Page 2 of Safe With Me

“I know, and I hate that for you, trust me. But give it a chance. This doesn’t necessarily need to be forever. Look at it as a regroup or a breather if that’s easier.”

“Maybe,” I grumbled. “I could learn to enjoy living on a Hallmark movie set.”

“Eric says that every time we go,” Steven said, chuckling in my ear. “If he weren’t so committed to the restaurant, I’d bet he’d want to move there too. The only time I ever see him wear flannel shirts is when we visit Claudia.”

A surprising laugh escaped me. Steven’s husband, Eric, ran a Chinese restaurant with his uncle in Brooklyn, and as it was their family legacy, they weren’t moving anywhere.

I surveyed the street, trying to see if there were any lights on in Claudia’s bar, but it was hard to tell from the inside of my car. It was time to regroup, move on with my new life—or whatever the hell this turned out to be—and climb out.

“I’m parked in front of Claudia’s bar. I’d like to get the keys to the apartment and settle in before I meet my new boss this afternoon and get used to sleepy small-town life.”

“Okay, cuz. And listen, you can do this. A sleepy town may be just what you need. You may even like it.”

A smile snuck across my lips.

“You never see anything other than the bright side. It’s irritating as hell.”

His hearty laugh rumbled over the speakers.

“I see other things too, believe me. I just shift my focus. It’s not easy, but you’ll learn.”

“Well, I have nothing but time to myself now, so I guess I’ll figure that out along with everything else. And listen,” I said, swallowing the lump scratching at the back of my throat, “thank you.”

It was a heavythank youthat counted for so much. For being there during the worst of it all, for helping me find a way out, and for sticking by me after others accused me of being dramatic when all I’d wanted was to be left alone.

“Thank you isn’t needed, Li. It’s what family does. Or, what it’s supposed to do,” Steven said.

We shared a sad laugh. Our family and so many of his friends hadn’t been good to Steven, yet he was still that half-full kind of guy, finding the positive in everything.

I guessed if he could, I could too—or at least try.

I clicked the doors open after I ended the call, scanning the street when I stepped out.

As I approached the bar, I couldn’t see anything through the tinted windows. The neon sign was off as I would expect at not even eleven in the morning, but Eric had said that Claudia always came into the bar early.

A loud growl rumbled from my empty stomach. I still didn’t have much of an appetite, but I’d need something in my system before I started my new life flat on my face.

“Everything all right, miss?”

I swiveled around to the deep voice behind me, the swift motion enough to make me stumble back. The street spun before I could answer, and I pressed my hand to the glass for purchase, my knees wobbling under me just as a hard arm looped across my waist.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked when I fell against him.

A silver police badge shone in the sunlight as I slowly lifted my head to meet the man’s gaze. His blue eyes were so clear, they almost glowed in the sunlight, transfixing me enough to stay upright.

“I’m fine.” I cleared my throat when I caught my voice crack. “I’ve just been on a long drive and haven’t eaten anything today. I should have taken a bite of the granola bar in my purse before I stepped out of my car.”

I sputtered out a nervous laugh as he studied me.

“Claudia is expecting me, but I may be here too early. I’m not, like, casing the place or anything, I swear,” I stammered, my cheeks hot with embarrassment from how he’d found me and then almost collapsing against him.

The soft expression in his gorgeous eyes calmed me. I sensed genuine kindness, his rugged features softening as his crystal-blue eyes met mine.

My gut usually wasn’t wrong—when I paid attention to it.

My instincts had picked up something off with Ted a few months into our relationship, but I hadn’t expected the avalanche of chaos after I’d broken up with him.

I’d planned on keeping all men I wasn’t related to at a far distance for a long time, but I wasn’t sure if my dizzy state ortrepidation over being in a new place was the reason I wasn’t flinching away from this gorgeous stranger’s embrace.

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