CHAPTER NINE

VALERIE

“I’m so glad it wasn’t anything major.” I sighed in relief as I sat next to him in his Explorer, my hands on my knees.

“It’s fixed. Though, I gotta tell you, anytime you wanna sleep out in the hammock, I’m more than glad to join you.” He winked at me before his eyes went back to the road ahead of him.

“I might take you up on that,” I told him, and his profile smiled. Sleeping in his arms had given me some of the best sleep I’d had in longer than I could remember. Shaking my head and trying to stop thinking about what it meant, I shyly glanced at him. “So... will you tell me where we are going now?”

“Are you one of those people who are against surprises?” he asked, and I laughed.

“Maybe.” My lips twitched.

“How do you feel about amusement parks?”

“Like Disneyland? I love. Six Flags Magic Mountain, not so much,” I shared, and he nodded.

“What about middle ground?” he asked looking into his mirrors before changing lanes.

“Like?”

“Knott’s Berry Farm?” He glanced over at me. I grinned.

“I haven’t been there in forever!” Excitement was clear in my voice.

“So that’s okay?”

“More than okay.” I beamed, thrilled about where we were going.

On the way, his hand took mine, bringing it between us, as if he needed to touch me. I liked that. Probably because I needed his touch, too.

How can I have just met this guy, yet feel like this?

“I can hear you thinking. Don’t overthink this,” he murmured, not looking at me. I squeezed his hand. He brought it up and over to his lips and kissed it. Just like the hero did in books or movies, and I melted further.

We parked and walked to the entrance, where he insisted that this was a date and he was paying, so I shrugged and let him, mentally taking a note that I should pay for lunch.

Hand in hand, we walked around and decided to get in line for Montezuma’s Revenge. I wasn’t a huge fan of roller coasters, but somehow, knowing he was going to be next to me, holding my hand, I was more than happy to wait in line with him. In the semi-crowded line filled with teenagers on summer vacation, he held me from behind, his hands wrapped around my waist, his head on my shoulder.

We talked about little things.

He told me about work, while I told him about what my week consisted of. He asked how I got into nursing and I shared. Talking to Bryan was easy. A couple in front of us turned and asked if we could take a picture of them, and after, they offered to take one of us. Bryan gave them his phone and held me close like he had been, and we both gave the camera cheesy grins. We thanked them and looked at it. It was a great picture. Without really noticing it, that hope that had started to bloom in my chest grew further; I had no way of stopping it.

After screaming and laughing on the roller coaster, we walked around, still hand in hand like we had been a couple for ages rather than being on our first date.

“You should send me that picture,” I mentioned to him, and he nodded.

“What will I get if I do?” he asked. I stopped in my tracks, people moving around us.

“What do you want?” I cheekily asked, knowing I was poking at the bear.

“Val—” But he didn’t say anything else, because I closed the space between us. Standing on the tips of my toes, I kissed him. It was slow and sweet, and such a breathtakingly perfect moment that when I pulled away, my eyes were a little glassy. “Is it bad that we just got here and now I wanna take you back home?” His mouth was at my ear.

“No.” My voice was raspy. “But we should get on a couple more rides.”

“I have a ride for you.” He chuckled. I shook my head playfully, rolling my eyes.

“Come on.” I led the way toward a log ride, looking forward to the day that lay ahead of us.

It went by too fast.

Like a dream come true, the day flew by in a blur of laughter, stolen and not-so stolen kisses, and warm embraces. We’d gone on rides, small and big. We ate lunch; he didn’t let me pay. Snacked on sinfully delicious churros; again, he didn’t let me pay, saying something about his grandmother having a stroke if she ever found out. Then, because Bryan said you couldn’t go out to an amusement park or a carnival and not have a funnel cake, we shared one of those as well. Who am I to argue about funnel cake consumption? If those were his rules, I was more than happy to oblige.

We made it home after dark, laughing as we stepped into the house. “You sure you want to do a bonfire?” he asked, lugging a bundle of wood we had picked up on our way home.

“Yeah. It’ll be fun.”

“We could make a couple of our own sparks come alive in here,” he whispered into my ear. I shook my head.

The day had been one of the best I’d ever had. Easily one of the top three best days of my life.

That alone should have warned me. Life liked to teach me lessons. I should have known better.

Turning on the light in the living room, I was not prepared.

Not at all.

My body froze the instant I saw who was sitting on the couch.

BRYAN

He had never had a better first date than with Valerie. Last first date, a voice whispered in his mind, the same one that kept saying mine, but he shook it off.

When he bumped into her, his hand on her waist, his eyes adjusted to the man sitting on the couch.

“Victor?” she whispered, and the guy on the couch tilted his head. Dark eyes narrowed first on her and then on him. The hairs on Bryan’s neck stood on end; he immediately disliked the guy.

“Val.” The stranger’s voice was deep.

“What...” She cleared her throat nervously, stepping away from Bryan’s touch, and he didn’t like it. Just like he didn’t like the tension that was suddenly radiating off her. “What are you doing here?”

“Vaughn called. He’s been trying to get a hold of you,” he weirdly told her. Bryan observed the way her eye twitched slightly before her face turned unreadable and cold.

“I forgot my phone,” she lied. He wondered why and who the hell the guy was.

“I see. Who are you?” The ass asked Bryan, and he stood taller, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I think I should be asking you that.”

“Umm, Bryan, this is Victor, umm, Vaughn’s older brother. Vic, this is our new roommate,” she shared in a steady voice, but her hands were clenched at her sides as they slightly shook before she crossed them at her chest.

He didn’t like the way she hid herself away from this guy. A creepy smile appeared on the asshole’s face as he looked at Valerie, eyeing her, his eyes staying on her chest way too long. Bryan felt like pounding the guy.

“This is what gets the Ice Princess to thaw, huh?” Victor nodded toward Bryan after standing, and Valerie took a protective step back, further from both men, something else Bryan didn’t like. He despised the way this guy was intimidating her. “Vaughn needs you to call him, and when you do, remind him he owes Lenny... big,” he cryptically told her, and Bryan watched Val’s face pale further.

When the living room went silent, Bryan had had enough. “Alright, man, you gotta go.” Bryan broke the eerie silence, protectively stepping in from of Valerie, who was now looking down at the floor, deep in her own thoughts.

“I was just going to do that.” Victor’s smile reminded Bryan of a snake. “Nice meeting you...Brandon.”

“Bryan,” he growled. “Detective Bryan Wright.”

“Yeah… I thought I smelled bacon. See you around, Princess.” He shoved Bryan on the shoulder before walking out.

He stepped forward and locked the door, then left her standing in the living room, making sure the rest of the house was locked up. When he stepped back into the living space, her back was turned to him. Facing the door as if making sure the asshole was gone. He watched her hold one of her hands at her waist, the other at her lips.

“You okay?” he asked into the silence, but she didn’t move. Her body was wound tight and the air was filled with what could only be described as apprehension. “Val?”

“Was the back door unlocked?” she oddly asked.

“No,” he shared, and her hand left her face and went into her hair. Her body was still tense, but he had to ask, “What was that all about?”

“Vaughn.”

“And?” he pressed, taking a step toward her, but when she shook her head, he stopped in his tracks.

“Reality.” She turned to him.

The carefree girl he had been with this afternoon was gone and so was the feisty woman he’d first met that morning wrapped up in nothing but a towel. The gorgeous woman in front of him was someone else completely.

“Thanks for today, Bryan, it was...” She paused as if taking in a deep breath. “It was more fun than you will ever know, but I don’t think this is going to work out.”

“How did he get in?” Bryan asked, cutting her off, not wanting to hear her brush-off. “Does he have a key?”

“No.” She shook her head, and when he saw her eyes turn watery, he’d had enough. Closing the space between them, he pulled her into him and held her close.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he growled as a fierce need to protect her rushed through him.

Mine.

“It’s not that easy.”

“I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. You have to know that,” he promised, knowing that he was pushing; he knew pushing Valerie wouldn’t work, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“How? How would I know that?” she asked, panic and frustration clearly on her face. “I’m sorry, Bryan, but we went on one date. That was it.”

“Baby—”

“Don’t get that mixed up in your head with something that this isn’t. We got to know one another today. That’s it!” she hissed, and he shook his head.

“You know that is not true.” His eye twitched and he clenched his jaw. He wanted his girl back, not the emotionless woman in front of him.

“It is. You’re a cool guy—” She was going to push him away, pull away, and panic struck him. It hit so intensely that he pulled her in closer, needing to have his lips on hers, but this time, she pushed him away and he let her.

“No!” she yelled. ”No more kissing. We are roommates. That’s it. And whatever might have happened before and today, it’s not going to—”

“Blondie.”

“Not anymore. No more kisses. No more ending up on your lap. It’s not a good idea. Good night.” She stepped away with her hand out at him as if warning him not to go to her. Being the kind of man he was, he stood stock still.

His feet were nailed to the floor as he watched how her eyes flashed with fear and sadness before she retreated into her bedroom, the door slamming behind her.

He went into his room and sat on the bed.

Bryan stayed up thinking about what had happened. How much it seemed he didn’t know Vaughn McGuire at all. How much he needed to find out. He knew that whatever this Victor guy wanted wasn’t good. He also knew that the asshole had frightened his girl. Bryan hadn’t made it to detective because he was an idiot.

Being the cop he was, the man he was, he needed answers, so he made a call.

Tania Monroe was not only his friend and colleague; she was one of the best detectives he knew. This was partially because she wasn’t only a hard-ass but a computer savant.

Though she was normally quiet and reserved with others, he knew he could trust her to look into whatever pile of shit he had unknowingly stepped into by moving here. After a quick, hushed call in the backyard a couple minutes later, he stood looking out toward the shore, an unlit cigarette in his hand.

He should probably leave whatever ghost scared Val alone. A woman like her could make a man’s life complicated. Not only that, but he was probably the last thing she needed in her life.

Knowing that didn’t mean he was going to stay away.

He couldn’t.

She was his.