Page 18 of Bad Guys Need Love Too

That’s when Lark’s manners woke up. Her grandmother would’ve whoopped her ass if she’d seen her being so rude. “I’m really sorry. I was just surprised to find you here. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Tenley stood up and grabbed a cup of coffee, then slid it across the table to Lark. “Here. Have a seat and get a little caffeine in your system.”

That sounded so good it almost brought tears to her eyes. “Oh, bless you.”

Tenley grinned at her as she downed half her coffee in one deep swallow. “Ren went out to fix one of his cameras.”

She nodded. “That’s probably a full-time job. He seems to havelotsof cameras.”

“Not really. The list of people he’s looking out for is pretty small.”

Lark narrowed her eyes on Tenley. “You mean his security company clients?”

“Of course,” she said smoothly, not missing a beat.

She sighed. “Well, you’re a much better liar than he is.”

Tenley laughed out loud. “Nowthat’sthe truth. I’ll let him explain allthatto you when he’s ready. But what Icantell you is that you’ll never be safer than you are with Ren.”

He certainly hadn’t given her any reason to doubt his sincerity so far. And he’d had plenty of opportunities. “This is all hard for me, you know? I’m just a florist.”

“In my experience, no one isjustanything. But don’t worry. Ren will figure it out and you’ll be able to go back to work and your boyfriend in no time.”

Her lip curled up involuntarily at the mention of Neal. If there was a bright side to this whole mess, it was not having to deal with him. “I won’t be going back to my boyfriend,” she admitted, totally unsure why she felt like she could tell this woman her entire life story.

“He’s a dud, huh?” she asked sympathetically.

“Yeah.”

Tenley pulled her phone out, swiped on the screen, then turned it toward Lark. “That’smyhusband, Knox.”

Lark nearly spit a mouthful of coffee at the image. It took a supernatural amount of strength to swallow before saying, “Holy hell! That’s the prettiest man I’ve ever seen in mylife.”

She beamed. “Everyone says that. He’s rich, too.”

“Well, that’s just gratuitous,” she grumbled.

“I know, right? If I didn’t know better, I’d think I had good karma, but I’m definitely not a good enough person to deserve allthat.”

Shit, was anyone? Lark had been a pretty good person her whole life, and she certainly didn’t deserve a man who looked like Knox.

Honestly, though, even if she was, she wouldn’t have picked a pretty guy. She was only recently discovering her type leaned more toward rugged, giant, muscle-y, tattooed and pierced, paranoid recluses who may or may not be crazy.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Tenley said as she grabbed a giant shopping bag off the floor and handed it to Lark. “Ren asked me to pick up some stuff you might need. He, of course, had no clue what to buy. So, I got you some leggings, a couple tank tops, underwear, a hoodie, a couple sweaters, socks, and some toiletries—including shampoo and conditioner, because I’d hate for you to have to use that drug store, all-in-1 bullshit Ren uses. But I’m happy to get you anything else you might need if you just give me a list.”

Maybe she was experiencing an emotional hangover from almost being killed the previous day, or maybe she really was just that happy to have some clean underwear and a new pair of leggings, but Lark got a little misty-eyed as she took the bag from Tenley. “Thank you. I really appreciate this. What do I owe you?”

Tenley grinned at her. “As if Ren would let me take your money. Don’t worry about it. He gave me one of his black cards.”

One of his black cards. Lark didn’t know anyone who even hadoneblack card. Somehow, knowing that Ren had a few made her feel a little better. At least he wasn’t doing any of this to get his hands on her money. She hated thinking that way, but if the Lifetime network had taught her anything, it was that overly handsome men who suddenly showed an intense interest in average women were generally up to no good.

Which did beg the question…if he didn’t want her money, whatdidhe want from her?

She supposed she’d have to save that question for the man himself. Something told her Tenley was a vault when her friend’s secrets were on the line.

Lark peeked in the bag. Jesus. Tenley had high-end taste. The stuff in this shopping bag probably cost more than she made at the flower shop in a month.

She was about to thank Tenley again (without having much of an idea what to actually say, because how do you thank someone who just bought you three-hundred-dollar leggings and shampoo that Oprah had listed among her favorite things the prior year) when Ren came in.

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