She bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t make it easy.”
Maybe that was the answer. With them it would never be easy. They didn’t come from functional lives. Their backgrounds were dark and messy. They knew death and despair. But the point was always about “they”—them together. They didn’t have to be alone.
He linked his fingers behind her back and held her. “You happen to be standing in front of the one man who knows exactly how you feel right now. I understand what you’re going through, and I will be there for you. Every day. I want that more than anything.”
“And I’ll be there for you.” Her hand skimmed down his cheek. “To bring you out of hiding.”
That was the one problem area he wasn’t convinced they could overcome. The one piece that kept him from wanting to throw in and commit. His life could put her in peril. The idea of that made him want to rip the walls apart with his bare hands.
“My job—”
She put a finger over his lips. “Is dangerous, just like a lot of other jobs. You use yours as a shield. Let me teach you to drop it.”
Hope didn’t sneak up on him. It punched him. Smacked right into him. “Sounds like we can learn a lot from each other.”
“Well, we are dating.” She played with the knot of his tie. “And in love.”
“There’s that.”
“Yeah, there’s that.”
Then he leaned down and kissed her, because he couldn’t stand one minute of not kissing her. The touch of their lips sent a shock of heat racing through him. Like that, they went from disconnected to together. The harsh words fell away, leaving only forgiveness.
They understood each other. They would make this work.
He lifted his head. “Any chance you want some coffee?” It seemed like a good way to get them back on track.
She winked at him. “I’d rather go home.”
That sounded even better.
Three weeks had passed. Time where she barely left Wren’s side. She went with him to work on the days he went in. Lounged in his library on the days he worked from home. Talked with Tyler, who was now in an in-patient treatment center. The news about her father had been the one hit too many. Tyler heard the news then reached out. When his parents balked, Wren found him a program and provided the needed funds so he could break away from his parents’ hold.
She thought about him often, but the bulk of her life right now revolved around a few friends. Garrett and Caroline. No work. Not yet. She needed the leave of absence to clear her head. It was hard to argue that she could help solve cases when she’d never been able to see the facts right in front of her in her own life.
But today she’d ventured out. Wren had declared this Wednesday morning coffee day. If it worked, they’d make it a weekly event. Go out, get the drinks to go and leave. That was the plan. He stood at the counter right now waiting to pick up the cups.
Her instincts told her to stay plastered to him. To hold his hand and not let go. But she forced her mind to blank out some of the fear. To fight off her inclination to tuck in and hide. She’d never felt that before, but it hit her hard now. Every day she battled to be who she was before her father was arrested.
“Ready?” Wren stood next to the table with a cup in each hand.
He wore his usual dark suit and a tie that brought out the sparkle in those intense eyes. Today they reflected love and a lightness that made her smile. He’d been stronger and more supportive than she ever thought possible.
When she needed to sit and stare, he let her. When she wanted to talk and scream, he listened. Yesterday she even got him to dance with her. Right there in the family room as the music streamed through his fancy speaker system.
She used her foot to push out the chair across from her. “Sit.”
He glanced around, slipping so easily into protector mode. “Are you sure?”
“I want to feel normal. Just for a few minutes.”
He slid his chair closer to hers and sat down. His arm balanced on the back of her chair and he leaned in close. Almost surrounding her. “I’m thinking normal is overrated.”
She trailed her fingertips over the scruff on his chin. “True because you’re so much better than normal.”
“Oh, really?”
That smile warmed her from the inside. “You amaze me every day.”
“It’s because of you.” He slipped his hand over hers. “You’re pulling me out of the darkness.”
She entwined her fingers with his and cuddled closer. “I’m leaning on you so hard. So many men would crumble.”
“I’m not any man.” He lifted their hands and kissed the back of hers. “And you are a hell of a woman.”
“I love you.” The words came easier these days. The relationship was still so new, but she didn’t have to wait and see. She didn’t need time to pass. This was forever love. The type where they grew old together and made each other better.
“And I love you,” he said in a husky tone.
She couldn’t believe how the phrase rolled out of him. How she could see it in everything he did for her, how he held her. “Don’t stop.”
“Never.”
“I believe you.” Her trust was low right now. It was so hard to believe in anything. To keep her balance and not lose who she was. But not when it came to him. He didn’t lie to her or make promises he couldn’t keep. He put her first and showed her every day that she could depend on him. That he needed her.
His smile grew even wider. “That sounds like a pretty great start to me.”
“Take me home.” Not because she was anxious or twitchy about being out around people. She wanted to be alone with him. Climb into bed and stay there for hours.
His head dipped until his hair brushed against hers. “Are you feeling a little naughty?”
“I guess we’ll have to go home and see.”
His eyebrow lifted. “To our home?”
He’d asked her to officially move in. To let her apartment go and stay. She requested time to think, but she no longer needed it. Not after nights with him and days roaming around the house. They worked better together. They would survive the rest of the fallout and the dangers of his job and the pressure of life by leaning on each other. She didn’t want to give up one minute with him.
“Yeah, to our home.”
He let out a long breath as a look of satisfaction settled on his face. “I’ve been waiting to hear that.”
“I needed some time.” Not to figure out her feelings for him, but for everything else.
“I’ll give you forever.”
She took that deal.
Acknowledgments
After years of writing about fictional undercover operatives—and loving it!—I was ready for a change. That led to the Games People Play series, filled with mysterious men, strong women, and cold cases. It’s been a dream to write these books, and I truly hope readers enjoy them, too. Thank you for trying The Fixer.
I owe a huge thank you to my amazing editor, May Chen, for being so supportive. When I said I wanted to try something new with less of a body count, you told me to send some paragraphs . . . then you loved the idea. Your enthusiasm and expertise never cease to amaze me. You make my writing life so much easier.
I also want to thank my agent, Laura Bradford, for all the handholding and the “of course you need to write this series!” cheerleading. I’m so happy to have you on my team.
Big kisses and hugs to Jill Shalvis for doing an early read of the first few chapters and telling me to stop worrying and get busy writing. You always say the right thing.
Thank you to everyone on Team Avon for making the book better, for selling it, for getting the word out there. You guys are the best!
And, as always, love to James.
About the Author
HELENKAY DIMON spent the years before becoming a romance author as a . . . divorce attorney. Not the usual transition, she knows. Good news is she now writes full time and is much happier. She has sold over thirty
novels, novellas, and shorts to numerous publishers. Her nationally bestselling and award-winning books have been showcased in numerous venues and her books have twice been named “Red-Hot Reads” and excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine. But if you ask her, she’ll tell you the best part of the job is never having to wear pantyhose again.
You can learn more at her website: www.helenkaydimon.com.
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By HelenKay Dimon
The Fixer
Facing Fire
Falling Hard
Playing Dirty
Running Hot (novella)
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
the fixer. Copyright © 2017 by HelenKay Dimon. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
EPub Edition JANUARY 2017 ISBN: 9780062441324
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062441300
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HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
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