Chapter Thirteen

Stefanie

“Honey, I’m home,” I joked as I stepped into my apartment. I couldn’t help the cheesy smile I’d been wearing all day long. Who was I kidding? I’d been cheesy smile girl since Big Bear when Garrett said we were basically moving in together.

It was insanely fast, but there was something about him that made my gut keep telling me to take a chance.

Live boldly.

So, I was.

A week had almost passed since we’d returned and I started my work week. I had to admit, the first week of living with someone who wasn’t being paid to do so was, well, going pretty great. A lot smoother than I had dreamt of.

We got home from Big Bear on Sunday, and he’d stayed. In my apartment, sleeping right next to me. He was really there. Not at a neutral place where whatever we had been doing could continue to be string-less, like the hotel.

In the morning, we had both left at the same time, and if I was honest, I’d held my breath. Living boldly and by the seat of my pants wasn’t really my forte, so I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For him to say ‘just kidding.’ But within an hour of me being home from work, he was walking in through the front door, and by the size of his duffle bag, he was serious about staying with me.

The rest of the week was about the same, except yesterday.

Yesterday, he had left earlier than I did. He had a stunt to do and an early call time. But he had come home. Tired and sweaty, but he had come home. With every night that passed of us being under the same roof, I had to admit, I was getting used to it.

“Garrett?” I called out. The living room was empty, but the scent or garlic and something else was in the air.

“I’m in the kitchen,” he called out, and I rolled my eyes.

My apartment was the size of a shoe box, but he acted like I would have a hard time finding him. Kicking off my flats by the door and dropping my cardigan and purse on the coffee table, I headed right to the kitchen, the smile on my face only widening as I took in the sight of his large body in my itty-bitty galley kitchen.

“Hey.” I sighed.

“Hay is for horses,” he joked as he threw a dash of some kind of spice into the pan before turning to look at me. “Why you so far away, sunshine?”

“Mmm,” I hummed as I stepped closer. “Feeling cold?”

“You gonna warm me up?”

“Are you mine?”

“What do you think?” He smirked, and I got lost in it. In him. Garrett standing in my kitchen, holding me in his arms as stuff cooked and we flirted like we had done it over a million years went to my head. And when I opened my mouth, I almost choked on the words.

“I think I love you.” When the words slipped out, I wanted a big black hole to swallow me up and take me away.

“What?” His eyes narrowed, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

I had never ever said those words to a single living person. Not out loud.

“It’s what someone in a cheesy chick flick would say,” I awkwardly croaked as I shook my head, getting out his arms. “Need any help?”

“Stef?”

“Salad?” I asked over my shoulder as the temperature from the refrigerator cooled me down.

“Yeah, babe.” His tone was cautious, but as he continued talking, I knew he would let me off the hook. We were nowhere close to saying those three words. “Salad sounds good.”

“Good.”

“Hey, so, um…” He cleared his throat as something sizzled on the cast iron pan. “I talked to Bryan today. He wants to have a family thing this weekend. Marc’s in town, and my parents are in from the ranch.”

“How fun,” I mindlessly said, wondering what that was like. Keeping track of all those people.

“He wants me to go.”

“Oh.” I nodded. That made sense. His entire family would be together. “You will have a great time.” I looked over my shoulder feigning a smile, trying to shrug off my awkwardness.

“I told him I would talk to you.” His brothers know about me?

“For what?” I almost croaked, my eyes wide. It wasn’t like he needed my permission.

“To see if you’re up to going. He has a guest room we could crash in if we didn’t wanna drive back…” He kept talking, but I couldn’t seem to focus.

“What?” I asked, trying to get my brain to process what he was saying.

“He offered it. Not like I’ll be drinking, but in case we’re tired. My parents alone could wear anyone down, and if Nicola is in town—”

“Wait, what?”

“They want to meet you.” They wanted to meet me? His family. Someone’s parents and siblings wanted to meet me. Talk about uncharted waters.

“Oh,” I muttered, closing the fridge without taking anything out and turning to look at him.

“Oh?”

“Oh, umm, that’s nice of them, I guess.”

“Nice of them?” I could tell he was trying to get a read on me. Trying to see if I was being a goof, and if I had been prepared, I might have been able to turn it around, but I was already feeling off from having said three stupid words earlier. “Stef, what’s up?”

“Nothing. I just…” I couldn’t breathe.

I’d seen people do it. Watched in on TV series, even read about it in books. Countless times. The concept was easy enough. Meeting the family. But at that moment, I genuinely couldn’t breathe.

My space, the apartment I was so damn proud of, felt smaller. Too small.

The walls were suddenly starting to creep in. Closing in and around me. I needed to do something that would help getting oxygen into my lungs because they were starting to burn.

But I couldn’t move.

I watched him turn off the stove and walk to me.

As he held my hand, his eyes searched mine as he gently spoke, “Stef, what’s up?”

“I think this is, umm… a lot.”

“A lot?” he repeated. “Sunshine, talk to me.”

“Umm… I need, I think I need a moment,” I stupidly said, turning around and leaving him standing in my kitchen.

On autopilot, I picked up my keys, slipped on my flats, and stepped out of my apartment with no idea where I was going or what the hell I was doing.

_______________

I didn’t know where I was going or why. I just drove.

Not that I was able to drive far. Not when my gas light turned on and I was in a residential area, realizing I had left without my purse. I pulled into a nearby park. One I was all too familiar with. I’d been here during my childhood. I scoffed at the thought, shaking my head, then resting it against my headrest.

I had run away.

From Garrett.

How did that even make sense? I wasn’t a kid anymore.

Growing up the way I had was my past. Garrett wanted me to meet his family. His family wanted to meet me. That was a good thing, not a bad one. He probably thought I was crazy, or crazier. When I reached for my phone, I realized my mistake. I had forgotten my purse, and my phone was in my bag.

Well, crap.

Looking around, I stepped out of my car and walked to a bench by the playground. A park at night would be eerie to anyone else, but this was around the time I would sneak out of my foster homes and got to play, and despite being in a somewhat shady area of town, I was right at home in the darkness on the empty playground.

“What are you doing around here, Stef?” a deep voice spoke into the darkness, and I jumped but relaxed when I turned to see the big man behind me.

“Bash.” I touched my chest. “You wanna give me a heart attack?”

“Babe.” He shook his head. His perfectly coiffed hair didn’t move as he sat next to me on the bench.

“What’s up?” I asked as if we were bumping into one another at a grocery store instead of an empty park at night.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” he repeated, but I didn’t say anything. I had no freaking clue why I was there. “Stef,” he warned, obviously frustrated, joining his hands together as he settled in. Sebastian wasn’t in a hurry.

“I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?” I found myself asking the heavily inked man, giving him a smile, but his stony expression didn’t change.

“Stefanie.”

“Sebastian.”

“You know not a lot of people would give me shit.” He wasn’t lying.

Sebastian Herrez was a force to be reckoned with.

He was also a man who had questionable business dealings with even more questionable people. That alone scared people off. I wasn’t one of those people. Not because I was gutsy or anything, but because at one time he had also been a boy I’d shared a foster home with.

“I know. Some would probably be scared crapless even being in the same area as you,” I pointed out, and he shook his head.

“Geez, girl. You never change.” He chuckled, his knee bumping mine. “So, talk to me.”

“I went for a drive and forgot my purse and phone.”

“You went for a drive?” He studied my face, and his stony expression turned to granite. “You get pissed at Kip or something?”

“No.”

“You fighting with someone?” he guessed again. I felt my eyes narrow I turned to look at him.

“Why do I have to be arguing or mad to go on a drive? Maybe I just wanted to go for a drive?”

“You’re upset.” He took a glimpse over his shoulder before pulling out a cigarette from his jacket pocket. I was upset. I just didn’t know if I wanted to tell him that.

“You’re all spiffed up.” I changed the subject.

“Better threads than what we were given at the Stations, huh?”

“You could say that.” I shrugged.

The Stations were the home we had shared. They were a nice enough couple. Doing their bit but making sure the kids they had knew they were there for one reason. A check. They weren’t mean, but they weren’t kind. They were indifferent. And to kids looking for a little affection, indifference killed.

“But every time I see you, you’re dressed like you just came from a photo shoot,” I pointed out.

“You busting my balls?”

“Not at all, Bash,” I softly shared. “Just pointing out you’re doing well, is all.”

“So?”

“So, what?”

“So, why aren’t you?”

“I’m not doing poorly. I’m not rolling in it like you, but I do okay. I have a nice place, decent job—”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Geez, Stef.” He chuckled, his brows up by his hairline. “Come on, share. What’s going on?”

“Bash,” I whispered his name into the darkness. “I should probably get going home.”

“In a minute. Why don’t you tell me what’s been going on with you?” he pressed.

I didn’t know how he had shown up out of nowhere or why he cared so much. We had never been buddies per say. Sebastian was the walking, breathing definition of a bad boy. Not only the hot, tatted kind who drove a motorcycle and a vintage Impala, but the real kind. The kind of bad boy who found a way of making a lot of cash in very illegal ways.

Regardless of that and the menacing aura he carried, I found myself talking.

I told him about everything Garrett.

From the way we met to now, and everything in between. Once I opened my mouth, I couldn’t stop. Even going as far as mentioning how I had left my purse and phone at home at the mention of meeting his people.

“Do you want to meet them?” he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

“Yes,” I found myself responding without thinking about it and giggling. “Crazy, right? Someone like me meeting people like them?”

“Someone like you?” he questioned, the interest in his voice clear as day.

“We both know what I mean.” I sighed.

“Mmm, castaways, you mean?” he said, bringing back a memory. I smiled as I looked into his almost black eyes.

“You remember that?”

“Aye,” he said, sounding like a pirate. “We were kids. You were younger than me, but at the same time in a lot of ways you were older.”

“I don’t know about that,” I scoffed shyly.

“I do. Look, I can’t say I know shit about relationships. The only serious one I have is between me and my attorney, and I pay her a shit ton of money to put up with me and my crap.” My eyes widened at his words, but I luckily found myself keeping my mouth shut as he kept sharing his wisdom. “But I know life, and I know people. Lots of fucked-up souls out there. Stefanie, you gotta know you’re one of the good ones.”

“That’s sweet.”

“It’s the truth. And at the end of the day, you gotta know they’re the lucky ones to get to meet you.”

“I’m not sure about that, Sebastian. They’re all so accomplished and—”

“And? Who gives a fuck. Babe, they all put their pants on one leg at a time.”

“I guess. I just—”

“Your man make you feel like you’re not worth it?” he asked, his jaw clenched tight.

“What?” I was confused as to what exactly he was asking.

“Like Mr. Station did to June?” Ah. Now I understood his question, but I shook my head.

“No. Garrett’s nothing like that. I wouldn’t deal with shit like that.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” His shoulder playfully bumped mine. “Look, Stef, we both know life’s a bitch. People make choices in life and fuck others over without knowing it.”

“My parents knew what they were doing.” I couldn’t help myself. “Well, in that moment, not after. After, they didn’t even remember I existed.” His eyes went soft, and the small crown inked below his left eye dropped slightly.

“I’m just saying life’s fucking short. We’ve had shit served on our plate from the get-go, yet we’re still here. We made something out of ourselves. So, why the fuck not go for broke, put all your chips in, and bet big?”

“Umm, because when you bet big, the house usually wins and you go broke.”

“You scared to go for broke?”

“Terrified. I didn’t think I could feel… feel like I do for him.”

“How do you think he feels?” he asked, and I narrowed my eyes. “Stef, everything you’ve told me about the guy, sure, he had an easier start, but he’s dealt with his own shit. Seen shit a man should never have to see. Can’t be easy to bounce back from that and try to have your own bit of happy.”

“When did you get so wise, Bash?”

“Shut up,” he groaned but didn’t push me off his shoulder. “You ready to get back home?”

“Yeah. Can I borrow your phone?”

Garrett

“What do you mean she left?” Kip asked, his nose flared, but Garrett didn’t give a shit. “Where the fuck did she go?”

“Look, old man, I came here because I figured you’re the one who knows her the best. If I knew where she was, I wouldn’t be wasting my time here.” He felt like he was coming out of his skin.

“Boy, you old man me again—”

“You boy me again—”

“Hey,” the young good-looking bartender who always smiled too much at Stef cut in behind them. “Kip, Bash is on the phone.”

“Fuck,” he groaned, taking in a deep breath. “Last thing I wanna do is deal with that hoodlum.”

“I think you might wanna talk to him.”

“Alex—”

“He says it’s about Stef.” Garrett pinned his eyes on the old man as he turned and took the call.

“Bash?” the old man ran his fingers through his hair before setting his eyes down toward his shoes. “Right. But she okay?” he asked. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. “What the fuck was she doing there?”

Garrett’s stomach clenched wondering what the hell was going on and who the hell Bash was, thinking about his ray of sunshine, tiny and vulnerable. What the hell had he done to make her run?

“Right.” Kips eyes met Garrett’s. The expression on the old man’s face was unreadable. “She said that, huh? Damn girl. Okay. Yeah. He’s here. Hold on.” Kip nudged his head, and Garrett moved down the bar, standing right in front of the old man. “Here.”

“Hello?” Garrett’s deep voice rumbled.

“Garrett Wright?” a deep voice spoke. Garrett didn’t know what to make of this Bash guy.

“Speaking.”

“Sebastian Herrez. You don’t know me. Trust me, I’m not talking shit when I say you don’t wanna know me. Your girl’s home.”

“Who the hell—”

“Look, we can play this who the hell are you game, but let’s not. If shit goes the way it should, and by that I mean you don’t fuck up or hurt her, you never have to breathe a word to me again. Just know she’s safe and calm. Back at her place. Worried about where you might be.”

“Thanks, heading back now.”

“Wright?”

“Yeah?”

“If, let’s say, you hurt her, whatever way that might happen… I wasn’t kidding. I’m not a man you want to know in general, but you do that, you hurt her in any way, you and I… we’ll get to know one another very well. You get me?” Garrett clenched his jaw.

He had no fucking clue who the guy on the line was, didn’t know his relation to his girl, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Because as irritated as he was at being spoken that way, he respected the man looking out for Stefanie.

“I got you.”

“Good. Hope you have a good night.” The call ended. He tossed the phone back at the old man and headed to his girl without a glance back.

If he had looked, he would have seen Kip’s eyes warm, a small smile playing on his wise-ass face.

_______________

“Stef?” he called out as he opened the door, and there she was. The weight that had been on his shoulders from the moment he realized she had walked out and wasn’t being goofy vanished. Standing in the living room, he looked her up and down. Not a hair was out of place. She’s safe. She was obviously stressed out, and her eyes were as big as saucers as she looked up at him, but she was there.

“I’m sorry.” She wrung her hands together, and all he could think was Thank God she is okay.

“What happened, sunshine?”

“I… I … I just..” she stuttered nervously. He cut the space between them. He needed her close. Grabbing her hand, he moved them to the couch, and she let him.

Jesus. He had been scared out of his mind when he had realized she had left with nothing on her.

Not a cell phone or her wallet.

They weren’t in the safest of areas, she had been out there alone at night, and he had no fucking clue why she’d run.

Setting her sweet ass on his lap, he wrapped his arms around her waist and looked up at her, cupping her face with one hand. The soft skin of her cheek felt like a treasure to him. She’s okay, he reminded himself, trying to relieve the frayed edges of his nerves.

“You scared the hell out of me, sunshine.”

“I’m so sorry,” she muttered into his chest. The weight of her on his lap felt so damn good. He tightened his hold on her.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry. Did I move us too fast?” A knot cramped in his stomach. Of course, he had. He had bulldozed his way into her life and freaked her the hell out.

“No.” She shook her head and looked up at him, and all he wanted to do was protect her, she looked so damn vulnerable. “I got overwhelmed,” she finally spoke, her tiny hand touching his beard. “I’ve never done that.”

“Run off?”

“Met the parents. Or had parents to meet.”

“Babe—”

“Not even my own,” she said with a half-smile, attempting to lighten the mood, but he wasn’t going to let her.

“It was their loss. My family, though annoying, aren’t stupid. They want to meet you.” He didn’t know why he was pushing for her to meet them; he just knew he wanted this part of his life to intersect with the other.

“And I want to meet them.”

“But?”

“But, Garrett, what are they going to think of me? They’re not going to like me. I don’t come from much, and I don’t have a lot—”

“Fuck me, sunshine.”

“Right now?” She gave him another half a smile, obviously still trying to lighten the mood.

“Do you know how incredible you are?” he asked.

“Garrett,” she whispered.

“You are. Do you know that? I…” He shook his head and found the strength to look away from her eyes. If he looked at them any longer, three little words would creep out and she would really freak the hell out. “I get it if you aren’t ready. We can wait. I already moved my old ass in here—”

“You’re not old,” she scoffed, and he bit away a smile.

“I’ve never done the relationship thing. Which I shouldn’t remind you of in case it makes you doubt this thing between us.”

“Garrett.”

“A man my age shouldn’t be doing this for the first time.”

“I like that we’re doing this together for the first time.” She smiled, giving him a small but sweet kiss. This will be the first and last time, he thought, but he didn’t say it. He leaned in close, resting his forehead on hers.

“I like it, too, sunshine, but if I’m pushing too much—”

“This weekend is fine,” she cut him off, her gaze drawing him in. He wanted to believe her.

“But—”

“It’s fine. It is.” She nodded, and he knew she was being honest.

“I don’t want to make you do anything you’re not comfortable with. Ever.” Garrett wanted things to be crystal clear between them. She didn’t respond right away, as if she was absorbing his words as her eyes drifted away from his.

“Do you want me to meet them?” she asked, avoiding meeting his eyes. Putting a finger below her chin, he lifted it up carefully, so their gazes could meet.

“I do,” he admitted honestly, taking in the way she closed her eyes, missing the warmth they radiated. “But I get it if I’m pushing too hard. That wasn’t my intention, Stef.”

“I want to. I just… I got overwhelmed.”

“Next time—and because it’s me you’re dealing with, I can guarantee there will be a next time—can you not run? Take space, tell me to go to another room or outside to sit on the porch, but don’t run, baby. You scared the hell out of me.”

“I’m really—” He shook his head and didn’t let her say anything else.

“Let me be here for you.”

“Will you let me be there for you?” she asked. He didn’t think before answering. He had no idea it would come back to bite him in the ass.

“Yes. This thing we’re doing, it’s a two-way street, sunshine.” He winked, and she nodded.

“Promise?”

“Stef, I’m all in. All chips and cards on the table.”

“Okay. I promise. I won’t run.”

“Good.” He grinned at her, stroking her hair. “So, who the hell is Bash?” he asked, and she fell into a fit of giggles, melting further into him. He took her weight like a fucking prize.

A prize he never saw coming.

A prize he hoped to fuck he deserved.