Page 93 of Worth the Chase

“Wow,” I breathed out. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah. There’s nothing wrong with you, Bella. Maybe the three of us should take self-defense classes,” Brooklyn suggested. “Although I’m not sure if I can take them with a baby growing in my stomach.”

“That might not be a bad idea,” Addi agreed. “What do you think?” She looked at me and waited for my response.

“I’m not opposed to it,” I said, even though I honestly wasn’t sure what useful information I could learn. I was pretty short, and the majority of men could overpower me easily. “I think I’d like to figure out how to respond differently if something like that ever happens again. I don’t want to freeze a second time.”

“Maybe a therapist too?” Brooklyn suggested.

“Not opposed to that either.” I liked the idea of talking to a professional about all of this. A neutral party, someone who didn’t know anything about me.

A phone buzzed and then buzzed some more.

Addi looked down and read her screen. “It’s Patrick. They want to get us security. Matthew’s anxious and impatient.”

“What kind of security?” I asked as she was already frantically typing away.

“Exactly what I’m asking.”

We waited for her phone to signal another text, and it came in pretty quickly.

“Where are they anyway?” Brooklyn wondered out loud.

“They’re clearing out Bella’s apartment.”

“You’re moving in here?” Brooklyn’s mouth opened as her eyes flew to mine.

“Like she has a choice,” Addi teased as she reached for her coffee and took a large gulp.

“I have a choice. I think,” I argued, and we all laughed.

“It’s a good idea.” Brooklyn smiled. “It would have happened anyway. It’s just happening a little sooner than you thought.”

She was always so positive and tried to see the best in every situation, but she wasn’t wrong. I would have ended up here eventually. At least, that seemed like the direction we were headed.

“I agree,” Addi said as she stared at her phone. “Okay. Matthew’s getting us a security guard. Patrick said that it’s nonnegotiable during tourist season and we can ‘revisit the situation’—she made air quotes—“during the offseason.”

“He’s so bossy,” I said at the same time Brooklyn said, “That’s so hot.”

“Um”—Addi put up a finger—“they’re getting us security cameras. They’ll be installed today.” She finished reading and put her phone down. “Honestly, I should have done the camera thing before we opened anyway.” She stood up. “I hate to cut this short, but I need to get to the restaurant before they wire the whole place wrong and make me mad.”

“I’ll see you later,” I said.

She cocked her head to the side and studied me. “You do not need to come in. Take a few days off. Whatever you need. The restaurant can exist without the bar being open. It’s not a big deal.”

The restaurant’s draw was the food, not the drinks. The bar was merely a bonus. I wasn’t sure how up to socializing I’d feel, but I also didn’t want to sit in the house all day and think about what had happened. At least if I was working, I’d be distracted.

“Can I let you know a little later?” I asked.

She walked over and pulled me into a hug before she reached out her hands to Brooklyn and helped her up from the couch.

“Yep. You sure you’re okay to be alone?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Thank you both for coming. And thanks for making me feel less crazy about how I reacted.”

The truth was that learning about the other two traumatic responses had made me feel less annoyed with myself. If nothing else, it gave me information to process and attempt to understand why I’d reacted the way that I had. It was much better than my thinking that I was just broken somehow.

When the gate buzzed, the three of us looked at each other in confusion, each of us wondering who could be here. If it were any of the guys, they would have buzzed themselves right in.

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