Page 37 of Love Under Protection

“Depends on the person.” I shrug my shoulders. “Some people really like city life. Others crave the country.”

“And you’re a city guy, through and through. Right?”

“I wouldn’t exactly say that. I don’t mind getting the hell away from here sometimes. I don’t always have a good reason to, and work seems to keep me pretty busy if I let it.”

I’m not really sure what point she’s trying to make here.

“I think I’m the same way. Georgia was always home, but then I got the chance to travel and spend weeks at a time in all these different cities around the world. I can see how easy it would be to get caught up in the hustle and bustle. It would be easy to become addicted to it if you enjoyed it.”

“Do you want to talk about it? About Georgia, I mean,” I offer.

“Ugh. I’m not really sure there is much to talk about. My ex is a giant douche who is on an ego trip and has decided that he’s going to try to get back at me for threatening to tell his father, the CEO of the company, all about his son’s misgivings. He wasn’t satisfied with basically paying me off, so he did what dumbasses with more money than brains do. He bought out the apartment complex where I live, made up some bullshit to get me evicted, and my lawyer says we’re basically in a stalemate situation. So, I did something stupid and called up his father. A guy who I thought used to like me, as a model employee and as a suitor for his son. Seems Sawyer got to him first and now I’m the gold-digging whore who deserves to be destroyed.”

“What the actual fuck.”

Raylynn runs her hands over her face. “Good times.”

“There’s nothing your lawyer can do?”

“Not without proof of Sawyer’s affair, or affairs. It’s just my word against his.”

I’ve never wanted to kill a man as much as I do right now. “That sounds like a whole lot of bullshit.”

“Tell me about it. He didn’t just take my home away; he destroyed any chance I have at getting a damn job in Georgia because money and reputation talks. People believe the smoke and mirrors. His name means something. Mine doesn’t. Anyway. Enough about me. Tell me why you’ve been avoiding me like the plague.”

I snort and shake my head. “I haven’t been avoiding you. I’ve been working.”

“Now who’s spewing bullshit?”

“Christ, woman. It’s not bullshit.”

She shoots me a death glare that has me folding.

“Okay, fine. It’s not complete bullshit. I have been working like crazy the last few days, which worked out in my favor because I wasn’t sure where we stood or what your moving here meant for us.”

Raylynn walks over to me and squeezes beside me on the chair then touches my cheek. “See this is why I like you. You don’t pull any punches.”

“You sure don’t either.”

“True,” she chuckles and runs a hand across my chest. “Thank you for helping Jameson move my shit in. I didn’t have a chance to say thanks before you fled like your ass was on fire. I would have done it myself…”

I kiss her fingertips and cut her off. “Olivia told me you weren’t feeling too hot. It was no big deal. How’s life with those two? Need a pair of earplugs?”

“Liv said you’d likely say something about earplugs.” She smiles. “It’s actually been fun, mostly. We’re not ready to kill each other yet. It hasn’t even been a week though, there’s still time.”

“You know, if they ever get to be too much to handle, I’m right next door.”

Her smile turns sad. “Hmm. I think I really need a friend right now. What we had was a lot of fun, I don’t know that I’m ready to jump into another relationship yet.”

And there it is. All out on the table.

“I can’t say I blame you for that. I can be a friend, or I can sure as hell try. Whatever you need, I’m there.”

“I’d like that.” She pecks my cheek. “Thank you.”

Chapter 22

Raylynn

---