Page 64 of Dining for Love

Later that night, after I’m already in bed, there’s a loud banging on my door. I squeak out a yelp and bury myself under the covers, my heart leaping into my throat. That’s a big nope for me, thanks. No one is home.

Then the door opens, and I scramble to sit up on the bed, pulling the blankets around me as though they’re somehow going to help.

“Willa?” His voice is tense and tight.

I sag with relief. “Reid?”

He’s in the bedroom in a few strides, still in his uniform, his hand hovering over his gun. “I repeatedly tell you to lock the door,” he growls. “Especially after what happened tonight, and you still didn’t do it? What is wrong with you?”

I gape up at him, my heart right back to pounding. “I…I forgot. I’ve just never”

“You. Can’t. Forget,” he says, his eyes almost wild in the dim of the bedroom. “Your life may one day depend on it.”

I turn on the bedside lamp, needing to shed actual light on the situation. “Reid, we live…Ilive,” I correct, “in a tiny little beach town. Aside from some petty crime here and there, there’s nothing to worry about.”

He clenches his jaw and looks away. “That’s not true, Willa.”

“I get that you’re from the big city, Reid, but honestly, this is a safe town. Maybe you’re just seeing things that aren’t there.”

His eyes flash. “You don’t know me nearly well enough to say that sort of thing, Willa.”

My mouth pops open, and he seems to deflate before my eyes.

“There are things you don’t know. That youcan’tknow, for your own safety.” He runs his hand through his hair and blows out a breath, turning in a circle.

He looks so pained that my heart twists for him. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He hangs his head. “You don’t have anything to apologize for.” He raises his eyes to mine. “Just promise me you’ll lock your door? Be more alert?”

I nod, the creeping sense of unease from earlier tonight settling back around my shoulders. “Okay.”

He looks around. “Where’s Midnight?”

I smile softly. “She’s in her bed over here.”

He nods, then lets out a breath, seeming to come to a decision as his beautiful green eyes meet mine again. “Can I…can I stay here tonight?”

“Of course.”

“Be right back.” He leaves, then returns five minutes later with a change of clothes. “Mind if I shower here?”

Afterward, he pulls his service weapon out of its holster and places it on the bedside table. “It’s a precautionary measure,” he says, his voice soft.

“Reid…” But the pained expression on his face wipes away anything I was going to say.

He climbs into the bed and wraps his bulk around mine, the warmest security blanket on the planet. He kisses my shoulder, and another exhale leaves him as he finally relaxes.

I turn in his arms to study him. Something is obviously wrong. “Are you okay?”

His expression is pained. “No.”

I pause. “Can you talk about it?”

“No,” he repeats.

It shouldn’t hurt my feelings as much as it does, but his answer cleaves me in two. I try again. “Did you find the guy you were looking for? The one who ran into me?” He shakes his head, seeming so haunted that I ask, “Do you need to be the little spoon?” I’m half joking, but when he nods, I don’t hesitate. “Turn over,” I tell him.

I wrap myself around him, kissing the smooth skin of his backand taking in his cedar and honey smell. After a while, his breathing evens out. Only then do I let myself fall asleep.

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