by Jen Talty
Heather: Don’t worry about it. I understand. I’ll see you at the Easton’s.
She set her phone down, thinking that would be the end of it. Well, she was wrong.
Rowen: If it’s okay with you, I’d like us to go over together. I’d like a little time alone with you.
Double wow. She gulped.
Heather: I’m at the office, but leaving in ten minutes. See you soon.
Before she could set the cell down, it vibrated with another text.
Rowen: Thanks. Kisses.
How did one respond to that? She chose the ‘blow kiss’ emoji, then rushed to finish her paperwork so she could go home.
It shocked her how comfortable she felt with him, and not just because he’d made love to her so thoroughly he rendered her boneless-like, but because he was simply the best, sweetest, man she’d ever met. There was an innocence about Rowen that she couldn’t deny. Not in a childlike way, but as in a genuine, kind, caring man with a heart of gold and a soul filled with hidden treasure.
Indeed, few men were like Rowen.
By the time she slipped into the front seat of her car and headed for home, she had a perpetual smile plastered on her face. Dating a man like…God, she hoped he’d consider them dating. Jumping straight into bed with him didn’t mean they had any kind of relationship, but it did change everything.
A warm tingle flowed across her skin like a rainbow covered the sky when she eyed Rowen’s truck. She parked her car, then pulled out her phone to text Rowen, but before she pull up his contact, she heard the roar of Jeff’s car pulling in behind her.
“Shit,” she mumbled, looking for Rowen’s uncle’s number. She’d filed all the paperwork, so her ex shouldn’t be coming anywhere near her, unless he wanted to get arrested. Just as she clicked the call button, Jeff pulled open her door and yanked her from the car.
“Let go of me!” She tried to shrug his hand from her arm, while holding her phone in a death grip. “You need to leave. I filed a restraining—”
“I know what you did, and it’s ridiculous.” His fingers dug into her biceps, sending painful memories of the damage his fists could inflict.
“I’ve called the police.”
He laughed. “When are you going to stop this silly little temper tantrum and come home?”
“Home?” She glared at him. “We’re divorced, remember?”
“Something I shouldn’t have let happen.”
She wigged her arm, but he didn’t release his grip. “Why? Because you thought I wanted your money, well I don’t want it, nor do I need it.”
“Come on, you’re in debt up to your eyeballs and seriously, you miss me. I know you do. We can work this out. I told you I was sorry.”
“You really are a piece of work.” She glanced between his face and the hand on her arm. “Let go of me and leave before the police arrive because I don’t think you really want to make the headlines this way.”
“Don’t threaten me, baby.” He grabbed her other arm, holding her tight.
Her lungs burned as the familiar combination of shame and fear flowed through her veins.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rowen fly from his front door.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” Rowen yelled.
Startled, Jeff shoved her behind him, still holding her by one hand.
“Back off, buddy, this is family business.”
Heather stared into Rowen’s blood-filled eyes. She’d seen that look before.
In Jeff.
“Let her go and leave. I’m not going to ask again.” Rowen reached out for her, but Jeff shoved her backward then shoved Rowen in the chest.
“Get in the house,” Rowen demand.
She wasn’t going anywhere, nor was she going to let these two fight it out. “I called the police.”
“I know, my uncle called me and he’s sending a car over, now get in the house.” His commanding tone sent a shiver down her spine.
She stood next to Rowen, feeling the anger seeping from his pores. She leveled a hard look at Jeff. “If the cops arrest you, and they will, it will be hard to come out smelling like roses with the press this time.”
“You little bitch.” Jeff stepped forward.
Rowan reached his arm out, curling his fingers around her biceps, and stepping in front of her.
Stunned by Rowen’s use of force with her, she froze in place, watching Rowen’s fist connect with the side of Jeff’s face. The crackle-pop, of knuckle crushing bone echoed between her ears.
Jeff stumbled backward, hitting her car with his back and a loud thud.
“You’re going to regret that,” Jeff said, wiping the blood from his cracked lip.
Heather, realizing Rowan was going to go after Jeff again, ran the five paces toward him and grabbed his bulging biceps. His body stiffened as he whipped his head to the side, glaring at her.
She swallowed. “Let him be.”
“That’s it, baby, defend your husband.”
Rowen growled.
His muscle twitched under her touch.
“I’m not your baby, and you’re not my husband,” she said, pointing down the street as a patrol car rolled to a stop in front of Rowen’s driveway. “Last chance to leave, and don’t think I won’t go through with harassment charges if you keep doing this.”
“Come near her again and I’ll do more than hit you,” Rowen said behind a clenched jaw.
She had no idea how to calm him down, and his rage frightened her on so many levels, even if it was to protect her. First, she had to handle Jeff.
“Are you fucking him?” Jeff questioned, daring to step forward. “Awe, baby, you are.” He raised his hand to his mouth, spreading his fingers, shoving his tongue between them and waggling it. “Best pussy in town.”
“You fucking bastard,” Rowen said, lunging forward.
“Rowen! No,” she yelled, but it was too late.
Rowen connected another fist with Jeff’s gut. In a fraction of second, Jeff landed a punch on Rowen’s chin.
She stood there, mouth gaping open watching her asshole ex-husband and her current boyfriend, if you could call him that, beating the crap out of each other. The sound of clopping boots hitting the ground penetrated her nightmare as a police officer called out Rowen’s name and commanded the men to break it up.
Neither man did.
The police officer yanked Rowen from Jeff, who held his hands up and backed away. “I was trying to leave and then this guy assaulted me.”
“I understand that Dr. Holbrook has a restraining order, and you’re on her property, so I suggest you leave, and trust me when I say, there will be no second chances. You come anywhere near Dr. Holbrook again and you will be arrested.”
“And what about him? I want him arrested.”
“If I bring him in, I’m sure as hell bringing you in, too. So, I highly recommend you get in your car, leave, and make sure you don’t come back.”
Jeff didn’t say another word as he slipped into his fancy car, turned the engine over, and slowly backed out of her driveway, and rolled down the street.
Heather took a few calming breaths, rolling her neck. She was still afraid of Jeff. She’d probably always be afraid of him and for good reason, but she wasn’t under his grip, and hopefully this was the end of that road.
She focused on Rowen, who stood in her driveway, hands on his hips, back to her. His rage frightened her in a different way.
But it also angered her. Violence wasn’t the way to solve this issue, if anything, it only escalated it.
She folded her arms across her chest as he turned and closed the gap between them. His body sill oozed rage. She held up her hand, not wanting to feel that kind of anger. “Why on earth did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Resort to violence to deal with him,” she said, letting out a short puff of air.
“Are you kidding me?” Both his brows arched. “The way he manhandled you—”
“Didn’t r
equire you to hit him. All you had to do was step between me and him. Had he tried to actually hurt me, or you, fine, but you didn’t have to start it.”
“What?!” He stood two feet from her, looking down on her with dark eyes. “I bet he left bruises on your arm, the way he held on to you.” His nostrils flared like a bull ready to charge. His chested heaved up and down with every breath.
“You need to calm down before I can talk to you about this. I need some time alone. Give the Easton’s my best.”
With that, she turned on her heels and marched herself into her house and locked the door. Rubbing her arms, she could feel the pain of bruises developing where Jeff had squeezed so hard she thought it would cut off he circulation. She leaned against the front door, peeking out the window.
Rowan still stood in her driveway, scratching the back of his head.
Her body trembled and tears stung at the corners of her eyes. Rowen was a good man and she knew deep down he’d never hurt her physically. She’d give him time to calm down, and she’d take time clear her head.
She’d talk to him tomorrow and go from there.
One day at a time.
Chapter 10
THE NEXT SEVENTY-TWO hours had been sheer hell for Rowen.
After the incident with Jeff, no matter how much he wanted to talk to Heather, he understood she needed space. He hadn’t felt that kind of rage in…well, never. Not even when he found his ex-wife screwing one of their friends.
His feelings for Heather cut deep.
He rubbed the side of his mouth as he pulled into the parking lot of her office. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her since the fight with her ex. He had to work a double shift to cover for one of his buddies who’d been injured in the fire and then he’d spent most of today sleeping. She was at work anyway, so it wasn’t like they’d be able to talk.
But now he had his scheduled appointment for the permanent crown. The clock on his dash blinked 4:45.
Fifteen minutes early.
He slipped from the driver’s seat, his body sore from work and lack of sleep, his heart aching from missing her.
The sun dipped behind a cloud as he made his away across the parking lot. This wasn’t the time or place to tell her how he felt, which she’d probably call him crazy if he did. He would, however, apologize. If there was one thing he knew about Heather, that was she didn’t like excessive use of force, and he’d done just that when he’d gone after Jeff. Truth be told, he wanted to make him hurt the way he’d hurt her.
Which put Rowen on the same level as Jeff.
Sort of.
Rowen’s intentions were good, but he knew without a doubt, he could have easily held his ground without ever tossing a punch, especially the first one.
He held the door open for a mother and her two kids before stepping into the empty reception area. The receptionist greeted him, telling to have a seat and Heather would be with him in a moment.
His heart rattled inside his chest like a kid sitting in the principal’s office waiting to get scolded.
Some woman who he vaguely remembered assisting Heather during his first experience in her office, led him down the hallway and into the same room he’d been in last time. He sat in the chair, clasping his hands together and waited.
And waited.
It felt like he waited an eternity, but the clock on the wall said he’d been sitting there for five minutes when he heard the clicking of shoes enter the room.
“Hello, Rowen,” she said, pulling up her rolling stool. “How’s the tooth feel? Any problems.”
He swallowed his breath, staring into her rich brown eyes. She’d pulled her dark hair back into a ponytail, which she did anytime she worked. A small smile spread across her face.
“None. I want to apologize—”
“Let me get this crown in place and then we can talk, okay?”
He nodded.
“I’d prefer to do this without numbing your mouth. That said, some patients feel a quick, sharp pain when I cement it in.”
“Drilling?” he questioned.
“Only on this.” She held up the crown. “And not much.”
“Let’s get this over with.”
He leaned back, closing his eyes, and opening his mouth wide, letting her violate his mouth yet again.
Only this time, he had no fear.
The procedure took about fifteen minutes, and only once did he feel any real pain. Before he knew it, he was following her up to her office where they could talk.
He felt good about the dentist, but wasn’t feeling so good about what the woman was going to say to him.
Shutting the door behind him, he situated himself on the sofa. She sat on the other end, facing him, one foot tucked under her.
“I want to thank you for being there for me,” she said, fingering her ponytail flowing over her shoulder.
“My pleasure,” he said. “I’m sorry I threw the first punch. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“The thing is, had you not been there…had I not been able to punch in the number to your uncle, who knows what Jeff would have done.”
“He hasn’t tried to contact you since then, has he?”
She shook her head. “But he got himself into some trouble that made the headlines and this time he can’t spin it.”
“What did he do?”
“He hit another woman who did what I should have done the first time.” She arched a brow. “I know you were just trying to protect me, and I understand and appreciated that, but you let him get the better of you and your rage scared me. Not for me, but that you could be so out of control, and I’ve seen that before.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m not Jeff.”
“No. You’re not. But the way you were that day, you could have really hurt him and gotten yourself into trouble.”
He blinked, forcing himself to keep his frustration in check. “I understand that. But I want you to put yourself in my shoes for one minute.”
She opened her mouth, but he moved closer, hushing her with his finger.
“Imagine seeing someone you were falling in love with being threatened by someone who’d already proven he was a violent man? What would you do?”
Her eyes grew wide and her mouth hung open.
“So, you understand my point? I know I shouldn’t have hit him, but when someone you care about is being threatened—”
“Wait. Back it up a second.”
“What do you mean? Back it up?”
“Go back to the part where you said you were falling in love with me.” She’d dropped her hands to her lap and stared at him with those dark eyes filled with specs of gold.
Oh boy. Had he really said that? He hadn’t planned on tossing that out there just yet. “What about it?”
“Do you mean that?”
“I know it sounds crazy, considering we’ve only known each other a short time, but I can’t imagine my life without you in it. So, yeah, I mean it. I’m falling in love with you and there is no stopping it.”
“What’s crazy is we haven’t even gone on a date yet.” The corners of her mouth tipped upward.
“We had the barbeque,” he said, leaning forward.
“Wasn’t a date.”
“Okay, how about the night we grilled steaks. That had to be a date.” His heart beat faster as he cupped her face.
“Okay. I’ll give you that one.”
“Tonight, I’ll take you to my favorite sports bar and try to focus on you while stealing glances at the game.”
“I’d like that.”
His lips brushed hers, setting off an electric current from his mouth to hers, as if she were pulling all the heat from his body and taking it as her own.
“So, we’ve established I’m falling for you. Do you feel the same way?”
“I feel so much for you that the only explanation is that I’m falling in love with you, and I want to explore it and take our time with it. I don’t want to rush, I hope you can understan
d that.”
“We’ve got all the time in the world.”
He kissed her with everything he had, giving her everything he had. Who knew it would take a dentist to steal his fire.
Epilogue
One Year Later…
ROWEN LEANED AGAINST the big cedar elm tree in the backyard yard of his new home staring at his lovely bride conversing with her parents and his. Thankfully, both sets had forgiven them for running off and getting married without telling anyone, but they’d both had the big wedding the first time and honestly, all they wanted to do was get on with their lives.
So, when the big house next to the neighborhood pool club became available, they had realized they were more than meant for each other.
They closed on the house less than a month ago, and had now been blissfully married for twenty-nine days. Not that he was counting or anything, but he did have the best one-month anniversary present for Heather, his wife.
God, how he loved the sound of that.
Boy, was he going to love seeing the look on her face when he walked her around to the front of the house where a shiny, brand new sport SUV was parked with a big pink bow. Not only was he tired of tinkering with her clunker, but he wanted something where the lights would automatically go off if she left them on. He never minded jumping her , but he got tired of the phone call at four in the afternoon, “honey, the battery is dead again.”
He glanced around the yard at his family and friends who had gathered at the request of both their parents, but mostly his grandmother, for a reception to celebrate their marriage. It was a perfect partnership, even when she did want to stick her fingers in his mouth with some dental floss.
Eyeing his wife, as she strolled across the yard, he didn’t think his life could get any better.
“How are our parents?” he asked.
She laughed that easy throaty laugh that rolled over his ears like butter melting over warm toast.
“I got an earful about us not telling them and including them in the wedding.”
“Right, because they would have loved watching us get married in Vegas.”
“My mother was just grateful it wasn’t by an Elvis impersonator.”
He looped his arm around her waist, bending over and kissing her temple. “Come on. I’ve got a late wedding present or an early one month anniversary present, depending on how you want to look at it.”