Fourteen

Harlow

My mind was focused on the discussion I’d had with Olive earlier that afternoon when I finally pulled into my driveway after my day at work. Though I loved my best friend dearly, my concentration wasn’t on her necessarily.

It was on Blaze, much like it always was.

So, when I brought my car to a stop and glanced up in my rearview mirror to see his truck pulling in behind me, I found myself a mix of emotions.

As shocked and curious as I was to see him there, I was just as delighted by it. Because I was quickly learning that any day where I had the opportunity to see Blaze was something to be happy about.

But since I hadn’t been expecting him and was eager to find out why he was here, I quickly turned off my car and exited it. Then I stood beside it while I waited for him to bring his truck to a stop and come in my direction, and as I did that, I considered the reason he could be there.

When my client, who’d come in immediately following my phone call with Olive today, had left, I’d shot a text off to Blaze. I was still on the hunt for a riddle that would stump him. So far, I’d been unsuccessful. Perhaps this was my lucky day.

Once Blaze was close enough that I wouldn’t need to shout, I said, “Hey, boss. What are you doing here?”

Something warmed in his features briefly. Blaze kept coming toward me, didn’t speak, and slid his arm around my waist the moment I was close enough to touch. His other hand drove into my hair and settled at the back of my skull. He angled my head, and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine.

It took me almost no time to decide I liked being able to come home from work and have him there to greet me with a kiss before I even walked through my front door.

And because he was so good at everything he did—kissing at the top of that list—I didn’t find it strange to be almost instantly lost in his kiss. God, I loved the feel of his lips against mine. I loved the way his tongue explored my mouth. Most of all, I loved the sounds he made and the way he held me close while he kissed me.

Eventually, Blaze tore his mouth from mine. We both were staring at one another, and there was nothing but contentment moving through me. Unfortunately, I could easily see that wasn’t the case with Blaze.

Wanting to tread cautiously, I asked, “Did I get something wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t expecting you here until tomorrow evening for our date,” I explained. “Did I misunderstand something in all the conversation we had yesterday?”

Blaze shook his head. “You did not. I had quite the day at work today, and I needed to come by to talk to you about it. I hope it’s okay that I just stopped by unannounced.”

I smiled at him. “If you greet me like that every time you show up, I don’t think I’ll ever have a problem with you showing up unannounced.”

He returned the smile, but it didn’t stay for long. “Do you have time to talk?”

Despite how magical his kiss had been, an unwelcome wave of anxiety moved through me. Something was wrong, and I hoped whatever it was would be something I could help Blaze work through before the night was over.

Nodding, I answered, “Sure. Come on inside.”

Blaze followed me into the house, and once we’d gotten ourselves settled on the couch, I asked, “What’s going on?”

He sighed audibly, which only made me grow more nervous. “Well, believe it or not, you helped me with a break in a case today.”

“Me? How would I do that? What case?” I questioned, my body tense.

“Technically, it wasn’t a case we were specifically working on, but it sort of is now,” Blaze revealed. “And after what happened today, something you had said to me the other week popped into my head.”

Tipping my head to the side, still as confused as ever, I asked, “What happened today?”

Blaze didn’t hesitate to bring me up to speed. “My boss’s wife, Tarryn, is the owner of The Early Bird. She has three other women who work in the coffee and doughnut shop with her, and when one of them went out to her car this morning, she realized all of their cars had been vandalized.”

My eyes widened in shock. “What?”

With a nod, Blaze confirmed, “Yeah. I was on my way to work when I got the call to meet Royce there. After getting the whole story about what happened and learning that the perpetrators match the description of the men who vandalized the pub and set fire to Hanna’s tiny home resort, I made a connection.”

“Which was?”

“When you and I were at the drive-in theater, you had said you were glad that everyone I knew in both cases was okay. This is the third of those cases where I know someone involved. Once again, everyone was physically okay, which is the most important thing, but we have a hunch that what’s going on right now has something to do with Harper Security Ops.”

I would have thought that the more Blaze spoke, the more relaxed I would feel. That wasn’t the case now. Because the more he shared, the more worried I was feeling. “Are you… Are you saying someone is purposely targeting those who are connected to the people who work at Harper Security Ops?”

Blaze nodded again. “Preliminarily, that’s what we’re thinking.”

Suddenly, it dawned on me.

Blaze hadn’t come here to tell me about how I helped him solve a case. He was here because he felt compelled to warn me.

Worried, I came right out with it. “Am I in danger?”

In an instant, Blaze took my hand in his. It was warm and comforting, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t feel that way once I no longer had his fingers wrapped around mine. “I want to tell you that you don’t have a thing to be worried about, and I’d like to think that’s the case, but I’d be lying.”

My body tensed further, and I rasped my disbelief. “What?”

“Harlow, I came here tonight, because I can’t hide this from you,” he started. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t make you aware of what was going on, at the very least. To that end, it wasn’t until today that any of my coworkers even knew you were in my life, so I’d like to think that’s something working in our favor, but there’s no guarantee that’s the case.”

How could it feel as though Blaze was giving me both good and bad news? Obviously, this whole scenario with someone seemingly having it out for Blaze and the men he worked with was awful. But to learn he told his coworkers about me helped to ease the blow of this unexpected and unwelcome news. “You told your coworkers about me?”

His hardened features softened as his thumb stroked gently over the back of my hand. “I did,” he confirmed quietly.

Some of the tension I’d been feeling had eased, a small smile returning to my face.

Blaze returned that smile, his thumb still stroking, and added, “I thought you had a right to know what was going on, so you could decide what you want to do. We weren’t officially working on this case until today, so I want you to know that we have every intention of getting to the bottom of it. But it doesn’t come without some risk to the people we care about if what we believe is the case is true.”

“I have to believe that’s the case if you were willing to come here to warn me before I even had the chance to walk through my front door,” I noted.

For several long moments, Blaze’s eyes roamed over my face. There was something lingering there, something that looked a lot like fear.

“What is it?” I asked.

Releasing another deep breath, Blaze said, “I signed up for this job knowing the risks it would pose to me. I don’t think it ever crossed my mind that someone I care about could be in harm’s way. For that reason, I’m confident you weren’t aware that was a possibility, either. And while the things that have happened have all been about property damage, I can’t say whether it will turn to something worse than that.” He paused a moment, and it became clear he was preparing to share something he didn’t want to share. It was as though he had just learned someone had died, and he was the one who had to tell that person’s family. When he finally spoke, I understood why that was. “I think I’ve made it clear just how important you’ve become in my life, Harlow. I would never, ever ask you to do something you weren’t comfortable with, so I’ve got to say this even as much as I wished I didn’t have to. I’ll hate every minute of it, but if you need to pull back from me to feel safe because of this, I won’t say I don’t understand why.”

He thought I wanted to walk away from him? He thought I’d be so afraid I’d be able to leave and forget the way I felt for him?

Should I have felt that way?

Granted, it wasn’t as though I’d suddenly be able to pretend I didn’t care about him. I wouldn’t forget a thing about him, and I was convinced I’d struggle to go through the motions, day in and day out, to survive.

But maybe Blaze had a point. He’d never struck me as the kind of guy who’d show up and share all of this with me if he didn’t believe there was a very real reason for needing to do so.

Should I heed his warning?

I’d taken that step recently to break out of my shell and join that dating app. It resulted in a horrible date that would have likely sent me right back to working nonstop and continuing to live that solitary life.

But I met Blaze because of that decision.

He’d been the best thing that had ever happened to me.

I was struggling, because if I knew one thing to be the truth, there was a very real threat here, and I probably should have taken the steps to protect myself.

But how could I do it?

How could I possibly walk away from Blaze, even if only briefly until things were safe again?

“I’m scared, Blaze,” I confessed.

“I know. I know. I can understand why this news might be too much for you. I want to beg you to have faith in me and trust me to keep you safe, but I know that’s not fair, so I won’t ask. Whatever you need to do, even if you need it to be just temporary until this case is resolved, I will do my best to honor that,” he promised.

Shaking my head, I explained, “I’m not afraid of what could happen if things went south with this case. Maybe that’s na?ve, or maybe it’s just me wanting to prove I can handle anything. Perhaps it’s a bit of both or something else entirely. I don’t know. What I do know is that the thought of not seeing you for weeks, months, or forever, because I’m fearful of something that may or may not happen to my salon as the result of the case you’re working on, makes it difficult to breathe. Until it happened tonight, I didn’t realize how much I liked being able to kiss you the second I get home from work. I couldn’t walk away from you if I tried.”

Relief swept through him, his shoulders relaxing. Though I knew this was weighing heavily on his mind, I don’t think it was until that moment when I realized just how much it was affecting him. It felt good to know I could relieve that tension for him.

Blaze lifted his hands to frame my face, and he pressed his lips to mine. My fingers curled around his wrists, wanting to keep his hands exactly where they were as I kissed him back. When he pulled away, he tilted my chin down so he could press a soft, sweet kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to do everything I can to see to it that you don’t regret this, baby.”

“Why would I ever regret sticking by the man who’s changed my life in all the wonderful ways you have?” I questioned him.

His fingers pressed in firmly on either side of my face. “You’re a dream come true, Harlow. Do you know that?”

He was being sweet, and I couldn’t allow him to think he was the only lucky one. “I thought men like you only existed in the movies. It’s nice to know I was wrong.”

Blaze kissed me on my forehead again before he released his hold on my face and wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close for a hug. I willingly went, taking in the scent of him and loving every second of being held in his arms.

“Would I be correct to assume you haven’t had dinner?” I asked.

“You would.”

I kept my body pressed against his, but I pulled my face back and looked up at Blaze. “Would you like to stay and have dinner with me tonight?”

“If that’s what you want, I’d love nothing more,” he assured me.

I smiled at him. “That’s what I want.”

He grinned back at me.

“Would you mind it if I took a shower before I cook, though?”

Shaking his head, he replied, “As long as you don’t mind it if I sit down here imagining you naked.”

Heat hit my cheeks, and I buried my face in his chest. “Okay.”

Blaze’s arms tightened around me once more before he released his hold on me. Then I stood, so I could grab a shower. “Feel free to get yourself something to drink while I’m upstairs. I won’t be long.”

“Take all the time you need, baby. I’m not going anywhere. By the way… bookkeeper.

My brows pulled together. “What?”

“The answer to your riddle about what English word has three consecutive double letters. It’s bookkeeper.”

I shot him an unamused look and growled. “You’re like the smartest man in the world. I’m convinced I’m never going to make this happen.”

Blaze laughed.

I shook my head and walked away.

Though I might have made it seem as though I was angry, the truth was that I loved it. I loved how smart he was, and I loved the sound of his laughter following behind me as I climbed the stairs.