Page 11 of A Lonely Road
Except for once it felt like someone else was inside those walls, helping me from within.
God, it felt good to be held like this, I realized, a bit dazed. Sturdy and solid, with his heart beating steadily under my ear, Jake ran his hands slowly up and down my back while his chin came to rest against the top of my head.I sighed and all the tension in my back and shoulders drained away until I felt almost limp with relief.
“Is this okay?” he murmured into my hair.
I laughed against his sternum. “This is more than okay, I think.”
“Good, because it feels damn near heavenly to me.”
It was a long time before I finally drew back and I missed his embrace immediately. Reluctant to fracture the soft sense of peace surrounding us, I touched my fingers tentatively to the line of his jaw, the caress so light that he shivered at the sensation. Jake held as still as he could, his arms at his sides, and waited for me to speak.
“I should probably try to get some sleep. Thank you, Jake. I hope I didn’t screw anything up for your business tonight.”
“You didn’t screw up anything, period. Go to bed and try to relax, okay?"
I nodded, then watched as he reached into his wallet for a business card with a golden mermaid tail across the front. When he held it out, I took it and ran my fingertip over the embossed print.
"Here, so you have my number if you need me. Night, Nora.”
He caught my hands in his and squeezed lightly. I closed my eyes for a second, doubting his reassurances but letting them fill me up nonetheless, crystallizing into something like a fragile sense of hope. Even with the aftereffects of the confrontation still skittering through my veins, something had changed between us tonight. Accepting comfort from Jake had melted the remainder of my resistance.
“Goodnight, Jake,” I whispered.
Releasing his hands, I took a tiny step back, then another. I turned and trudged up the stairs, all the while feeling his eyes on my back like a brand.
Something had definitely changed.
Chapter Six
Jake
Standingatthebottomof the stairs until she was safely inside the apartment, I waited until I heard the lock turn and saw the kitchen light go off, then strode to my truck to drive back to The Mermaid. If that drunken idiot hadn’t gotten the picture and left already, I was fully prepared to educate him on just who had screwed things up tonight.
I could still feel the ghost of her hands in mine, those fine bones of hers impossibly delicate under my fingers. The memory of her bringing that son of a bitch to his knees flashed before my eyes and I had to admit that Nora was far from the breakable little thing I’d first imagined her to be.
Another wave of fury washed over me, just as it had when I saw the man grab her. But shit, the way she’d taken the sucker down . . . I was impressed beyond belief. I’d seen Casey performa similar move once, but she had a good six inches on Nora and the body of an athlete, thanks to a lifetime of playing rugby.
Casey’s warning about stepping in echoed in my mind. I couldn’t say I would ever be glad that I was too late to intercept the guy, but if she was right, if Nora would've been more pissed at my interference than she was at my attempt to comfort her afterward, then maybe it had been for the best in some ways.
Besides, she’d accepted that comfort barely two minutes later. Trembled under my palm as she fought for breath, clung to my hand all the way home, burrowed into my chest like she was made to be there.
And as much as I'd wanted to kiss her while we were standing at the bottom of the stairs, that had seemed like tempting fate a little too far after so much success. By the time she went inside, I was relieved to see her looking only a little sheepish instead of traumatized.
Tonight was a turning point, though I wasn’t sure exactly what that might mean for us going forward.
By the time I turned into the lot at The Mermaid, I was able to pull a veneer of calm around me in order to deal with things—not as Nora’s friend, which was probably the highest label I could claim at that point, but as a business owner.
Sam would back me up, I knew that without a doubt. Hell, my dad would probably be proud of my actions, and I could already imagine the heart-eyes my mom would throw in my direction when she heard.
The Lincoln family wouldneverchoose the money that events could bring in over keeping our customers safe, and I intended to make that perfectly clear tonight.
Nora wasn’t the only one willing to throw down with assholes.
MyreliefwhenNorashowed up the next afternoon vanished as soon as my sister swept in through the front doors. I had to bite back a groan, wishing she’d waited another day or two to pounce after I’d texted her and my parents about the incident last night.
As expected, they’d all been outraged and supported my reaction—and Nora’s. I should have known that would only amp up Sam’s desire to meet my new neighbor.
“Jakey boy,” Sam sang out as she slid onto a stool at the bar. “How’s business?”
