Page 18 of Protecting Maggie
But first things first. Maggie needed a job and Julie was eager to meet her. Both donations and customers had picked up for her secondhand clothing boutique, and she said she’d welcome an extra set of hands to help out.
After pulling into the parking lot of Maggie’s apartment, he sent her a text letting her know he was there. Preacher would’ve preferred to go to her door and walk her down, but her trust issues prevented her from giving him the apartment number. Which was smart.
Compromising, he stood at the passenger door, waiting for Maggie to arrive. It didn’t take long.
The day before, he’d been too concerned about finding out who she was and why she was using Adina’s car and information to give people rides to take in much else. Today, his gaze traveled over Maggie from head to toe, studying her carefully. She was quite a bit shorter than his six foot three, maybe around five-five or five-six. Was probably in her mid-thirties, like him. She had shiny black hair that, like yesterday, was pulled into a long ponytail at theback of her head. It swung back and forth as she walked toward him.
She wore a pair of jeans that hugged her shapely legs…and as much as he hated himself for noticing, her tits were more than a handful. The T-shirt she had on accentuated her shape even as it fully covered her. Others might describe her as having an average figure, but in Preacher’s eyes, there was nothingaverageabout her. She looked healthy.
And at present, she seemed as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Which made the old saying about how you couldn’t tell what someone was going through by their outward appearance all the more true.
“Hey,” Preacher said as she approached. He struggled to push away his thoughts about her figure…and how badly he suddenly wanted to see what was under all her clothes.
“Hi,” Maggie returned. She stopped a good six feet away and simply stared at him.
“What?” he asked, confused at the way she was looking at him.
“Nothing. You just…you look different without your uniform on.”
Preacher relaxed and chuckled. “I don’t mind the camo, but since I wear it twenty-four-seven when we’re on a mission, I try to wear civilian clothes when I can. You ready?”
She nodded, but said, “No.”
Preacher had reached for the door handle of his car buthesitated at her response. “You change your mind?” he asked.
“No. Yes. I don’t know.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “That was as clear as mud.”
She gave him a sheepish look. “It’s just…I need a job. I don’t like using Adina’s account for Uber because it could send me straight back to jail, but all of this seems…I don’t know…too good to be true?”
Preacher did his best to look relaxed. The thought of this woman being locked up again feltwrong. “This isn’t a pity job,” he told her. “You’ll earn the money you make. Julie is an angel, but she works extremely hard and expects anyone who works for her to do the same. From what I understand, it’s extremely rewarding to see women and girls find the perfect dress or outfit for whatever function they’re going to, or to provide a family that’s lost everything in a fire what they need clothes-wise in the short term, or to attend fundraising events and come away with buttloads of cash…but it’s hard work. If you accept this job, you won’t be sitting on your ass every day. You’ll be sorting through donated clothes, going to high schools to give presentations, and dealing with the random customers who come into the shop.”
“Wow, way to make the job sound appealing,” Maggie said with a laugh.
But Preacher didn’t even crack a smile. “I’m sure some days it’s a shitshow. But it’s the days when you see a girl who’s never been able to afford something as simple as newclothes feel pretty, when she tries on a designer dress for the first time, that are the real reward.”
Maggie tilted her head as she met his gaze. “Is that how you feel? With your job? I mean, I know it’s not designer dresses, but I’m sure some days are horrible, yet the satisfaction you must feel when you rescue innocent people or take out a horrible terrorist who wants to kill as many people as he can has to be overwhelming.”
Preacher blinked in surprise. She wasn’t wrong. Not at all. “Yeah,” he said with a small nod.
“Okay. Let’s do this. I still don’t know how good I’ll be at this clothes thing. I have no fashion sense at all, couldn’t tell a Walmart dress from a Louis Vuitton, but I’m not afraid of hard work.”
Preacher was proud of this woman. She didn’t seem the hysterical type or prone to drama. She did what needed to be done and didn’t expect a pat on the head for it. He opened the door to the car and gestured to the seat. “Your chariot, my lady.”
She chuckled and stepped forward.
Something clicked within Preacher right then. A yearning to do the same thing for this woman years from now. Holding open her door right before they set out for one adventure or another.
It was improbable as hell, but suddenly he knew—Maggie was the woman he’d been looking for his entire life.
Just as suddenly, he also knew that convincing her togive him a chance would be the most difficult thing he’d ever done. But she’d be worth the effort.
He wasn’t an idiot. He knew without a doubt that the chances she’d lower her guards enough to let him in were extremely slim. And why would she choosehimwhen there were so many other men out there who were more experienced, had safer jobs, and were better-looking?
Even though there was a very small percent of a chance that she’d even consider going out with him—forget about deciding to spend the rest of her life with him—Preacher would do whatever he could to make her see that he was one of the good guys. He wasn’t like her coward of an ex. He’d never let her take the blame for something he did. She needed someone to stand up for her, and next to her, and even in front of her sometimes.
And he wanted to be that man.
