Page 87 of Help Wanted

Chapter 16

Kenley noticed she was smiling as she got ready to go to the office the next morning. Zane was lying on the bed watching her. His bags sat by the door where he’d dumped them the day before.

Thinking of him rushing to her side made the smile bigger.

She knew how lucky she was. She tried not to think of what could have happened the day before, but occasionally her mind would flash to something. A smell, or a sound. She pushed it away, knowing it was over. She was fine. She was safe.

Zane stood and took her in his arms. He bent to kiss her as if he’d done it every day for years. Her stomach gave a little flip at the idea of him doing it for years to come. It was only natural to think about what came next. Near-death experiences made you think about the future.

Soon she was getting carried away and had to pull away.

“I have work to do,” she told him.

“Would you think I was being over protective if I decided to stay with you?” She could see the worry in his eyes.

“I thought you’re supposed to deliver Wes’s boat this week.”

“And Wes would kick my ass if I left you for a boat delivery. He’ll understand.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I’d like to make sure of it. Besides I need to meet with Scott and the guy from the security company.”

With his hand protectively resting on the small of her back, he led her out to his truck. They held hands for the drive to the marina and she couldn’t help but think things were really going to be as fine as she kept insisting.

That was until she walked into the office and saw the aftermath from the robbery.

The office chair was overturned, and the curtain from the window lay in a pile on the floor. There were two distinct puddles of blood, not huge but enough to know someone had lain there for a while bleeding. Her coffee cup was nearly full, as if she were coming back to finish it.

If it hadn’t been for Brady, she might never have come back. She could have died here.

She hated the way her hands shook and she couldn’t seem to swallow. Why was she freaking out now? It was ridiculous. It was just a coffee cup and a little bit of blood. She was overreacting.

The man had frightened her and grabbed her arm. He’d put the gun to her head and shouted in her ear. But she wasn’t permanently damaged. The bruises on her arm had already turned yellow at the edges.

She would be fine.

* * *

Michaela got dressed for her date on Friday, even though she hadn’t heard from Brady since he’d left her office on Monday morning after dropping off Hunter. They’d made the date as he’d tried to leave. The third time.

She smiled, remembering how he’d said he needed to get enough of her kisses to last him all week. The smile faded when she looked down at her phone. The thing had been silent, despite the texts and voicemails she’d left for him.

If she’d spent more time dating instead of going to med school, maybe she’d know how she was supposed to handle such a thing. Up until last year she’d had the same boyfriend for six years. It had turned out he was also someone else’s boyfriend. What a shock that had been.

Almost as big as the shock she’d gotten when Brady had kissed her. She hadn’t minded one bit. After all, he was incredibly sexy. But he was also kind of scary. Or so she’d thought until he’d kissed her.

While his lips were firm on hers, and their shared attraction had them grasping at each other to get closer, there was a tenderness in his touch that made her feel safe. She didn’t know much about Brady Martin, but she knew he wouldn’t hurt her.

She frowned at her phone again, noticing the time. Ten minutes before he was supposed to pick her up. Looking down at her carefully planned outfit she felt silly for hoping. As she turned to go back to her room to change into her comfy clothes, her doorbell rang.

After glancing out the window to make sure, she opened the door to find Brady standing on her porch. There was a pizza box in his hand, a six-pack of beer hung from his fingertips, and a bottle of wine was tucked under his arm. He grinned and she smiled back as she opened the door wider.

“I know I said I wanted to take you out for dinner, but I’ve had a hell of a week and I was hoping I could talk you into staying home instead.”

She nodded and took the pizza box from him.

“That sounds great.”