His to Protect: A Fireside Novel (15 page)

“This place is really nice,” I said, spinning in a slow circle. The apartment wasn’t anything special. Plain beige walls, a kitchen with a walk-in pantry, and a short bar area leading to a small dining area where Blue had a circular glass table with only two chairs. That led to the living room, where I was standing. Through the windows I saw the complex’s large outdoor pool and the nearby hot tub, both of which were already closed down for the fall and winter.

The thing I liked about the apartment was the way Blue had decorated. Shabby-chic pieces mixed with vintage pieces that she’d found at thrift stores or refinished herself spread a calming sensation, a “homey” feeling, into every corner, onto every piece of furniture inside this cookie-cutter apartment.

I loved it.

I wanted it.

I wanted to have something just like this someday, with my own furniture, where I could enter the house, drop my purse on the floor, kick off my shoes just inside the doorway, and curl up on an overly plush couch with an even softer chenille blanket.

I wanted to end a hard day of work with the satisfaction that came from knowing that not only did I work hard, but that I enjoyed myself, in a place that was comfortable and safe.

“Yeah,” she said, a bit softly. “I had fun getting this place just the way I wanted it.” She shrugged and took a seat on the couch. “But, you know, Tyson’s place is nice, too.”

It was, and it was close to Declan’s. I saw Tyson’s small ranch last week, when we dropped off Boomer before heading to Chicago. Tyson’s house and Declan’s were only a few streets away from each other.

“Don’t you want to take the furniture with you?”

She looked around the small but gorgeous living area and sighed. “Eventually, maybe. Tyson says I can bring anything I want as long as it doesn’t have pink in it.”

She smiled and ran her hands over a homemade quilt next to her.

My nose crinkled. “That’s salmon, not pink.”

She chuckled, and when she looked at me, her blue eyes were lit with humor. “That’s exactly what I told Tyson. He’s not buying it.”

“Men.” I smirked.

“Speaking of men,” she said, leaning forward. “Tell me more about you and Declan.”

I felt my cheeks and neck heat and looked out the window. It’d been so long since I’d had friends who allowed me to dish about guys. Not since college. Heck, it’d been since college that there’d been a guy I wanted to discuss.

Before I could answer, Blue said, “I’m surprised you’re interested in my apartment.”

At my confused expression, she stood up and headed toward the kitchen. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re here. And if you want this place, trust me, it’s all yours. I just thought things were going well for you at Declan’s place.”

“They are.”

And they were.

Yet there was something about being at his house, and being in his bed, where he’d wanted me every night since we returned from Chicago a few days ago, that had me terrified.

I just left one horrible, nasty marriage, only to fall in bed with the first guy that came along.

He was a great guy. The kind of guy I wanted, but some mornings I woke up and wondered if I needed to take a step back.

Be by myself for a while.

I explained this to Gabriella, hesitantly at first, since she was dating one of Declan’s best friends, but the words began to flow quickly with the encouragement of her understanding and compassionate gaze.

When I was done, she simply slid me a glass of the Pinot Noir that she’d uncorked and allowed to breathe while I spoke, and then poured her own.

“I get it. I do,” she said after taking a sip. “Yet I also know that the first time Tyson and I ran into each other this spring, I knew he was the one for me. We were separated for months, partly due to my own stubbornness, and while we’re fine now, I still sometimes wonder where we’d be if I hadn’t just believed in what I felt for him.”

“I guess the problem is the last time I felt anything good for a man, it didn’t end so well.” I took a sip of my wine and glanced away from her. There was a difference between compassion and pity, and I didn’t want to risk seeing the pity that might be in her gaze. “Besides,” I continued, “You and Tyson had a history. He was your high school boyfriend, too.”

“True. You and Declan are different, but that doesn’t mean you two aren’t also the same, in other ways.”

“We’re not in love. It’s too soon.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Is it?”

Yes. Absolutely. I’d known Declan for, like, a minute. Less than a month, in real time.

Still, I couldn’t imagine there was anything else I could I learn about him that I didn’t already know. Not when it came to the type of guy he was, how he handled problems, how he cared for women and the people in his life.

A warmth suffused me, making my skin itch.

It would have been nice to blame the feeling on a sudden sulfite allergy due to the red wine.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on perspective, I knew that Gabriella was right.

We hadn’t known each other for that long, and perhaps it was too soon for us to be declaring our love for one another…

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t, at the very least, beginning to fall in love with him.

The thought was sobering and I set my glass down on the countertop.

“What do you think about the apartment?” Blue asked, breaking my train of thought. “Do you want to move in?”

I looked around the apartment, and imagined myself coming home after a full night of work at Fireside Grill, or after a date with Declan.

I imagined him bringing me here after a date and us having a lazy Sunday morning before he went to work, relaxing in the large, soft bed I’d seen earlier, or watching the news with coffee mugs in our hands, feet entwined as we curled up next to each other on the couch.

My imagination painted a perfect picture…with only one blemish.

If I moved into this apartment, it meant saying goodbye to Declan at the end of dates and watching him walk away, leaving me all alone.

And while it was small and cozy and warm…it wasn’t the same as being at his house, knowing that when he came home and I was asleep, he’d be crawling into bed behind me, pulling me into his arms and against his chest.

A soft smile tipped the ends of my lips up and I looked back at Gabriella, whispering, “I’m going to have to think about it.”

Her smile was large and wide. “I thought you might.”

“I should probably get going,” I said, just as my phone began ringing in my purse. “I have to be at Fireside in a few minutes to help Declan with payroll.”

I reached into my purse and curled my fingers around my phone, assuming the caller was Declan, and answered without looking. “Hey there.”

A voice that made my blood chill and my jaw drop replied, “Well, hello to you, too, Katrina.”

“What do you want?” I snapped.

I heard Kevin’s sickening chuckle, and I flinched.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Blue reach for her phone.

I started shaking my head, telling her to stop, when Kevin said, “You’re smarter than I ever gave you credit for, Katrina, but I’m tired of this game of cat and mouse. You’ve thrown your hissy fit, but it’s time to return home.”

“Yeah…I think it’s him,” I heard Blue saying in the kitchen. While I was looking at her, she covered the phone and whispered, “Tyson says keep him on the phone as long as you can.”

I nodded, feeling my hands tremble. “I’m not coming back to Kentucky, Kevin. In fact, I met with a lawyer yesterday. I’m filing for divorce.”

“Yeah, call Dec, too,” Blue said, and set her phone down.

I flashed her big eyes and mouthed, “No.”

She shrugged and continued listening to my conversation.

“You will do no such thing, Katrina Morgenson. You’ve sold your car, you’ve made your point. Now get home and face the consequences of your foolish decision.”

Oh, God. My car.

He knew.

Of course he knew.

Tears sprang to my eyes and I saw Gabriella walking toward me, arms outstretched. I stepped back, shaking my head.

“This isn’t a tantrum, Kevin,” I stated calmly, more calmly than I was currently feeling with a riot of emotions coursing through me.

Fear.

Anger.

Hatred burned brighter than either of them, though.

“I also haven’t lied.” And I hadn’t.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with Tyson’s grandfather, who specializes in family law. He agreed to find an attorney in Kentucky who could handle my divorce.

“I will not ever be returning to Kentucky, nor will I be returning to you. I don’t know how you got this number, Kevin, but lose it. If you find me, you’ll regret it. You can’t hurt me again.”

His cold laugh made me cringe. “Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, Katrina. You’re mine. You became mine the day we were married, the day you took my name, and I can do anything I want to you, whenever I want.”

“Then come find me, asshole. And show me what you’ve got.”

I threw the phone down, and watched as Blue picked it up. I watched as she pressed the button to end the call and set it back down.

“Four minutes and twenty-eight seconds,” she murmured before looking at me. “Long enough that Tyson should be able to track it.” I barely registered any of what she said before she pulled me into her arms and held me tight. “Are you okay? That was intense.”

My entire body was roiled with shakes and shivers. My arms hung loose at my sides and I was unable to answer her.

Was I okay?

I just threw down the gauntlet for the world’s most evil man.

He’d find me.

And I had no doubt that when he did, he would try to make me regret the words I’d just spoken.

“You swore?” Declan’s look of surprise would have made me laugh under other circumstances.

I’d just listened while Gabriella told Declan everything that happened during my phone call, after he showed up at her apartment, almost breaking the door down with his bare fists. As soon as he saw me, I was scooped up in his arms and carried to the couch, where he sat down with me on his lap.

He said one word, directed at Blue, that word being “Explain,” before she did exactly as she’d been commanded.

His arms around me flinched and tightened. One of his hands ran through my hair.

I was still trying to replay the conversation in my mind, because I wasn’t even sure if Blue was exaggerating for effect, or if I truly did swear.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “I think I did.”

“Proud of you,” he said and pressed his lips against my forehead.

As much as I wanted to relish the feeling of being in his arms, along with the comfort and strength they provided, I wanted to forget about this. I wanted to do everything I possibly could to not only erase the memory of Kevin’s phone call, but his entire history from my life.

“Take me home,” I whispered, murmuring into Declan’s neck.

His fingertips pressed into my lower back before he stood up, gently setting me on my feet.

I didn’t know what I’d just said or done to cause the softened look in his eyes, but when his smile tilted at the edges and his lips brushed against my forehead, I realized.

“Okay, Trina. We can go home.”

Home.

That’s what I just called his house.

And he seemed to like it.

An hour ago, I’d thought that, more than anything, I wanted to be on my own, living it up in Blue’s beautiful shabby-chic apartment, but as Declan grabbed my purse and handed it to me, then slid his hand into mine, I realized that I’d been terribly wrong.

I didn’t want to be anywhere he wasn’t.

“Actually,” Blue said, interrupting whatever tenderness I felt passing between Declan and myself, “I think this is the perfect night to introduce Trina to the girls.”

Next to me, Declan sighed, and I tilted my chin to face him.

“What girls?”

“Yeah, a bunch of us always meet up on Thursdays, at least once a month, for girls’ night out. But tonight definitely calls for immediate girl time. We drink margaritas and eat our weight in nachos.”

“Sounds, um, fun?” It sort of did, but it didn’t change the fact that just minutes ago, I was shaking on the couch with Declan’s arms around me. I wasn’t sure tonight was the night I wanted to meet a bunch of Gabriella’s friends.

She laughed and reached out for my hand, then squeezed it. “I’m sorry. I know we don’t know each other at all yet, really. But when I was new to town, these girls reached out to me and took me in. I’d like to do the same for you. The girls are cool, honest. Well, except Paige. She’s a bit nutty, but the rest are normal.” Her face scrunched up and she shrugged before letting loose an easy grin. “Mostly.”

“Um. Okay?”

Declan’s arm squeezed my shoulders. His voice was deep, tinted with laughter when he said, “When I took off, Mac said he’d cover for the night, but I could always go back. Maybe you should go, Trina. Make some friends and forget about all this shit.”

“Yeah.” Blue’s eyebrows wiggled. “Plus, they drool over Declan, so you’ll be, like, the star of the night. They’ll want to know all the good stuff about him.”

Declan frowned. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea.”

Blue pulled me toward her, forcing me out of Declan’s hold, and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “Oh, but it is. Because you’ll get to take her back to your place…and she’ll be all tipsy drunk.”

His lips twitched. “Point made. Just don’t tell Suzanne anything. The suspense will kill her.”

“You’re a lot nicer than you look, you big ol’ brute,” Blue scolded, wagging her finger at him, “but that’s just mean.”

Declan crossed his arms over his large chest and smirked.

“Suzanne?” I asked.

Declan rolled his eyes.

Blue giggled. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Gabriella was right.

Her friends were not only incredibly welcoming, seemingly some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met—which was saying a lot, considering I was from the South, where everyone was nice to everyone—they were also a little bit crazy.

As soon as Gabriella introduced me to the group, everyone treated me as if I had been meeting them for emergency girls’ nights out forever.

From Paige’s happy-go-lucky attitude, and from the things she said about her husband, I figured the girl believed Snow White was brought back to life with a kiss from her true love.

Chelsea was soft-spoken and kind, and Camden seemed to be the only woman who held herself back a little bit. Her deep-auburn hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the base of her neck, and even her straight-line skirt and professional blouse made her seem like she needed to loosen up a little bit. I liked that about her, though. I had never been an open book myself.

Suzanne looked at me all night as if she had a burning question on the tip of her tongue, but was waiting to ask it. As drinks were ordered, stories told, introductions made, and food delivered, it seemed like the wait was practically killing her.

Being thrown into a group of women who had known each other for years made me more nervous than the time I was at a fundraising dinner and met the president of the United States, three years ago.

Somehow, shaking hands under the watchful eye of Suzanne intimidated me more than shaking the First Lady’s under the discerning glare of Secret Service.

But those first few minutes of introductions quickly led to margaritas by the pitcher, nachos by the platter, and conversation that quickly dissolved into laughter. It was a friendly atmosphere I hadn’t experienced since college.

When I mentioned my marketing and promotion idea about having a firefighter calendar shot on the Fireside Grill property, inside and outside, both Paige and Suzanne jumped in and explained that their husbands knew several men who worked in the department, and they’d be all for it. It took less than ten minutes for them to make some phone calls and plan a date. The only thing that remained was finding a photographer, but Camden spoke up and said she might know someone willing to help on our tight budget.

I had never known such a supportive group of women, not to mention completely hysterical.

I was loving it.

“So what’d you think about the apartment?” Chelsea turned to me and said as she set her glass down on the tabletop.

Blue had mentioned that I was staying with Declan for a while, but hadn’t explained why, for which I was grateful. But I saw the questioning look in all the other women’s eyes as Chelsea asked the question.

“It’s really beautiful.”

“But?”

I chewed on the inside of my lip, debating how much honesty I wanted to spew forth with a group of women I liked, but didn’t really know. Besides, some of them, Suzanne in particular, seemed a bit possessive about Declan in a way that confused me. From what I’d already learned, she’d been married since right after college.

“But I like being at Declan’s.” The tequila in my drinks must have loosened my lips.

At that, Paige giggled, Blue grinned, Chelsea and Camden smiled, but it was Suzanne who leaned in from across the round table, her hands braced on the tabletop.

“Finally!” she exclaimed. “Now we’re getting somewhere with you.”

My head jerked back in shock and Blue’s grin turned into a laugh. “Declan tried to warn you about her.”

“I don’t get it.” I shook my head and looked at everyone at the table with wide eyes.

Paige and Blue laughed harder.

“You’re staying with Declan. The man of all men. And you’re considering leaving that hunk alone at night? You’re either crazy or stupid, and you don’t look dumb, so you must be insane.”

Suzanne’s tirade made my eyes widen further, and before I could say anything, although for the life of me I couldn’t find words to say, she continued. “If that man wanted me with him, no way would I be walking away.”

“You’re married,” Camden chided her, but even I could see the playfulness in her rich-green eyes. “Happily married, remember?”

“Suzanne forgets everything when Declan is around,” Chelsea supplied, teasingly.

“Um.” I took a drink of my margarita.

“Do you like him?” Suzanne asked.

Next to me, Blue snickered. “You should see the way they stare at each other.”

“What?” I turned my head toward her.

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, you look at him like he’s your real-life hero, and he looks at you like he’d be willing to step in front of a grenade if it’d keep you safe.”

“Yes!” Suzanne shouted. “That’s the kind of guy he is. Exactly, and with his looks…and come on…that body, you have to like him.”

“Have you been with him?” I asked, my brow furrowing.

At the question, the entire table burst out in laughter.

Suzanne lifted her hands, palms out. “No way. I’ve known Dec since we were kids. Lucas is it for me, as in
it
for me, but I’d be blind if I didn’t notice how incredible Declan has turned out to be, and not just his body, but in the kind of guy he is. Lucas is amazing. Protective and kind and sexy as hell, but Declan…that man is on a whole other level of awesomeness.”

“You’re sort of freaking me out,” I replied.

Her words also confirmed the kind of guy I had already assumed he was.

“So tell us, then,” Chelsea said, cutting in. She pushed a hunk of blonde hair behind her ear and smiled. “What’s going on with you and why wouldn’t you want to stay with him?”

I paused for a moment, trying to decide again how much honesty they could handle, when Blue whispered, “We might be loud and crazy, but I can guarantee you that these women will never speak a word of anything you say to anyone else. You can trust them.”

I blinked rapidly, my eyes stinging a bit from the kindness they were showing me. “I just recently left my husband who hit me,” I admitted softly.

Harsh inhales of breath echoed around the table and I found it difficult to lift my eyes to meet their gazes. Regardless, I soldiered on.

“Declan’s been helping me. I like him, I
really
like him, but I’m having a hard time trusting myself, leaving one guy to fall for the first guy I meet, even if he is a good guy. And yeah, I think he likes me, but I’ve been under someone else’s control for so long that the idea of being by myself, living on my own for a while, is appealing. Yet that means having to leave Declan’s house.”

“But not Declan.”

I lifted my eyes to Suzanne’s and shook my head. “No, it wouldn’t mean leaving Declan.”

“Just his bed at night.”

I chewed on the inside of my lip. Since we’d been back from Chicago, we shared a bed every night, but we hadn’t been intimate again. I thought being with Declan in Chicago would change that aspect of our relationship, but it seemed as if Declan was taking a step back. At the very least, he hadn’t pushed us forward.

I simply liked sleeping with Declan’s arms around me. I liked being with him, even if I still worried it was too soon. But the fact that Declan hadn’t touched me again in anything more than a comfortable way had me worried. Was he having second thoughts about us? Second thoughts about
me
?

As if sensing my nervousness or my embarrassment, Blue spoke up. “You’ll decide when you know what’s right. But I’m with Suzanne on this one. Since I’ve known him, Declan seems like the best of the best, and if he’s said you can stay at his place, he means it. He doesn’t throw bullshit around and say what he doesn’t mean. He’s not that kind of guy. But if you need to live on your own for a while, feel the independence that most women want, he’ll get it. Based on what I saw today, it won’t change anything about the way he feels for you.”

The way he felt for me. The words rattled inside my brain and made me dizzy.

I wanted to ask her what she meant by what she saw today. Based on Declan’s behavior the last few days, I had my own questions, yet I was too chicken to ask.

Maybe she saw what she wanted to see, not what was really there.

I bit my tongue, shrugged, and took a sip of my drink. “I’ll figure it out soon, so you can find another sublet if you need to.”

She grinned. “No worries. We’ve got time.”

I opened my mouth to ask her when she was planning on moving in with Tyson when, from across the table, Chelsea cursed. “Ouch! You brat!”

Paige giggled and I looked up to see Chelsea scowling at her while rubbing her bicep.

“What?” Blue asked and then turned her head in the direction of the bar, looking where Paige pointed and where Chelsea’s eyes were fixed.

I twisted around, following the movement of the rest of the women, and saw Aidan and Derrick standing at the bar. Derrick reached for a stack of food containers while Aidan slid his credit card toward the bartender.

As Derrick grabbed the food, he turned in our direction and immediately spied all of us staring at him and his dad. He looked back at Aidan and said something before turning back to us. “Hey, Miss Dwyer! Hi, Trina!”

I lifted my hand and smiled as Aidan himself pushed away from the bar. His eyes scanned the table and he dipped his chin to acknowledge us.

I might have been crazy, but I swore his eyes lingered a little bit longer on Chelsea.

“Hello, Derrick,” she replied, and waved to Aidan. “Mr. Devereaux.”

“Miss Dwyer.” He glanced around the table again. “Trina. Ladies. Have a good evening.” He flashed us a soft smile and patted Derrick on the shoulder, silently telling him to grab their food, I figured by the way Derrick moved.

He picked it up and turned back to us. “See you at school tomorrow, Miss Dwyer!”

He turned his back and all of us watched the men leave. When they were gone, Chelsea glanced at me. “You know Aidan and Derrick?”

I took my chance, based on the awe in her voice, the blush on her cheeks, and replied. “You have a crush on Aidan?”

Paige choked on her margarita.

Suzanne snorted.

Camden threw her head back and laughed. “Yeah, she does. She has for years, but for some crazy reason refuses to do anything about it.”

“Derrick is a student at my school. It wouldn’t be right.”

“But he’s not
your
student,” Paige said. “He’s just a student, and you’re the librarian.”

Chelsea shook her head in an exasperated way. I assumed they’d had this conversation many times before. “It still wouldn’t look good.” Her head came up and she smiled. “How do you know them?”

I figured telling her that Aidan dropped Derrick off at Declan’s a couple weeks ago for an overnight visit wouldn’t go over well. I went with the easiest half-truth. “They stopped by Declan’s one night, and I met him then. They seem really great.”

“They are.”

“Enough about Aidan and Chelsea being too sissy to do anything about her unending crush,” Suzanne said, cutting in and grinning at me like she just ate a canary. “Tell me more about Declan and what he’s like in bed.”

This time I choked on my drink.

Paige giggled.

And all the women’s eyes landed on me, as they waited with bated breath.

“Thanks for getting them home safe.”

Declan muttered this to Tyson in a deep voice as he walked into Tyson’s house, where Blue and I were hanging out on the couch.

I should have passed out hours ago, but I wanted to wait for Declan to come and pick me up after the restaurant was closed.

Tyson had showed up hours ago and brought Blue and me to his house.

Since then, Blue and I switched to drinking water and spent the last few hours sobering up a bit.

It appeared that in some ways we had a lot in common. A family who didn’t exactly care for us, choosing their own selfish desires over what was best for their daughters. I learned the entire last ten years of Blue’s story, including time she’d spent on a goat farm in Colorado with her hippie aunt.

Envisioning someone as beautiful and calm and collected as Blue slopping around in the muck was still making me chuckle, which brought Declan’s eyes to mine.

The dark-brown eyes flickered with humor and he smiled. “You ready to head to bed?”

It was an innocent question.

It still sparked heat inside my body.

“Yeah…”

His smile disappeared with my response and his gaze dropped to my mouth. “Right, then. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

He didn’t wait for me to answer, just slid his arm around my waist and pulled me to his chest.

“Your purse,” Blue called out from behind us, and I felt the leather straps slide into my palm. “Have a good night.”

“Thanks for the invite tonight.” I looked back over my shoulder and smiled. “I had a lot of fun.”

She smiled and I watched Tyson’s arms slide around her waist from where he stood behind her. He held her just like Declan was currently holding me. “We’ll do it again. Lots.”

Sounded perfect.

Declan led us out the door and ushered me into his truck, keeping a firm grip on my waist until he was forced to let me go so I could climb into my seat. Once I was settled, he closed the door behind me and then walked around the hood before climbing in on his side.

“You had fun?”

“I did.”

“From where I was in the kitchen, sounded like you did.”

My eyes widened. “You heard us?”

“Hard not to hear six women wasted on margaritas. My guess? The entire block heard y’all laughing your asses off.”

My lips twisted, and for just a brief moment, I felt ashamed of my behavior, and how loud I’d been. But then I thought about how much fun I’d had—possibly the best time in my life since I was a sophomore in college—and quickly decided that I didn’t care.

I glanced over at Declan and saw him looking at me with the same wary expression I must have worn just a moment ago. I shrugged. “I don’t care. I had a freaking great night.”

His laugh was my reward, as was the way he slid his hand onto my thigh and squeezed. “I’m glad, Trina.”

We were in his driveway and then inside his house in a matter of minutes. As Declan entered the house behind me, reaching over my shoulder to flip on the lights, I turned around and faced him once the door closed.