeh you love cooking, and I watched you do it all weekend. You have a gift in the kitchen, and I want to see you fulfill it.” He said placing the hat on her head.

Nevaeh blushed as a smile teased the corners of her lips. It was true, she loved cooking. She would often stand in the kitchen and talk as if she were showing the audience how to prepare what she was making. For him to realize that— made her heart warm. Kissing him on the cheek, she pulled him in for a hug.

“Come with me.” Gabriel insisted, and she followed him before disappearing through the double doors.

Mitchell
sat and waited as he stared out of the huge windows. His cell phone rang, and he knew the tone all too well. It was Kate. He hadn’t spoken to her since he slammed the door in her face. She hadn’t showed up to his house again, and he was grateful for that because he had time to get to know Nevaeh with no interruptions. She was everything he had ever prayed for all wrapped up into one person. She was selfless, hardworking, smart, beautiful and funny. But the biggest thing that drew him to her was her compassion.

The ringing of his phone annoyed him, so he answered it.

“What do you want Kaitlin?” he snapped formally.

“Do you really hate me that much?” he heard her voice asked sorrowfully.

“To be honest, yes. You tore my heart out of my chest and minced it into pieces.” He barked.

“
Mitchell, I made a mistake, aren’t I allowed to try and fix it?” she inquired.

“Fix it?! Are you kidding me—
”

“I love you.” She said cutting him off. “We can fix us.”

Gripping the cell phone, he listened to her sniffle on the other end. It was evident that she was crying.

“There
is no
us
.” He said harshly.

“
Mitchell don’t be that way, please. I know you love me.” She replied and he fell silent.

“See?
We just need to talk. Me and you—no interruptions.” She insisted.

“Kate—”

“Just think about it. I love you Mitchell.” She replied as Nevaeh came out of the kitchen with Gabrielle, who was wheeling out a spread of food.

“I got to go.”
Mitchell replied curt.

“Bye baby. Just think about what I said.” She replied before hanging up.

Mitchell slipped the phone into his pocket before ruffling his hand through his hair nervously. Smiling nervously, he stood upright as they made it to the table.

“Looks good.” he replied looking at the food.

“This girl was born to cook. I’d be happy to take her under my wing and enroll her into school when she graduates. I’ll personally giver her lessons myself every week.” Gabriel smiled.

“I told you.”
Mitchell bragged. “Come here.” He said giving Nevaeh a hug.

“Thank you.” She replied holding him back.

“Anything for you.” He said glaring at the food. “So what’s for dinner?” he asked rubbing his hands together greedily.

Chapter Thirteen

Mitchell carried Nevaeh into his penthouse and kicked the door closed. Kissing her, he put her down and walked to the kitchen.

“Dinner was
amazing
.” He replied going to the fridge.

“Glad you liked it.” She blushed sitting her book bag on the couch.

Grabbing the hair tie holding her hair in a ponytail, she pulled it off. Her long hair cascaded down to past her shoulders, and Mitchell smiled at the sight. He loved to see her hair down. It made her look sexy. He had the perfect blend with her. Grabbing the strawberries, and bottle of chocolate, he closed the fridge.