Page 81 of Guarded Secrets
“We’re fine. Go show your girl a good time.”
“That’s the plan. Thanks again.”
He was closing the back hatch of the Bronco when a sheriff’s department SUV pulled into the parking lot. Sawyer lowered the window. “You have something for me?”
Owen pulled out the baggie with the flash drive from his pocket.
Sawyer held it up to examine. “Glad you found it.” He shot a narrow-eyed look at Owen. “I also heard you fucked up with Keeley.”
“How do you—” Owen broke off, shaking his head. “Never mind. Yeah, I fucked up. I’m fixing it though. I hope.”
“See that you do. She’s one of us.”
He made it back to the house in the allotted forty minutes. Barely. The shower was no longer running, but he took a few minutes to set the stage before going to find her.
Nerves jumped when he tapped on her door.
“Come in.”
She sat in bed propped against a mound of pillows in the warm glow cast by the lamp on the nightstand. The book in her hand looked thick enough to stop a bullet. She wore loose pants and a zippered sweater. “You got something on your feet?”
She lifted a brow. “I’m wearing socks.”
“Good. You might want those fuzzy boots of yours.”
“While I’m in bed reading a book?”
“No, while you’re having dinner with me on the porch.” He stepped into the room.
“I told you I’m not hungry.”
“Maybe you’re not hungry. More likely, you’re pissed at me. You have a right to be. I messed up. Bad.”
Carefully, she placed a bookmark in the big-ass book and set it next to the lamp. “You have the right to feel what you feel, Owen. You can’t change your feelings because they don’t match mine. We’re good.
“I called Delaney and I’m going to her place tomorrow morning. I’ll be out of your hair. I’ll stay with her until whatever danger I might be in is resolved.”
He sat next to her on the bed. “I don’t want you out of my hair.” Gaze steady, he reached for her hand. “I was an idiot and I hurt you. Let me fix this, princess.”
She shook her head, drawing her hand away. “You want to be friends. I want that too, but I need time away from you to get past these other feelings.” She drew in a wobbly breath. “I can go to Delaney’s tonight, if that’s better.”
“Hell no. I can’t fix it if you’re not here.” He spotted the fuzzy boots under the edge of the bed and bent to retrieve them. “Put these on and come outside. Everything’s ready. The only thing that’s missing is you.”
He felt his future balanced on a razor’s edge. If she pulled back, it might kill him.
“Trust me, princess.”
He held his breath when she hesitated, but then she nodded. “Okay, Owen.” His breath released with a whoosh.
Fuzzy boots on, he pulled her to her feet. He’d left the lights off this time for impact. They crossed to the front room where strings of lights on the porch glowed warmly through the large picture window.
He led her outside.
Her soft sigh as she took in the scene told him he’d hit the mark. He’d grabbed a tablecloth from his apartment, which disguised the raw plywood of his makeshift table.
He’d set it with white plates from Easy Money, along with a vase with spring flowers Jen had snagged from a table in the restaurant.
Wineglasses reflected candlelight from stubby candles, and he’d chosen a mellow blues playlist to stream through his speaker.
