Chapter Twelve
Anais was surprised to see Belinda follow Nicole into the store the next morning. “She’s here to help,” Nicole explained before she could ask.
“Really?” Anais asked, her brows rising. She sensed there was more to the story, but couldn’t ask in Belinda’s presence. She suspected that Belinda was still struggling to accept her breakup with Chip.
Customers began arriving soon after they unlocked the doors. Belinda proved to be useful as she knew her cosmetics. She was good at judging just what a customer needed and advising them on other products they might like to try.
Traffic slowed down shortly after noon. “Would you guys mind if I left for lunch?” Belinda asked. She picked up her purse from behind the counter and shouldered the strap.
“Not at all,” Anais said. “I really appreciate you coming in to help us today.”
“No problem.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
Nicole sighed as the door closed behind her sister. “Thanks for letting her stay. She called me crying last night. I think she really thought Chip was coming back to her and she’s finally accepted that that isn’t going to happen. She was so depressed that I didn’t want to leave her alone.”
“It’s fine. She’s been a real help today.”
“I’m going to go to the breakroom and have a quick snack.”
Anais nodded. “Oh…um…and Belinda knows that Kyle and I are dating, right?”
Nicole grinned. “Jealous over him already?”
“I’m not jealous. But after the way she acted at Thanksgiving, I wasn’t sure if she was still interested in Kyle.”
“She was drunk that night. She hasn’t mentioned his name since.”
Anais sighed in relief. After Nicole finished her break, Anais took one herself. She had a quick snack consisting of an apple, yogurt, almonds, and some water. When she finished and reentered the store, she found Belinda coming in the front door. She stared across the street before joining Anais and Nicole behind the counter. “So is Kyle dating Carrie?” Belinda asked casually.
“No,” Anais practically snapped. “He’s dating me.”
“Whoa!” Belinda’s eyes opened so wide it was comical, but then she laughed. “I guess I should have expected that. He couldn’t stop staring at you on Thanksgiving.”
“Then why did you keep hitting on him?” Nicole asked, her exasperation and disgust obvious.
Belinda put down her purse and shrugged. “Too much wine. Plus Anais was working so hard to ignore him.” She fluffed her hair. “Have you fucked him yet? Is his dick as big as it felt?”
“What?” Anais and Nicole yelled in unison. The few customers milling about in the store turned to stare at them. Anais gave them a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing,” she said. “Please, don’t let us disturb you.” The minute they’d turned back to their shopping, Anais moved closer to Belinda and whisper fiercely, “What the hell are you talking about? What do you know about Kyle’s...?” She waved her hands about in search of a polite euphemism. “His little Kyle?” she finished, unable to come up with anything better at the moment.
Belinda snickered. “It’s not so little.”
“Yes, but how do you know about it?”
She blushed. “I kind of groped him. I was drunk,” she added quickly, her tone defensive. “If it makes you feel any better, he was quick to put a stop to it.”
Anais ground her teeth together, still furious. As much as Kyle liked control, he would have hated being touched against his will. “No, it doesn’t. How could you do that to him?”
“I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry. I could apologize to him if you want?”
“That would be nice.”
“I will the next chance I get.”
A long silence followed. Finally Nicole leaned close to Anais. “So…how big is little Kyle? Are we talking petite or husky?”
Anais laughed. “I’m thinking little Kyle probably shops at specialty stores or has his clothing tailor made.”
“So it runs in the family,” Nicole said with a mischievous smile and a wink.
“That’s more than I want to know about Stuart,” Belinda objected.
Nicole laughed. “You started it.”
Belinda sniffed. “Well, now I’m ending it. Don’t you two have anything better to gossip about than the size of your boyfriends’ dicks?”
Anais hid a smile. A customer approached the counter and Anais busied herself with ringing up her purchases. Nicole stuck her tongue out at her sister before grabbing a box of hand cream and rounding the checkout counter.
“What type of foundation do you use?” the lady asked.
Anais touched her cheek. “Oh, I’m not wearing makeup.”
“And you use your products?”
She grinned. “Since I was a teen. My grandmother and I used to make hand creams and cleansers in our kitchen. I’ve developed a few new products over the years, but everything that I use on my skin is in the store.”
“What do you use?”
Anais gave her a list and helped her find the items. She placed them in the bag and accepted the woman’s credit card. “Thank you so much and please come again.”
“Smooth,” Belinda said once the lady was gone.
“Maybe, but everything I told her is the absolute truth.”
Nicole stopped in the process of restocking a display case near the window. She straightened and scowled. “Is that…is that smoke?” She pointed a shaking hand.
Anais hurried from behind the counter. Sure enough a plume of smoke was rising from behind Kyle’s building. “Oh, my God!” she yelled. “Call 911!” she shouted over her shoulder as she dashed out of the store. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic as she ran full tilt across the street without stopping to check.
“Does he need to go to the hospital?” Anais asked the paramedic named Bill anxiously.
“Well, ma’am-”
“I’m fine,” Kyle insisted for the third time. Anais pressed the oxygen mask back to his face and he glared at her over the clear rim. He was sitting in the back of the ambulance. They’d tried to get him to lie down, but he’d refused.
“Do you think he needs to go to the hospital?” she asked the paramedic again.
Bill shook his head. “We do recommend that he come in and get checked out. However, his oxygen levels are good and he has no burns.”
“See,” Kyle said with a scowl.
“Kyle, please, let’s go to be sure.” She’d never been so terrified in all her life as when she’d seen the smoke billowing up from his building. Some of her terror must have shown on her face because Kyle finally relented.
His eyes softened and he nodded. “Okay, baby.” He pulled her to his side with one arm and removed his oxygen long enough to kiss her forehead. “I’ll do it for you, but you’ll see that I’m fine.”
“Feeling well enough to answer a few questions?” a police officer asked. In addition to the ambulance that Kyle sat in, police cars, and a firetruck were on the scene. Most of the police were occupied keeping back spectators.
Kyle tensed slightly, but he nodded. “Sure.”
“Do you know how this fire started?”
“No.”
“Where were you when it started?”
“I was downstairs removing a dent from the side panel of a sedan.” Kyle pointed into the open garage where the burgundy car was visible.
The officer nodded. “I’ve talked to the fire chief and they suspect arson. The rear entrance to your apartment appears to be the point of entry. The lock was busted. An accelerant was used so the fire spread very quickly. I’m afraid that the upstairs will be uninhabitable until you’ve repaired the smoke and fire damage.” He paused as if to let that news sink in. “Do you have any idea as to who might have wanted to hurt you?”
Kyle frowned and then shook his head. “No.”
“Well, give it some thought. If you think of someone, give us a call.” He turned his gaze on Anais. “You’ve been questioned already, ma’am?”
Anais nodded. “Yes. I didn’t see anything. I own the store across the street and ran over when I saw the smoke.”
“That was very brave of you.”
She didn’t think it was brave. She hadn’t been thinking of anything but getting to Kyle and making sure he was safe. Fortunately, help had arrived only moments after she did. The fire station was right around the corner. Kyle wouldn’t have needed oxygen if he hadn’t gone upstairs to try to put out the fire. Anais was glad that he’d been sensible enough to leave that to the fire department when he’d realized that the blaze was out of control. When she’d run into the garage, he was coming from the direction of his apartment, coughing but clearly unharmed.
“Do you have insurance?” the officer asked Kyle.
Kyle nodded, but he didn’t look happy. Anais sympathized with him. Insurance wouldn’t make up for the inconvenience of being homeless until the repairs were made. She’d been in his apartment only once. Though he didn’t have a lot of clutter, she imagined that he still had personal items that could not be replaced. “You can stay with me.”
Kyle’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
She smiled. “Yes. Now let’s get you checked out and then I’ll take you home and feed you.”
“I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
***
Kyle sighed as he settled on Anais’s couch. His stomach was full. Anais was fawning over him despite the fact that he’d received a clean bill of health. She’d grilled steaks for dinner and served warm cookies and ice cream for dessert. She’d ordered him to sit at the dinner table and hadn’t allowed him to help in any way. Presently, she was in the kitchen cleaning up. He’d offered his assistance, but she’d shooed him out of the room.
He supposed that Anais thought that he was upset over the loss of his apartment. If anything, he was mourning his new television. Though he’d had a say in the layout of the apartment, it was just a place to sleep and eat. His real home was with Anais. He liked her house. It felt loved. It felt like a home. He’d gone too industrial with his apartment. The coldness of it hadn’t occurred to him until he saw Anais’s place. But the truth was, he wanted to be with Anais no matter where she lived.
Anais sat down beside him. “How are you feeling?”
He growled. “I’m fine, Anais.” He tugged her close and kissed her, his tongue plunging deep. When his cock hardened, he took her hand and wrapped her fingers around the hard rod. “Does that prove to you how good I’m feeling or should we take this upstairs?”
She smiled. “I didn’t mean physically. I meant about your apartment.”
“There was nothing there I can’t replace.”
“You didn’t have pictures or-”
“My mom wasn’t big on pictures. Most of my current photos are on my phone or backed up online.”
“Well, that’s good.” She sighed. “I don’t know who would want to do such a thing to you. Everyone in town likes you.”
Kyle arched an eyebrow. “Lincoln doesn’t like me,” he pointed out.
Anais rolled her eyes. “Lincoln wouldn’t do something like this. He might be disappointed that we’re not getting back together, but he’s never been passionate enough about me to commit arson.”
She was probably right. As much as he didn’t like Lincoln, Kyle couldn’t see the guy setting fire to his apartment. But he also didn’t like how quickly Anais jumped to Lincoln’s defense. Moving on to a more pressing concern of his, he said, “I think the police suspect me of setting my place on fire.”
“What? Why would you think that?”
“You heard them. They asked if I had insurance. I’m new in town and because of the way I look, police don’t immediately trust me. You can’t really vouch for me. In fact, you saw me coming from the direction of the fire. Your statement is more damning than it is helpful Business owners have been known to set fires-”
Anais slapped a hand over his mouth. “No one suspects you of setting that fire. The police will figure this out.”
Kyle kissed the palm of her hand, truly grateful to have her in his life. It was obvious that it had never occurred to her that he could have set that fire. Finally, he had her trust. And that she’d run into a burning building for him? Oh, hell, he had to get this woman to the altar. He pulled her hand away from his mouth. “Anais, have you given my marriage proposal any more thought?”
She laughed. “Are you trying to take advantage of the adrenaline of the moment?”
“Hell, yes. If today has proven anything, it’s how good we are together.”
“Kyle, I need to know. Do you-” The doorbell rang, interrupting whatever she would have said next. “I’ll be right back.”
Kyle allowed his head to drop onto the back of the couch. It had been a long day. He was mentally exhausted. He ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath.
“Anais, I’m glad to hear you weren’t hurt, but this is proof that you shouldn’t be associating with someone like him. Guys like that will always find trouble.”
Scowling, Kyle stood. He recognized that voice. Anais stood in the foyer with Lincoln. Kyle’s fisted his hands. “If you have an issue with me, I’d prefer if you approached me about it instead of pressuring Anais.”
Lincoln looked between Kyle and Anais. “What is he doing here?”
“Kyle’s apartment is no longer livable. I told him he could stay here.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
Anais expelled an exasperated huff. “He’s my boyfriend.”
“Anais, the entire time we were dating you never let me spend the night and we’ve known each other since middle school. This…this man comes along and you open your home to him?”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” she said quietly. “I think you should leave.”
“Anais, I’ve never known you to be this naïve. This guy probably set fire to his own place.”
Kyle growled but before he could respond, Anais snapped, “Lincoln, that’s enough. Please, leave.”
Lincoln didn’t look very happy, but Anais’s tone was firm. “You’re going to regret this,” he said bitterly before turning and leaving.
Sighing, Anais locked the door behind him. “I’m sorry about that.”
Kyle drew her into his arms. He’d never had anyone—not even his mother—stand up for him like that. “Thank you for believing in me.”
“Well, it’s ridiculous to think you’d set your own place on fire. Why would you? Your business has been doing well.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m planning on placing an ad in the paper for a receptionist. I also could use some additional hands. I figure I might have to train someone for that position.”
She smiled. “See? So why would you need insurance money?”
“I don’t,” he agreed then bent and kissed her. “Are you ready for bed?”
She glanced at her watch. Her brow wrinkled. “It’s barely past eight.”
He grinned and lifted her. She obligingly wrapped her legs around his waist and he started for the stairs. “I know.”
Kyle wasn’t sure what woke him. He lay still for a long moment listening for sounds and trying to figure out what had pulled him from a sound sleep. He’d made love to Anais over and over until they’d collapsed in a tangle of exhausted, sweaty limbs. Noting the silence in the room, he rolled over to find her gone.
He checked his phone for the time. It was a little after eleven. The light wasn’t on in the bathroom. He got out of bed and pulled on his underwear. The bedroom door was slightly ajar. Once outside the bedroom, he could hear the downstairs television.
He found Anais curled up on the couch in the den with a glass of water. She was wrapped up in a blanket to ward off the late night chill. “You couldn’t sleep?” he asked.
She screamed and clutched at her chest. Fortunately, her glass was almost empty otherwise the two of them would have been splashed. “Oh, my God, Kyle, don’t sneak up on me like that!”
He glanced from her to the television. He frowned when he saw what she was watching. Crime scene tape fluttered in the breeze. In the background, police officers recovered a body from a watery grave. “What are you watching?”
“Swamp Murders.”
Kyle closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s a wonder you ever leave your home if you watch stuff like that.”
She pouted. “I find the forensics fascinating.”
He settled down next to her and threw his arm around her shoulder. “Maybe it’s me who should be afraid of you. You’d know just how to kill me and get away with it, wouldn’t you?”
Giggling, she snuggled close. “Of course not. These shows are about how not to get away with murder.”
“I suppose that should console me, yet somehow, it doesn’t.” He propped his chin on her head and closed his eyes. He wasn’t interested in forensics nor did he care to hear the details of a grisly murder. But he did like holding Anais in his arms. He tuned out everything but the feel of her soft, warm body pressed against his.