Page 37 of Guarded Hearts

Once again, the waitress saved him from answering when she brought a basket of garlic sticks and set it on the table between them.

Layne looked at the bread and slid her gaze to him. He already anticipated her response.

“Eat the breadsticks, Layne.”

With a small smile, she plucked one eagerly from the basket.

Watching her take a bite—and hearing her moan—made all the trouble of organizing this outing worth it.

It damn near killed him when the woman he’d once loved, heart and soul, gave him a sweet smile.

* * * * *

When Carson pulled out of the parking lot of the restaurant, a set of headlights lit up the side mirror.

The car followed closely, mirroring every turn he made on their way into Willowbrook.

“Um…Carson?”

“Yeah, doll.”

The pet name he used to call her rolled off his tongue with casual nonchalance. She was torn between looking at his face to see if he realized his slip and keeping an eye on the car behind them.

“A car is following us.”

He flicked his gaze to the rearview mirror. “That’s my brothers.”

“Oh.” Neither Oaks nor Colt had spoken to her while they feasted on breadsticks, salad and eggplant parmesan, with a thick-cut steak on the side for Carson. She’d been so caught up in the atmosphere…and her handsome companion…that she’d almost forgotten about the Malone brothers even being in the restaurant.

“Where are we going now?”

“You’ll see.”

In the dim light of the dashboard, she made out the slight tilt to the corner of his hard lips. The smile was almost cocky. Not that she was surprised. This older, tougher, hard-as-steel version of Carson had an attitude that she’d only seen a glimmer of in the boy she once knew.

She cut her gaze over the angled lines of his face, down the front of his rock-hard chest and all the way down his muscled arms to his long fingers wrapped around the steering wheel.

Her insides gripped at the memory of those fingers on her skin.Insideher.

He hadn’t made any attempt to touch her after their last encounter. It was for the best.

But her stupid brain kept conjuring him in her dreams. Every single night since he’d given her the last orgasm, her dreams had consisted of pure, carnal lust…and Carson.

It didn’t help that she’d been reading his letters either. In each one, she heard the echoes of the relationship they’d once had. The love and desire sat thick on the page.

The man walked back into her life as if he’d never left. Only he’d brought a lot of mystery with him. The small hints he gave about his past in the military—and as a prisoner—brought a cloud of concern over Layne. But the shock of him buying out the whole restaurant just to ensure she was safe blew her mind.

That Carson possessed the clout and the money wasn’t something she’d ever pictured when she thought about him.

The car continued to tail behind them, and now she relaxed in her seat knowing that she was extra-safe from the man who was watching her.

Her insides chilled at the thought. If she ever set eyes on that painting again, she’d build a huge bonfire just to throw it in, rare artwork or not.

She sank into dark thoughts that abruptly came to a halt when Carson pulled into an alley.

She gulped. “What are we doing?”

“Don’t sound so worried, Layne. I’ll protect you.” He turned his head to meet her gaze. The pulse of awareness in her chest—and between her thighs—shouted that shedidtrust him.

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