CHAPTER ELEVEN
PATIENCE STOOD THERE, watching the happy couple. Shock didn’t describe the combination of dismay and mortification burning through her. Not three minutes ago, she had been naked and making love with Justice. Now he was hanging on to some other woman? The chasm of the years he’d been gone had never stretched so far between them. She wanted to run but couldn’t make herself move. Then she remembered this was her store and her town. Even if Justice wasn’t her man.
Justice and the woman hugged again, laughing happily. Patience glanced around, idly wondering if there was anything she could throw at them. China. A bucket of water. She wasn’t feeling particularly picky.
Justice finally looked up and saw her. Amazingly, there wasn’t any guilt in his expression. Just contentment.
Sure, she thought bitterly. Why not? Talk about having his cake and all that.
“Patience, let me introduce my business associate Felicia Swift. Felicia, this is Patience. The girl I knew when I lived here.”
The tall, elegant beauty moved toward Patience, her intentions obvious. They were going to greet each other politely. Because that’s what civilized people did.
“I’m so happy to finally meet you,” Felicia said with a brilliant smile. “Justice told me a little about your past together.” She gave him a wry look. “Not that he talks about his personal life very much at all, right?”
“Right,” Patience said. “He’s very secretive. Not necessarily a good quality in a man. In fact, it can be annoying.”
Justice looked at her, his brows pulling together.
She wanted to stomp her foot. Seriously? He was going to pretend to be confused?
Felicia laughed. It was a low, throaty, sexy sound that made Patience hate her instantly. Not that she’d especially liked her before.
The other woman patted Justice’s arm. “And for the record, I’m not your associate. Not anymore.”
Justice kept his gaze on Patience. “That’s right. Felicia is going to help us set up the business, but then we’re on our own.”
“How sad,” Patience murmured.
“It is. She’s a logistical expert.” He turned back to the stunning redhead. “You’ve saved my ass more than once.”
“Just doing my job.” She smiled at Patience. “As I’m sure he’s already told you, I worked with Justice when he was in the military. Then we both went to work for the private security company. Now we’re here.”
“How very special.”
Patience pressed her hand against her stomach. It was writhing again, but this time for very different reasons. She’d never experienced jealousy before. Not like this. When Ned had announced he was leaving, she’d been stunned and upset, but not jealous. Her pain had mostly been for her daughter—losing her father before she’d even gotten to know him.
It was her ability to let go that had convinced her she hadn’t loved Ned at all. Theirs had been a marriage of convenience, brought on by her pregnancy.
This time was different. This time the jealousy burned hot and bright. The need to throw or possibly destroy was still there. Reminding herself this was her store and any damage would be hers to fix helped keep her in check. As did her basic grasp of normal behavior. But she was furious and devastated. Crying and screaming seemed equally likely outcomes.
She felt her control slipping and knew she had to get away from the happy couple. Or at the very least, get them to leave so she could throw up in private.
“You two probably want to catch up,” she said with what she hoped was a smile. “Don’t let me keep you.”
Not her most subtle moment, she thought. But she wasn’t in a position to be picky.
“Are you all right?” Justice asked.
“Peachy.”
His frown deepened.
Not knowing what else to do, she walked over to the front door and held it open. “You should show Felicia around town. Fool’s Gold is really lovely this time of year.”
“I’ve seen some of the town,” Felicia said happily. “It’s charming.”
“Isn’t it?” Patience motioned to the exit. “And it’s waiting for you to go explore. Bye-bye.”
Justice hesitated for a second, then walked out. Felicia paused to smile at Patience.
“It was wonderful to meet you. I look forward to spending more time together.”
“I can’t wait,” Patience lied, then slammed the door shut behind them.
Silence was everywhere. Silence and pain and the sense of having been a complete idiot.
The facts were really simple. Justice had lied when he’d moved to Fool’s Gold all those years ago, and he was lying now. Okay, withholding was more accurate, but so what? In the end, he hadn’t told her the truth. Not about who he was or why he was around.
A case could be made that while he was in the witness protection program, he couldn’t be honest. But since then? He’d never called, never come to see her. That was a really big clue about his character.
She drew in a breath and paced the length of the store. Okay, she could figure this out. She’d had sex. She’d been smart and insisted on protection, so she wasn’t pregnant. Basically a man she found attractive had given her fantastic orgasms. Yes, he was also a complete dirtbag, cheater, liar, skunk-dog. So based on this new clarification of his character, her choices were really simple. Keep pining for said skunk-dog or find a functioning brain cell and move on.
Which would be easier said than done, she thought grimly. But she was tough. Or if she wasn’t, she would be by the time she was over him. And over him she would get. She’d already been to this dance with Ned, and there was no way she was going back.
* * *
JUSTICE STOOD ON the sidewalk with Felicia. “Where do you want to start? A tour of the town? Or would you rather go to your hotel?”
“I’ve already been to the hotel,” she told him. “I went there first.”
“You found it.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, I was able to manage the drive here all by myself and then locate a hotel. My ability to navigate public roads has never been called into question before.”
He laughed, then pulled her in for a hug. “It’s really good to see you.”
She sighed. “It’s nice to be missed.”
He released her and they started walking down the sidewalk. “Knowing you, it would be silly of me to tell you anything about the town’s history.”
“Of course. While scholars disagree on the original settlers, the first documented residents were the Máa-zib tribe, a matriarchal society. In the 1300s, the women migrated north, seeking a life away from their Mayan roots.”
Felicia kept talking, but Justice tuned her out easily. A habit born of practice, he thought contentedly. Felicia was one of the smartest people in the world. But with brilliance came a need to share what she knew, and that could get old.
On the bright side, she had one of the best minds for logistics he’d ever seen. She’d joined his special forces unit as a support member. Give her a time and place and Felicia could get anything, anywhere in the world. She would anticipate delays and plan for the unexpected. She was so good that when they had joint task force operations with other branches of the military, she was the one who ran the logistics.
She was also socially awkward and a little bossy, but he could put up with that. If Patience was the girl he left behind, Felicia was his family. They’d been close nearly from the first day they’d met. His favorite sister, he thought. They knew and understood each other.
They walked past City Hall and turned left.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, breaking off her lecture on the history of the town.
“To Starbucks. You need a mocha. You’re always in a better mood after you’ve had chocolate.”
“I’m in a good mood now.”
Some guy walking in the other direction glanced at her and did a double take. Justice sighed. “Why’d you have to go and have that surgery? You were fine before.”
She looked at him. “Fine. Words to incite excitement in every woman’s heart. You know what it was like for me. No man would look at me. I didn’t enjoy not having a social life. I want to be like everyone else.” Her voice turned wistful. “At least as much as I can be.”
“There was nothing wrong with you.”
“You don’t like the idea of me having a social life.”
“I worry about you. Look what happened in Thailand.”
Felicia glared at him. “Not as much happened as I would have liked. You broke down the hotel door. What were you thinking? People knock.”
“I didn’t know what he was doing to you.”
“You had a good idea. I’m all grown up, Justice. You have to accept that.”
“Not really,” he said cheerfully.
Felicia had only been nineteen when they’d started working together. She’d grown up in the sheltered world of academia, always around kids older than herself. Because of that she’d never had many friends, hadn’t been on a date. Justice had been open to being one of the former, if not the latter. He’d taken her under his wing, had made sure the other guys stayed in line.
Five years later she’d come to him, begging him to consider getting drunk and sleeping with her. It wasn’t that she’d been madly in love with him; it was that she was tired of, as she put it, not being like everyone else. He’d refused as gently as he could. They’d been in Thailand at the time. Two days later she’d picked up a guy in a bar and gone back to his room.
Justice had rescued her, but it had been a little too late. When he’d tried to yell at her, she’d told him to stay out of her sex life. As it wasn’t a place he wanted to be, he’d agreed. The only problem was, the guy from the hotel was currently living in Fool’s Gold.
Justice knew he had to tell her. The question was when and how. Oh, and could he walk away without any life-threatening injuries? While Felicia didn’t have half his skills, she fought dirty and he couldn’t bring himself to put up much of a fight with her.
They passed Morgan’s Books, then turned right at the corner.
“Don’t get used to coming here,” he said. “Patience is opening a coffee place. You’ll want to go there and support a local business.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t think Patience liked me.”
“She barely met you.”
Felicia studied him. “Are you sure she knows we’re just friends?”
“Of course. I told her.”
“Well, then, I’m sure everything is fine.”
He thought maybe Felicia was mocking him, but it was hard to tell. She was pretty much always mocking him.
They walked into the Starbucks and approached the counter. “How long do I have?” he asked. “When are you going to abandon me for your selfish plans?”
“I don’t know. I want to figure out what I’m going to do with myself by the end of summer.”
“That’s not very long.”
“Justice, you’re opening a business, not launching a new government. I can have everything organized in two weeks. Maybe less.”
He chuckled and motioned for her to place her order. Now that Felicia was in town, he could get serious about CDS. Once all the plans were in place, he would let Ford and Angel know and his partners could move to town. He wondered what the residents of Fool’s Gold were going to say about having men like them hanging around.
* * *
SHE WAS JUST so stupid!
Patience threw packing material onto the floor and shoved the mugs onto the counter, then resisted the urge to stomp her foot. It had been nearly twenty-four hours. What was the military term? Radio silence? Whatever it was, she hadn’t heard from Justice at all. No visit, no phone call, not even a text. The man had vanished completely. No doubt making himself happy with his beautiful friend.
Patience told herself she’d been right to decide to end things. Unfortunately, she also wanted to see him. To tell him in person. Or maybe just because she liked being around him.
“No!” she said aloud. “I don’t want to see him.” At least not very much. But he was busy with Felicia.
Felicia. Talk about a stupid name. And she was stupidly tall. Who was that tall? And seriously, were her eyes really that color of green?
Patience kicked the empty box, sending it sliding across the room, then sank onto the floor and covered her face with her hands. The real problem here was her, and she knew it. She’d made love with Justice impulsively and now she was suffering the consequences.
Sure, he’d been good to her since moving back to town. Attentive, even. Nice to her mother and her daughter. But they hadn’t talked much about his personal life. He’d claimed to have never been married, but what else did she know about him? For all she knew, he was currently having his way with the overly tall, too-beautiful byotch who had shown up the previous day.
That image made her stomach hurt, so she tried not to think about it. She had to get herself together. The dishwasher was going in soon. Once that was done, she would be training staff, then opening her business. That’s what mattered. Moving forward. Living the dream. Possibly running over Felicia if she had the opportunity.
“Hey.”
A hand touched her shoulder at the same time she heard the voice. She screamed and tried to scramble away, only to find herself staring into Justice’s amused gaze.
“How did you get in here?” she demanded, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Through the door.”
“I locked it.”
“I knocked, but I guess you didn’t hear me.” He shrugged, then sat down in front of her. “I wanted to see you.”
“So you picked the lock on my door?”
“Uh-huh.”
A man with a variety of skills wasn’t always a good thing.
She pushed her hair out of her face and wished she’d put on something more classy than old jeans and a T-shirt with a glittery surfboard on the front. Plus, she wasn’t wearing makeup. Not that any of that would make her look like Felicia, whom she hated a lot.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Fine.” A lie, but she was okay with that.
“Seriously?”
“Sure. I’m great.” She tried to smile, but wasn’t sure she succeeded.
He reached for her hand. “About yesterday.”
That was supposed to be her line. “About yesterday. It’s over, skunk-dog.”
Only before she could speak, he brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. Then he gave her his best slow, sexy smile. “Impressive.”
Tinges zigzagged down her arm to her chest and belly. She ignored them and the need to swoon. “Okay,” she said cautiously. Maybe she would wait to hear what he had to say. Then she would end things.
“Just okay?” He studied her, then nodded, as if he’d figured out what was wrong.
She wasn’t sure that was a good thing. “I wasn’t sure what to think. Everything happened so fast.” She glanced around, hoping to find something on fire, or see an alien landing. Anything to distract him from her confused emotional state.
“I’m sorry about the timing of Felicia’s arrival,” Justice told her, his blue gaze steady.
“Me, too.”
He continued to study her. “You know she and I are friends, right? She’s like a sister to me. Always has been. Just friends. There’s never been anything between us.”
Patience felt herself start to lean toward him, then forced herself to pull back. “You mentioned something about it,” she admitted. A long time ago, when the information hadn’t seemed very important. It was much more significant now.
“We worked together and we’re family. I’ll always be there for her—like you’re always there for your mom.”
If he was trying to make her feel better, he was doing a fine job. She gave him a real smile. “Thanks for telling me that.”
“I didn’t want you worrying.” He kissed her hand again. “I’m not very good at this.”
“At what? Sitting on the floor? Because you seem to be a natural.”
He chuckled, then leaned in and kissed her mouth. “Being with someone like you. Someone regular.”
“You usually sleep with superheroes?”
“I usually don’t stick around until morning.”
“You didn’t. Technically you left with a very tall, very beautiful woman.” She sniffed. “I’m just saying.”
He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, twisting her so she found herself draped across his lap, looking up at him.
“I missed you,” he said, staring into her eyes. “After I left. I thought about you and wondered what you were doing. Part of me wanted you to find some guy and be happy, and part of me...”
Didn’t.
“You never called. You never got in touch,” she said. “If you like me, you should have done something.”
He nodded. “I know.” He looked away, then back at her. “Patience, I’ve been places and seen things. More than seen. You’re light and good and gentle. I worry that by simply being close to you, I’m corrupting your soul.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “Maybe that’s too dramatic, but it’s how I feel. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I don’t want that, either.”
He touched her cheek. “The smartest thing would be for me to stay away from you. Only I don’t think I can. You’ll have to be strong for both of us.”
She wasn’t sure she agreed with that plan. Especially when he lowered his head and kissed her. The pressure of his mouth on hers was soft and caring. There was passion, but it was restrained. If she had to guess, she would say this was more about connecting.
She wrapped her arms around him, hanging on, aware that the man knew how to get to her. Yesterday with how he touched her body and today with how he touched her heart.
Everything was happening so quickly, she thought. She had to step back and think. Make sure she knew what she was doing. And she would...just as soon as he stopped kissing her.
Justice raised his head. “Your mom will be here in a few seconds.”
She blinked. “How do you know?”
“I just saw her car pull up.”
Patience scrambled out of his lap and staggered to her feet. “We have a meeting. Store talk.”
“Then I should leave you to it.”
Justice rose. He lightly kissed her cheek, then walked to the door. She watched him go, thinking she wanted to call after him. But to say what? The man confused her, that was for sure.
She was going to have to spend some serious time figuring out what was going on. Or she could simply try to get him alone so they could make love again. It wouldn’t provide any answers, but she would enjoy it more than thinking or being sensible.
Before she could pick a course of action, her mother walked in. Today Ava was using a cane. Sometimes her MS acted up and she needed her wheelchair, but since the work party, she’d been having a lot of good days. Always a blessing.
“Did I see Justice leaving?” Ava asked.
“He stopped by to say hi.”
“He’s such a nice boy.”
Patience laughed. “Mom, he’s in his thirties.”
“I knew him when he was a teenager, so he’ll always be a boy to me.” She looked around the store. “Look at what you’ve done. You should be so proud of yourself.”
“We’re in this together.”
“With you getting stuck with all the hard work. Still, I’ll be able to do more when the store is open. I’m excited to learn how to use the espresso machine.” Ava smiled. “My friends and I are talking about some after-hours parties here.”
“I don’t want to hear about spiked coffee.”
“Then I won’t tell you.”
They crossed to one of the tables where Patience had already set up their piles of paperwork. After they were seated, Patience opened the first folder. Although they’d made a few hires, they were going to need more staff.
“We have plenty of applications, which is great. We have the college kids who want to work in the evenings and a few moms with school-age kids interested in morning shifts.”
Her mother closed the folder. “I’d like for us to talk about something else, first.”
Patience fought against a rush of cold. “Mom, are you okay? Are you sick?”
Because with MS, danger always lurked. Even with the good days, there was the fear that something bad was going to happen.
“I’m fine. This isn’t about my health, but it is about something I’ve been keeping from you.” Ava glanced down at the table, then back at her daughter. “I haven’t been completely honest with you. About Steve.”
It took Patience a second to put the name with the face. “Lillie’s grandfather? What about him? Oh no. You found out something horrible about him.”
“No, it’s not that.”
Ava pressed her lips together. If Patience didn’t know better, she would swear her mother was blushing.
“Mom?”
Ava drew in a breath and looked at her. “Steve got in touch with me about five months ago. He’d just sold his business and was thinking about what to do with the rest of his life. He’d tried to make contact with Ned several times, but his son didn’t want anything to do with him. He wanted to reach out to Lillie, so he came to see me and ask my opinion.”
Patience stared at her mother. “You knew about him?”
“Yes. We talked and he seemed nice, so I agreed to meet with him. It started out innocently enough. I wanted to make sure he was the kind of man who deserved to be in Lillie’s life, and I knew you were busy. I thought I was helping.”
Which all sounded reasonable and generous, even. So why was her mother acting so strange?
Ava’s brown eyes darkened with emotion. “I’ve been seeing him regularly.”
“Okay. I get that. To make sure he wouldn’t hurt Lillie and...” Patience felt her mouth drop open as she figured out what her mother was really saying. “You’re dating Steve?”
“I have been for a while.”
“That’s what the secret calls have been about? The disappearances? You have a boyfriend?”
“Are you mad? I know I should have told you, but I was nervous. I felt strange, going out at my age. Plus, he’s Ned’s father. He walked out on his family the way Ned walked out on you. I thought you might see him as the enemy. I was afraid you’d disapprove. And the more I saw him the more I liked him. I guess I acted like a coward and I’m sorry.”
Her mother was dating Lillie’s grandfather? Patience turned the information over in her mind. It was a little strange and would take getting used to. But it wasn’t bad.
“Mom, I want you to be happy. If you’re having a good time with Steve, that’s great. I just wish you would have told me. I asked Justice to run a background check on him.”
“I wanted you to make your own decision about him. I didn’t want to influence you.” Ava shrugged. “I think a part of me wanted you to come to your own conclusions because I was afraid I was seeing what I wanted to see, rather than what was there. I don’t exactly have a good track record when it comes to men. It’s one thing for me to make a mistake. It’s another for me to drag you and Lillie through the mess.”
“Oh, Mom.” Patience stood and moved around the table. She bent low and hugged her mother.
Ava held on tight. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.” She crouched in front of her mom. “So you’re doing the wild thing with this guy?”
“Maybe.”
“You’re practicing safe sex, right? There are issues that don’t involve pregnancy.”
Ava laughed. “Yes. We’re very safe.”
“Then I’m happy for you. I wish you would have told me, but I understand why you wanted me to make my own decision about Steve.” She stood and smiled. “Admit it. You were secretly thrilled when Justice’s report came back clean.”
“I was very pleased to hear the man I was dating didn’t have a criminal record.”
Patience returned to her chair. “Anything else I should know?”
“That’s it.” Ava’s humor faded. “I hope you understand. After I was diagnosed with MS, I couldn’t seem to pull myself together. Then your dad left and it was just the two of us. I was so scared. Since then, I haven’t met a man who could see past the disease. Until Steve.”
“You handled your diagnosis with grace, Mom. I mean that. You were a rock. I’m glad you’re happy with Steve. I still want to take things slow with Lillie. I don’t want her to get confused or hurt. Having her grandfather show up after a decade is a lot for her to take in.”
“I understand and I agree. No matter what, even if things don’t work out with me and Steve, he still wants to be a part of her life. But I agree with being cautious.”
They smiled at each other. Patience opened the folder. “Okay, then. Now on to company business.”
They started to talk about the store. Patience thought briefly about her mother’s decision to keep her relationship with Steve a secret. Two days ago she would have been a little more outraged. But she and Justice had recently taken things to the next level, and she had no intention of mentioning that to her mother. She supposed it wasn’t unreasonable to expect them both to have secrets. Even if it meant that she would have to keep an extra-close eye on Steve.