If he didn’t answer soon, she was going to open that door and disappear, this time for good? He could feel it in his bones, and he couldn’t let that happen.
He had to go with the truth. Just throw out why he did it and hoped like hell she believed him.
“It’s simple—I did it because I love you. He was hurting you and because you mean the world to me, he was hurting me too.”
She whirled around, her beautiful hazel eyes wide. Well, at least that got a reaction from her.
Seeing it as a positive sign, he approached her again. Everything in him wanted to bring her close. To inhale the fresh scent of apple from her shampoo. She fit perfectly in his arms, in his bed, and in his life.
He gave in to his desires and stroked a hand down her hair, twirling one of the strands around his finger before releasing it. “What I should’ve done was volunteer to come with you. Be your silent support and let you deal with it in your way. I believe you can handle anything that’s thrown at you. You told me you had the situation sorted and I should’ve listened.”
The silence stretched between them. Had he left it too long? Should he have gone over to her place and demanded she see him? No, that would’ve made it even worse. He’d been all types of stupid and he would have to pay the price. Whatever that was.
“Yes,” she whispered. “That’s exactly what you should’ve done.”
Energy flowed through him. Maybe, just maybe, the second chance he wanted was within his grasp. “I want a future with you and Willow. I want to come home to you every day, and I want to listen as you tell me about your troubles. I want to make a life with you. I love you, Kerry. You and your dog changed my life, and I don’t want to go back to the man I was before we met. Can we please try again?”
Tears shimmered in her eyes, and he didn’t know what he’d do if they spilled over. Well, he’d hold her close and let her cry, be the silent support she needed and the support he said he’d be for her.
A pair of arms slipped around his waist, and his breath shuddered out of him as he wrapped her tightly against him. “I didn’t know how much I needed you until you stumbled into my arms. That day was the best day of my life.”
She pulled back and he gently wiped the tears away from her cheeks.
“It was the best day of my life, too.”
His eyes drifted shut as fingers trailed a sweet path down his cheek, and he pursed his lips when they brushed them. “Look at me, Caleb.”
He opened his eyes, gazing down at the woman in his arms. The woman he loved with all his heart. The woman who’d reminded him that to live was to love.
“I love you, too, Caleb Bradshaw. Promise me you won’t ever try to take over my life again.”
He pressed his lips softly against hers. “I promise. I’ll be your shoulder when you need it. The person who will stand at your side when you need it. But if you’re physically threatened, I’m going to act. No one hurts what’s mine. And you’re mine, Kerry Williams. All mine.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Epilogue
Kerry shook her head at the boxes stacked in her living room. “Where the hell are we going to fit all this stuff?”
A set of warm lips landed on the back of her neck, startling her. “Don’t worry, honey, we’ll find a place. If not, we can toss it and start over buying stuff that’s ours.”
She whirled around and flung her arms around Caleb’s shoulders. “I like the sound of ours.”
Two months had passed since the day in George’s office. Caleb had told her all about his new position where he would be overseeing the acquiring and training of the therapy dogs and she couldn’t be more excited for him. The lease on his place was up, and it made more sense for him to move in with her, seeing as he spent most of his time at her place anyway.
Her dad had recovered and was back living in his apartment. He’d found a lady friend who had recently moved in and was spending all his time with Paula. Kerry liked her and seeing her dad with a spring in his step lightened her heart.
“I can’t believe this is finally happening,” she said.
“Believe it. But it’s not like this is really anything different to what we’ve been doing for the last two months.”
“Very true. Oh, did you fix the hole in the fence? We don’t want Willow escaping next door now that you’re not there.” Something the dog had done on numerous occasions when Caleb had gone to his place for any given amount of time. It was another reason why he’d been spending most of his time in her house.
“I did. There will be no more escape attempts.”
“My next-door knight,” she joked before pouring all her love for him into a kiss. His arms tightened around her and he deepened the kiss.
“Get a room, you two.”
A voice broke into their bubble, and Kerry went up on tiptoe to look over Caleb’s shoulder. His former roommate Ethan stood in the doorway of the living room, with a big grin on his face, a case of beer in one hand and an arm around his fiancée, Isabella, and their daughter, Marnie.
“You’re not supposed to be here for another hour, Ethan,” Caleb grumbled as he dropped a kiss on her nose before releasing her.
“Thought we’d come and help.” Ethan held up the case of beer. “Point me to the kitchen and I’ll dump this and then help you unpack or haul furniture. Whatever you both need.”
“The kitchen’s this way.”
Kerry tracked Caleb’s movement out of the room, admiring the curve of his ass in his jeans. Willow, being Willow, trotted after Caleb, always wanting to be near him as much as Kerry did.
“Thank you,” Isabella said quietly.
“What?” she asked.
“Thank you for bringing back Caleb. When I first met him he was in a dark place. He only came out when the guys pressured him and, well, let’s just say his choice of company wasn’t the best. But when he met you, I’ve never seen a man change so much. You’re good for him.”
“He’s good for me too,” she said simply. “We bring out the best in each other.”
“Yes, you do. Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet my friend, Meredith. She’s coming back to town in a few weeks after her stint overseas.”
“Is she military?”
“Oh no, she’s a schoolteacher like me, or I was until I had Marnie. But she’s been teaching overseas for almost a year. A great opportunity knocked and she answered. I think the two of you will get on well.”
“I’ll look forward to meeting her. Is she married or single?”
“Very much single. Meredith likes walking to her own beat. But I would like to see her settle down one day.”
The men returned and Caleb was shaking his head.
“What’s wrong?” she rushed up to her man.
“I was just telling Caleb that our friend, Linc, has left the army,” Ethan commented.
“And I take it that’s a bad thing?”
Caleb shrugged. “No, not really, more of a shock. We all thought he would be career army.”
“Well, he has his reasons, I’m sure, just like you did.” She drew Caleb into her arms. No sooner had her fingers locked together against his back than Willow barked.
“Needy baby, greedy baby,” she groused as she released her hold on Caleb and picked up the dog.
She looked closer at the dog and spied a blue ribbon hanging from her collar with something attached to it. That something sparkled. She looked up at Caleb, love shining brightly in his eyes.
“What’s going on?” she asked as he gathered her close.
“Kerry Williams, the day a little dog waddled into my yard was the best day of my life. It seemed only fitting to have her be a part of this moment.” He reached over and pulled the ribbon; the ring slid off and he got down on one knee.
“Will you marry me?”
He held the ring up and tears filled Kerry’s eyes. She hugged Willow then placed her on the ground before dropping to her knees. “Yes, Caleb Bradshaw. Yes, I will marry you.”
>
He slid the ring home and, before she could admire it, pulled her close for a kiss. She was vaguely aware of clapping in the background.
She pulled away from him and looked over her shoulder to see Ethan and Isabella smiling at them.
Willow squeezed under her arms and placed herself between the two of them, clearly happy with both her humans. Caleb smiled and scratched Willow’s head, but his eyes were firmly on Kerry’s.
“Mine,” he said.
Kerry smiled. “Ours, forever.”
The End
Acknowledgements
A huge thank you again to Julie, my editor, it’s always an adventure working with you and I’m glad you’re part of my team. Also, once again, thanks to the Tule team for working with me on this book.
Once again, this book was written alongside my bestie Abigail Owen. Your support gets me through the toughest days. And you never complain when I whine.
Jennifer, my tireless PA, another book completed with you working alongside me. Thanks for all your help and support.
To Shey and Shawn, still can’t thank you enough for helping me out with my questions. And to their friend Jeff for sharing his experiences with me as I wrote this book.
Sometimes I need to tweak things a little for them to work in my world. Any inaccuracies or errors within the text are my own.
To my family, as always, I can’t do half the stuff I do without knowing that I have your love and support fueling me to keep striving to reach my goals.
The Man’s Best Friend series
Book 1: Blind Date Bet
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Book 3: Coming Soon
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Blind Date Bet
Nicole Flockton
Book 1 in Man’s Best Friend series
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An alarm blared, loud and obnoxious, the second Isabella Knowles walked out of the clothes shop. She froze, glanced over her shoulder, and saw the store assistant marching toward her.
What the hell?
Reaching into her handbag, she rummaged for the receipt. No way was she going to be accused of stealing when she’d paid for the items in the bag fair and square.
Before the girl could reach her, movement outside of the shop registered with her. People were dashing down the mall, not in an I need the bathroom kind of way but more in the get me the hell out of here way.
“Ma’am.” The assistant tapped her on the shoulder. “Can you please move? I need to secure the shop.”
“What’s going on?” Isabella asked. The alarm suddenly stopped its screeching.
“Attention, shoppers,” a disembodied voice crackled around the store, echoing in the mall. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are evacuating the mall. Shoppers, please make your way to the closest exit in an orderly fashion. Thank you.”
The siren fired up again, and Isabella choked back a laugh and muttered, “I’ll make my way to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion. Can’t guarantee everyone else will.”
“Ma’am, you heard the announcement, can you please leave the shop?” The assistant’s voice had gone from semi-polite to downright rude.
“Sure, but will you girls be okay getting out?” They’d done plenty of fire drills at school; a cool head made things a lot easier for everyone. Others didn’t feel this way so much, as evidenced by the stampede in front of the shop.
“Yes, ma’am. Now leave.”
Isabella blew out a long breath and shrugged. Fine, they didn’t need her help. Making sure to pop her car keys into her pocket before exiting the store, Isabella made her way out into the crowd and was immediately swept up in the wave of people.
She weaved her way through the horde to get to the side of the rush where it wasn’t so chaotic and she didn’t fear getting stomped on.
At the nearest fire escape, a swarm of people all vied to get through the door first. There was a reason why they taught the kids to leave the classroom and schools in a line—less chance of a bottleneck at the exits.
Looking around, she noticed that the crowds were thinning; at least in the parking lot there would be plenty of room for people to spread out. The siren still blared, and if she strained her ears, she was sure she could make out the faint tones of the approaching first responders.
Or wait… no, that sounded like a child crying.
Forgetting everything drummed into her during evacuation training, Isabella spun around and worked her way through the mass of bodies. To her left, she noticed a little boy crying; he looked like one of the second graders from the school where she taught.
“Where the heck are his parents?” she murmured under her breath as she made her way toward him.
“Ma’am, you’re going in the wrong direction.”
Even though everything in her was screaming to get to the little boy, she swiveled to face the person who’d stopped her progress.
“I’m a school teacher, and I see one of my students. He’s alone and I need to get him.”
Standing in front of her was a fine specimen of a man. The cliched phrase tall, dark, and handsome sprang to mind, but the description suited him. His rugged appearance matched his deep voice.
“This child isn’t your responsibility. The authorities will deal with him. You need to be concerned for your own safety.”
Isabella ran her gaze over him, taking in the faded denim jeans he was wearing, the tight T-shirt that molded his broad shoulders and hugged his chest. He definitely wasn’t a store security guard or even a first responder, so she didn’t really need to follow his instructions. If he was a police officer directing her out, she’d listen. But the guy was a complete stranger. Where did he get off telling her what she could and couldn’t do?
“Actually, as someone who is in charge of the child’s education, yes, he is my responsibility. Now if you’ll excuse me, he’s run off and I need to find him.”
She gripped her shopping bags tighter in preparation to brush past him, but he stepped in front of her, blocking her way. “Are you always this stubborn, or is it just my lucky day that you’re being obstinate?” He practically growled at her.
Isabella sucked in a breath. “I don’t know who you are, but you don’t get to talk to me that way. Now please move so I can make sure the little boy is okay.”
“Ma’am, if you go after the boy, you’re only making things more difficult for the men and women trained in these circumstances. For your safety, and the safety of others, I suggest you turn around and exit the mall.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest, giving her the impression of a brick wall.
Who is this guy?
The urge to argue more built inside of her. She’d spent the last few years answering to no one but herself. Unfortunately, she had to admit this stranger was correct. Rationally, it was stupid to go after the boy she’d caught only a glimpse of. All the training she’d completed reiterated not to put yourself in danger.
“Fine.” Without waiting to see his self-satisfied smile, Isabella whirled around, her short skirt floating around her legs in a swish.
By the time she reached the exit, there was no crowd and she made her escape. Cars streamed out of the parking lot. Cars and trucks with flashing lights flooded in. A shiver rippled down her spine. Whatever was going on was serious, and the guy who’d demanded she leave had probably done her a favor.
But no way was she going to admit that to him if she ever saw him again, which was never going to happen.
Find out what happens next…
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About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Flockton writes sexy contemporary romances, seducing you one kiss at a time as you turn the pages. Nicole likes nothing better than taking characters and creating unique situations where they fight to find their true love.
On her first school report her teacher noted “Nicole likes to tell her own stories”. It wasn’t until after the birth of her first child and after having fun on a romance community forum that she finally decided to take the plunge and write a book. Now with over 20 books published she hasn’t looked back.
Apart from writing Nicole is busy looking after her very own hero – her wonderfully supportive husband, and two fabulous kids. She also enjoys watching sports and, of course, reading.
You can visit Nicole at her website www.nicoleflockton.com or follow her on twitter at twitter.com/NicoleFlockton.
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