CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

BRYAN

His days off had passed by in a blur. Their days had been made up of making love and eating in bed. He smiled at the memory of how great she fucking felt in his arms.

Waiting for Tyler to get his fucking coffee, knowing that he would be home in less than two hours, he noticed the shops around them. One in particular called his attention.

A jewelry store.

He had never been the kind of man to shy away from things, and when he thought about his future, he knew exactly where he wanted it to go. Especially now that he knew he could give Valerie everything. Though, she had been right. A family could be had in many ways and not just by blood. He had just been too stubborn to see it when he had been told he couldn’t have one the way he had originally envisioned it.

Life was funny in the way it worked out, the twists and turns all so that you could look at life from a different perspective. He had left his brother’s home to restart his life, and from the moment he’d crossed paths with his sassy little blonde, it had gone into super speed.

Thinking about their pasts, how different their lives had been from childhood and on, he appreciated it all even more. He felt like he was standing on the precipice of a new beginning, the future wide open and full of possibilities. But he knew he wanted her by his side. He also wanted to give her everything and anything her heart desired, especially a family.

The future was brighter than ever and as he looked at the small mom and pop jewelry store that was a staple in the small community, as crazy as it might have seemed to some, he knew what he had to do.

Pushing himself off the car, he took three steps toward the store before his phone rang. Looking down, he smiled and answered.

“Were your ears burning?” he asked her, her laughter making his heart fuller.

“No, were you talking about me, Detective?”

“Again, that’s Detective Handsome to you, and no, I wasn’t talking about you. I was thinking about you.” He grinned.

“Oh, in that case, were yours burning all day long?” she sassed, and he loved it.

“I fucking love you.”

“Good,” she answered, and he knew she was smiling. “Hey, listen, it’s pretty slow here. I’m going to leave early, stop at the pharmacy, and head home. Do you want anything in particular for dinner?”

“I got dinner. Why don’t you get home and take a long hot bath and sip a glass of wine?”

“You have the best ideas, Mr. Wright. If you don’t mind, I will take you up on that.”

“You should. I plan on keeping you up very late tonight, Miss Duncan.” One day soon, she’d have his ring and name.

“I like the sound of that. See you later.”

“Later.” Ending the call, he heard Tyler call his name and had to turn around from heading toward the jewelry store, but he would get there.

Soon.

***

Getting home, he immediately noticed her bike was not parked in the drive like it usually was. Grabbing his cell, he tried her and she answered on the second ring.

“Hey.”

“Hey, did you get stuck in traffic?” he asked playfully, his smile diminishing at the sound her soft sigh.

“No. I’m still at the hospital.”

“What happened?”

“A bus accident. I’m walking to my bike now.”

“Everyone okay?” he asked.

“They are now.” She smiled. “What the...” Her voice faded off and he sat up in the driver’s seat, keys in hand.

“What’s wrong.” The hairs at his neck stood on end.

“My bike,” she whispered, and he started his car.

“Val?”

“Its... oh, my God.” Her soft tone made something sink in his stomach like a rock sinking to the bottom of a pail.

“Talk to me, baby,” he urged her.

“Someone threw... what is this? Paint?” She was talking out loud but not necessarily to him.

“Babe, don’t touch it.”

“Red paint!” she growled, and he could only imagine how pissed she was and hated he had an idea who was responsible.

“Baby—”he tried to calm her down, but she cut him off.

“Bryan, its covered in red paint,” she shared, and his jaw clenched. But it wasn’t until she gasped that fear hit his gut. “My seat.”

“Babe, go back into the hospital. Wait for me at the main entrance, okay?”

“Handsome—”

“Valerie. Please,” he pleaded sternly. “Get inside, honey. It’s safer inside. I’m on my way. Do you understand?”

“Okay.”

“I need you to get inside, okay?”

“Okay.”

He stayed on the line with her until she got inside, then made her hand the phone to the security guard where he explained who he was and what he needed to get done. After being assured that the right authorities would be notified, he rushed his ass to the hospital to get to his girl.

VALERIE

I watched the moment he crossed the sliding doors of the main entrance and rushed to him.

“Hey...” he started to say but instead, I was thankful he just held me tightly. “Shhh...” he whispered, his lips at the top of my head, and just like that, the tension that had me wound up the moment I had seen my bike flitted away.

Resting my forehead on his strong chest, I let myself give him some of my weight, knowing he wouldn’t let me fall.

“I saw the bike,” he whispered, and my eyes shut tight.

Red paint splattered all over. So much some had dripped all over the concrete below. If the idea of having to do a complete new paint job wasn’t enough, the seat had been carved into. HOMEWRECKER was cut into the leather of the seat, and I knew exactly who it had been.

“It’s probably not worth fixing,” I muttered, sad about my bike.

“Don’t say that. You love it.”

“I have my two cars. I’ll be okay,” I shared with a weak smile, and he nodded.

“You will be. I got it towed to a shop I know.”

“I shouldn’t invest any more into it,” I argued.

“You won’t. She will.”

“Right.” I laughed humorlessly, trying to get out of his arms, but he didn’t let me.

“She was caught on the security cameras. Clear as day.”

“Really?” I asked, thinking how stupid could someone be, doing something so destructive and not taking precautions of getting caught.

“Let’s go home,” he suggested. I looked up into the beautiful pools that were his eyes, realizing that with everything that had happened, how I should have felt compared to how I actually did were like night and day.

I wasn’t angry at Courtney.

I felt sorry for her.

She wasn’t well. Something had to have happened to trigger her craziness. Not only that. Courtney now knew exactly what her lies and betrayal had cost her. The man who was holding me was unlike any other I had met. Losing him would kill.

I stood a little straighter in his arms, watching as his eyes tried to read me, and I lifted to the tips of my toes and kissed him. Softly. Slowly. Pulling away, I smiled and watched his eyes glitter with warmth.

“Take me home, Detective, we got a bath with our name on it,” I informed him, enjoying how he immediately pulled me in, kissing the top of my head before leading the way to his SUV.