Page 7 of Steal My Heart

“The decision is yours,” Hilliard said as he finally lowered his gaze and began eating the amazing breakfast. He refused to push Brian into anything, even though he was itching to get involved. It would give him something to sink his teeth into.

“Thanks,” Brian said softly as Hilliard’s phone dinged. He checked the message and cringed. “You okay?”

“My ex.” Hilliard snatched up the phone and sent a reply to his message about a case they had been working on. He took a second and then replied with the answer, because he wasn’t going to let Alan screw over the client. And then, to be a dick—but it felt good—he asked him where the money was from Alan’s buyout of the firm. Then he muted the phone and set it screen down on the table so he wouldn’t be tempted to look at the rant that was sure to follow. “He’s a real ass.”

His phone vibrated. Hilliard knew he shouldn’t look, but he peered at the response.Check your bank account.Then the asshole sent a smiley face followed by a tombstone. Hilliard growled and knew he needed to take the same advice he gave his clients and let the past stay there, but he was still hurting—more than he wanted to admit to anyone, including himself. He ground his teeth, tempted to respond, but he shoved his phone in his pocket instead.

“I don’t know what I ever saw in him,” Hilliard muttered to himself, refusing to try to figure it out now. He had more important things to do than a postmortem on a disastrous relationship.

“Sorry,” Brian said softly.

Hilliard shrugged. He had had plenty of difficult relationships, so why should he expect anything different from Alan? The truth was, he often wondered if he had some kind of loser magnet in his ass. He always seemed to attract one kind of guy. He thought Alan had been different, but nope. It had only taken a little longer for his inner loser to come out. “Thanks. I know I’m better off without him.” He took another bite of his omelet and pasted on a smile. He didn’t want his ex to ruin the morning.

“Did you come to visit a lot when you were a kid?” Brian asked.

Hilliard was grateful for the distraction. “A few times, mostly with my mom to see Aunt Grace. Dad usually had to work, and he’d stay in Cleveland while we came out here. The town hasn’t changed very much, as far as I can see.”

“What was your aunt like? I remember her as a nice lady.”

“She was so cool. I remember her taking me to Glass Beach for sea glass and then taking me back to the house, where she showed me how to use the glass to make things. At the time, I made necklaces for some of my friends. When it wasn’t foggy, she took me to the cliff so we could watch the sunset, and then as we walked through town, she told me stories about the people here. She showed me where Chinatown used to be and showed me pictures of the old windmills and stuff. One of her friends had one of the water towers on his property, and I got to climb up and look inside. It was empty, but I could see the entire town from up there.” Some of the tension that he’d been carrying for weeks started to slip away. It was like walking down a happy, pleasant memory lane. “Aunt Grace pointed out one of the buildings that she and the ladies at the historical society were trying to save from being torn down. They were really having a fight back then, and I told her when I grew up I’d be a lawyer and fight for people like her.”

“What did she say to that?” Brian asked.

“Aunt Grace smiled and said she thought I’d be a good one. Then we climbed down and she took me to lunch.” Hilliard sighed. “The thing is, I didn’t even know that she remembered me. I hadn’t seen her in quite a few years. I always figured that she would leave the house and stuff to my uncle. He’s a much closer relative.” Still, he was grateful to her every day.

“Sometimes we don’t know what’s going on in someone’s mind. I get smiles from people all the time, and yet I know that behind my back, they’re saying things about me and whispering.” Brian sipped from his mug of coffee and set it down on the table. “I’ve really been trying to figure out why you’ve been so good to me. You didn’t doubt me when others certainly have, and you’ve even offered to help me. I’m just not sure what I should do. Maybe it’s best if I let sleeping dogs lie. At least that’s where my head is right now.”

“That’s fine. You need to do whatever you feel is best for you.”

“But I appreciate that fact that you care,” Brian added.

Hilliard wanted to take his hand, but he wasn’t sure if he should. Instead, he met those warm eyes with his gaze. Warmth raced through Hilliard. Something about Brian got his motor running, and it wasn’t the fact that he had been treated badly. It wasn’t pity. Hilliard liked to think that it was the fact that Brian had endured and found the inner strength to move on regardless of what people thought about him. And that was sexy as all hell, as far as he was concerned.

Chapter 4

BRIAN KNEWHilliard was only trying to help him, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew that it was best if he didn’t make waves. He was getting business, and people had short memories about some things. What he really wanted was to get on with his life and not look back. “I appreciate what you are trying to do.” And the fact that Hilliard believed him meant more than he was willing to say. If he started down that road, he wouldn’t be able to stop blathering. He was also worried that if he did try to clear his name and they failed, he’d be screwed. It would feel the same as being convicted and sentenced for something he didn’t do all over again.

“I wanted to offer to help,” Hilliard said as they finished their coffee. The server brought the check, and Hilliard paid the bill. “I’ll meet you at the house.” He smiled and hurried down to his car. Brian swore he could get addicted to that grin.

Brian made his way to the edge of the street where he had parked his truck.

“You should be ashamed of yourself.”

The tone made him groan. He turned as Violet Trainer glared at him.

“You really should.” She drew closer. “But what I want to know is where you hid the rest of what you stole.”

“I never stole anything,” Brian said, “and you need to get out of my way.” He stepped to the side, and she did the same.

“I’m not afraid of you, and I know what you did.” She glared as others on the sidewalk paused to watch.

Brian went around her and strode to his truck, his heart racing. He was tired of this kind of crap. When he reached histruck, he got in and backed out of his space. He headed out to Hilliard’s, almost forgetting to come to a stop at one of the signs. When he arrived, he pulled up in front and climbed out, then knocked on the front door.

“What’s up?” Hilliard asked.

“Let’s do it. I want to find whoever committed the burglary, and so help me God, I want to clear my name. The pains in the asses here are not going to believe anything until I can prove I didn’t steal anything.”

Hilliard nodded. “I take it you ran into Violet.”

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