Page 12 of Loving You

But damn if I didn’t want to rescue her from whatever this was, and the idea I’d mentioned was very solid, if mildly insane.

April, however, was just catching up with my initial promise. “You’re in my corner.”

She’d repeated my words as a statement, not a question, but I still felt the need to confirm it. “Yes.”

“You have an idea.”

I stifled a smirk, amusement at her total disbelief filling me. “Yes.”

She tucked her lips together for a moment while she studied me, then let her shoulders drop. “Okay, what’s your idea?”

“You could stay with me a while.”

Her lashes fluttered. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. “Uh. Sorry. I think I hallucinated. What?”

I would’ve enjoyed her surprise and disbelief at some other time, but there was an urgency driving me forward, pushing me to make her understand how sincerely I meant this offer despite how unexpected it might’ve been.

“Listen, I understand your surprise, but hear me out. I have a very nice guest room which you have recently toured and, if I remember correctly, approved of quite heartily—”

“Heartily, yes.”

I narrowed my eyes at her even as a kick of relief came with her sass. “Plus, I do have a state-of-the-art security system. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but it seems like you don’t feel safe at your place. While you’re out of there, we’ll order a security system for your apartment, maybe talk to the landlord, get you all sorted.”

She sucked in a breath and held it, but after a few seconds, nodded.

Again, I hated to be right in this instance, but it did give me the information I needed. “My security system has cameras, alarms, and every bell and whistle you can imagine. Plus, I know you heard my idiot brothers giving me hell about the martial arts training.”

“The black belt.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of her oddly guilty expression, but I nodded. “Yes, that. I don’t know the nature of the problem, but I’d, uh, do whatever I could to help.”

I stumbled over those last thoughts, and since she didn’t seem to know what to say, I scrambled for a better way to wrap up my pitch. “You’d be safe at my house, April. You’d be safe with me… at least until we could get you feeling safe at your place again.”

Instead of any reaction I anticipated—her laughing in my face or simply refusing—tears sprang to her eyes and tracked down her face. They were just two heavy drops that she wiped away with tight, jerky movements, but they nearly drowned me.

Why?

“I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’d make that offer, Eric, but I can’t take you up on it. Wait—hear me out. Really. I’ll be forever grateful to you for even having this conversation with me, but I can’t move in with you.” She stood and rounded the chair, not quite running away but certainly making it clear the discussion was over.

“I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable,” I said, my voice a little rough.

Her head was shaking before I’d finished the words. “No. Truly, no. I know how you meant it. And I genuinely appreciate it. Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. Just promise me that if you change your mind for any reason, no matter what else is going on, you’ll take me up on it. The offer stands, and nothing will change that.”

She dipped her head to acknowledge my words, then turned and left.

Disappointment and worry laced through me as the emptiness of my office settled over me. I hoped she’d have a good lunch. I hoped she’d sleep tonight, safe in her apartment.

And I hoped with everything in me that if she needed to, she’d take me at my word and let me protect her.

5

APRIL

“Before you even ask,” Ellie said, pointing at me with her champagne flute from across the brunch table, “I don’t want male strippers at the bachelorette party.”

I choked on the sip of bubbly I’d taken at the worst time ever, making Kate gasp from beside me as some of it sprayed out of my mouth. Not like, a full-on shower or anything, but definitely a dribble down my chin.

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