Page 91 of The Last Promise You Made

On Friday morning, I dressed in the only dark suit I owned, wondering why the hell I was putting it on for Phil. He’d spent his life in jeans at the bar. He wouldn’t expect suits from us. He’d probably be laughing his ass off from the other side. But out of respect for Mama and the family, I put it on.

When I walked out into the kitchen and found Gia there with a coffee already poured and pushed across the counter at me, I had to hold myself back, as I had every morning, from kissing her hello. I’d much rather spend the next few hours lost in the scent and feel of her, figuring out what made her gasp and squirm and scream, than attending Phil’s funeral.

“Thanks,” I said, picking up the coffee while she took me in from head to toe.

“Is that Armani?” she asked.

I shrugged. It was, but admitting I knew that was more than I was willing to give this morning.

“You clean up pretty good, cowboy,” her voice dipped, and the sensuality in that nickname made my pulse quicken and my dick respond.

“Just because we live in a tiny town in Tennessee doesn’t mean we’re clueless.”

Her gaze landed on my mouth. “Definitely not clueless.”

The air burned between us for several seconds, tempting me, calling to me. I’d clean up for her anytime she wanted if she’d put action behind those words.

“You’ll catch me cleaned up even more tomorrow. I rented a tux. Do you have a dress?”

Her brows furrowed. “Damn. The gala? I completely forgot about it.”

Images of Gia in a sexy dress that clung to her lean curves filled me, making my body react even more. I wanted to pull her against me, slow dance with her, run my hands along her hips, and press myself into her.

Days and nights of wanting her had pushed me to my limits.

While I was thinking of her in a dress and what slowly removing her from it would be like, Gia was obviously not. Instead, her face held a faraway look I’d come to acquaint with her puzzling out the mystery of the cartel and her job.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“Anna’s assassin died in Lexington, Laredo’s place is in Kentucky, and your place was broken into after he showed up at the ranch.”

I shook my head, seeing where she was going. “Jaime is your typical millionaire. Egotistical and arrogant, but he’s not running a cartel from his place outside Corbin.”

“He have a sister?”

“None that he ever mentioned.”

While Ravyn and Jaime shared some resemblance, it could easily be accounted for by their similar heritage. They both had dark hair, dark eyes, and warm skin, but Ravyn had been small and curvy with fairylike features, and Jaime was tall and lean with a long rectangular face.

I glanced at the clock on the microwave, knowing I needed to leave, but I was reluctant to do so. Not just because I didn’t really like funerals, but because I wanted to stay here, talking with Gia. I wanted to spend another day with her and my daughter, and now I was walking out the door without either of them.

We’d agreed taking Addy to the funeral wasn’t a possibility, not only because we couldn’t tell the town about her yet but because we weren’t sure how she’d react to seeing the coffin buried. She hadn’t talked about her mother or the life they’d led. And other than when she’d helped Gia with a sketch of the assassin, Addy hadn’t mentioned the day she’d been killed again.

Just like the charge building between Gia and me, I knew that Addy’s emotions were building too. That holding them in for too long wasn’t good. That she’d need help. Someone with a degree and the experience to guide her through what she’d witnessed. But until we could ensure she was safe, I couldn’t take her to just anyone.

If this thing with the Lovatos went on too long, I’d make sure Gia found an NSA-approved therapist for her. I’d have to do something.

But nothing could be done about it today, so as much as I hated it, I was leaving Addy with Gia and Enrique while I attended the funeral and celebration of Phil’s life. I wouldn’t be far, just a few miles, and yet it felt like too much. It felt wrong when I hadn’t gone anywhere without them in the last week.

As if she read my worry, Gia closed the distance between us, squeezing my shoulder. “She’ll be fine, Ryder. We’ll read some of the books Rianne brought her and play some games. You’ll be home before dinner. If you had a regular job and she was at school, it would be the same.”

Gia was right, and yet something in me still resisted.

I almost leaned in and kissed her cheek. I almost pulled her to me and inhaled the scent that seemed to calm me and wind me up all at the same time. Instead, I grabbed my hat and my keys and headed out the door without saying good morning to my daughter. Because if I stayed even a moment longer, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to leave without dragging them with me. And that would be selfish. That would be for me and not them.

Unlike the generations of Hatleys who were buried in a family cemetery on Hatley land, the McFlannigans were buried in the graveyard of a stone church on the edge of town. My family was already there when I drove up.

My sisters and Mama were in simple but stylish black dresses. Gemma had flown in late last night, and I hadn’t had a chance to see her yet. Her long blond hair stood out from Mama’s and Sadie’s dark heads. Gemma and Maddox had inherited their hair coloring from Grandma Hatley, but Gemma was the only one of us who’d gotten Granny’s hazel eyes. The rest of us had a shade of blue like our parents. My sister looked thinner than normal, and while her expression was sad for Phil, I suspected it also had to do with her recent heartbreak. As I squeezed her in a tight hug that she returned, Dad and Maddox came out of the church in dark suits that matched my own.

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