by Katie Reus
“If you want gossip,” she said to Athena as everyone started reaching for the appetizers, “guess who just called and texted me after days of radio silence?”
“Ooh, sexy cop is back on the scene?” Ruby asked. The beautiful blonde was happier than Raegan had ever seen her since she’d started dating Montez a few days ago.
“Uh, no.” And she didn’t know if she even wanted to contact him. She didn’t play games, and he’d really hurt her. She started to reach for the crab-stuffed mushrooms when she saw the almost guilty look on Lizzy’s face. “What’s that look?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re such a liar. Do you know something about Ford?”
Lizzy shrugged as she scooped a few of the coconut fried shrimp onto her plate. “I know a lot about him. He’s been friends with Grant for years.”
“Don’t be a smart-ass.”
“I’m not supposed to say.” She picked up a shrimp, nibbled on it as everyone watched her.
“If you don’t tell her, I’m going to make you wear the ugliest bridesmaid dress possible. With ruffles and bows and everything you hate. In pink. It’ll be a special dress, reserved just for you.” Julieta’s expression was deadpan as she lifted her glass of wine, her eyebrows raised challengingly.
“Fine…” Lizzy turned back to Raegan, her expression apologetic. “I might have overheard Grant telling Porter that he was going to see Ford today.”
Mortification swelled inside Raegan as Lizzy’s words settled in. “Oh, my God,” she breathed out. She did not need her cousins ‘defending her honor’ or whatever misguided idea they might have. A little overprotectiveness was fine, but this was nuts.
“I know. I told Porter it was a bad idea but apparently Belle is super emotional right now—and I understand. I was crazy emotional when I was pregnant too. But she was really upset for you, was talking about going to see Ford and punching him,” Lizzy sighed, “and I quote, ‘in his big dumb face.’ So…I think Grant might have gone to see him today to make her happy.”
Raegan felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She’d been ranting to Belle yesterday about Ford’s disappearing act but that had just been to release her frustration to a friend. She was a grown woman. She didn’t need or want her family getting involved with her fizzled relationship. Hell, it had barely been a relationship. Just sex. At least to Ford. And yeah, that stung pretty deeply because she’d really been into him. “I think I need another glass of wine,” she muttered.
“It’s probably not as bad as you think,” Ruby said, giving her a hopeful expression.
“Yeah, sure.” At least now she had her answer as to why Ford had called and texted after days of the silent treatment. She’d really thought they were on the same page. She’d started to think they might have something real together. At least this had happened before she’d really fallen for him.
Who was she kidding—it hurt no matter what. She had absolutely nothing to say to him, especially not since he was only calling because of her cousin.
Chapter 14
Ford pushed away from the wall when he saw Raegan round the corner from where the elevators were.
She paused when she saw him, her lips pulling into a thin line before she continued toward him.
“How’d you get in the building?” she asked, pulling her key out of her purse. She had on one of those wraparound dresses he’d noticed that she favored. This one was solid black. It highlighted all her curves—not that he should be focusing on that right now. Not when he owed her an apology. Just seeing her made him ache inside, only reminded him how much he’d missed her.
“I was still on your guest list.” Which yeah, showing up uninvited was a shitty thing to do, but he wanted to see her, to do this in person. Even if he was pretty sure she never wanted to see him again. But he had to try and make this right. He missed her and wanted another shot.
She crossed her arms over her chest, her expression neutral. “Look, Lizzy told me that Grant might have visited you today so if that’s the case, know that I had nothing to do with that. You shouldn’t be here because you think you have to apologize for…whatever.”
“I do need to apologize…” He trailed off as a couple a few doors down stepped from their condo. They both waved at Raegan, who smiled and waved back.
Sighing, she opened her door. “Let’s do this inside,” she murmured.
Feeling more nervous than he could ever remember, he trailed after her. He’d screwed up and he knew he’d get one chance to make this right. That meant laying it on the line for Raegan, being totally honest. Even if he didn’t want to talk about his past, he knew he needed to.
She didn’t go far, just into the entryway. The door shut behind them, but she didn’t bother locking it. Just leaned against it, eyeing him warily. “Why are you here?”
“I owe you an apology. I saw you out early Monday evening—completely by chance—kissing the guy from Saturday’s event.” Her eyes widened and she started to protest but he shook his head. “I now know that you weren’t kissing him, that he kissed you. Not that it’s an excuse for me just falling off the face of the earth like I did. I’m sorry for the radio silence.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to get a read on her, but for once he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
He hated that there was now a wall between them—and that it was his fault. He hated that he’d hurt her. That he’d misjudged her.
“So you saw me kissing some guy, or what you thought was me kissing some guy, and decided to just…not ask me about it?” Hurt filled her blue eyes, making him feel worse.
“I should have asked you about it. Hell, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.” From where he’d sat, it had looked like a pretty intense kiss, but he hadn’t looked that long. Hadn’t wanted to. He’d let his past get in the way, blur his judgment. He knew that now and was afraid he’d screwed up the best thing that had happened to him.
“Why didn’t you?”
He drew a deep breath and came clean. “I was scared of your answer.”
She made a scoffing sound, which he figured he deserved. “You were scared?”
“I…” He cleared his throat. “Years ago I was with a woman who was cheating on me. A lot, I found out later. I ignored my instinct because I was hung up on her. I thought I loved her. So when she said she was working late or told me I was paranoid, I believed her. I’ve never been the jealous type and she made me feel fucking nuts for questioning her. For questioning what my instinct was telling me.”
He took another deep breath, hated admitting this at all. He still couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been.
“Turns out she was sleeping with my brother. Things got really messy for a while, especially after Dallas proposed to her. She left him a month before their wedding. He’d been on a fast track to a partnership with one of the biggest firms in Miami, but when that didn’t happen, she split.” Ford had thought he’d feel some sort of vindication or happiness, but instead he’d felt bad for his brother. Dallas had lost his job and the woman he’d loved, no matter how horrible she was, in the span of days.
Raegan’s defensive pose dissipated and she dropped her arms from around herself. Sighing, she hung her purse on the hook by the front door, slipped off her heels and locked the door. “Come on, let’s finish this conversation in the kitchen. It sounds like you need a beer.”
Even though he was surprised, he didn’t question her as he followed after her. Since she lived in a condo, her kitchen was relatively small, but there was a built-in bar top with stools on the outside of her actual kitchen. She pointed over the bar top for him to sit as she went to the refrigerator.
“So, you decided to lump me in with your ex?” she asked as she pulled out two beers. She handed him one as she popped the top of her own.
He fought the urge to squirm. “Yeah.”
“That’s pretty stupid.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know.”
She leaned against the
bar top opposite him, watching him carefully. “You just fell off the face of the earth. It was…hurtful. We shared some pretty intense sex, and then nothing from you. And I’ll admit, it was more than just sex for me. I missed you.” She looked so damn vulnerable as she said it. “Even if you thought I’d been kissing someone else—and I can understand you being annoyed after we’d had that talk about not seeing other people—you could have asked me about it.”
“I know. I should have. And I know words are bullshit, but I really am sorry. You deserve better than the way I acted. For the record, I’ve missed you too.”
She continued to watch him carefully, as if debating something. “I should be a lot madder at you right now, but okay.”
His heart rate kicked up. “Okay?”
“Okay, I forgive you. Only because I know you’ve been checking in with Porter about my whole ‘stalker’ situation—or whatever’s going on—and I can tell you’re being sincere. And okay, that story…” Her eyes widened a little. “Seriously, your brother? Then she got engaged to him? Holy awkward Thanksgiving dinners.”
He let out a wry laugh, the tension in his chest easing. “Yeah, it’s why things are still strained between us.”
“How long ago was this?”
“About two years.”
“No wonder you have trust issues.” He snorted at that, but she just continued. “I can’t be with someone who cuts all contact like that, so if you do it again, we’re done. I don’t play relationship games, and I like you, Ford. I…I’m going to let this go, but I just can’t deal with something like this again. If you have a problem with anything, talk to me. Okay?”
He was surprised she was giving him a second chance at all, realized how lucky he was, but he nodded. “I will.”
“And…I’m just going to say it so we’re on the same page. I like a little possessiveness but I need to be with someone who trusts me. I’ll trust you unless you give me a reason not to.”
“That’s fair. But I can only show you that going forward.” And he planned to.
She nodded once. “Okay. So…want to pop a pizza in the oven and watch a movie? I was out with friends earlier but only munched on some appetizers and I’m still starving.”
Warmth glowed in his chest, a huge weight lifting off him. Being able to spend the evening with her was a gift he could hardly believe he deserved after what he’d done. “Yeah. I’ll put the pizza in if you want to pick a movie.”
“Oh, I think I get to pick the next five movies.” Her grin was just a little wicked as she said it.
He couldn’t help but grin back. “Is that right?”
“Yep. Call it part of your apology.”
His gaze fell to her mouth and hunger surged through him. Everything about her got him hot. He’d been trying not to think about her the last three days, but had failed. She shouldn’t be letting him off the hook so easily, but he wasn’t going to question his luck. “I can think of some other ways to make it up to you.” He dropped his voice, the intent in his words clear. But he didn’t want to simply jump back into sex, not after he’d screwed up so bad.
Her cheeks tinged pink. “If these ways involve you naked with your head between my legs, I’ll allow it.”
He groaned at the description. She’d been pretty quiet during their many bouts of sex, definitely not a dirty talker like him, but this…was fucking hot. He cleared his throat as his cock hardened, and just nodded. For once, he couldn’t find his voice. All he wanted to do right now was just what she’d said.
But he also wanted to show her that this thing between them was more than just physical. Because he was playing for keeps with Raegan.
Chapter 15
As he reached Raegan’s office, his heart rate increased as it always did. His hands shook as he approached her desk. She wasn’t there but he could see her crossed legs where she was sitting in her boss’s office and could hear them talking.
They’d ordered lunch in today, something they only did about once a week. He took their boxed lunches off his cart and set them both on Raegan’s desk. “Lunch,” he called out, excitement humming through him as he waited to see her.
But the other woman, Athena, stepped out instead and smiled at him. “Hey, Teo. How much do we owe you?”
He was momentarily disappointed that it was just Athena, that Raegan wouldn’t be coming out as well. Normally it was Raegan—she was the assistant, after all. But maybe she was working on something. It couldn’t be that she didn’t want to see him. Could it?
He curbed the anger that sliced through him, forced a smile for Athena. “Ah, sixteen ninety-five.”
Smiling, she handed him a twenty. “Keep the change.”
He nodded, murmuring thanks as she picked up the boxes and headed back into her office. Because of the angle he could only see Raegan’s legs but he could hear typing. Maybe on her laptop. The must be why she hadn’t come out. It had nothing to do with him.
Still…he wanted to see her. Was desperate to get a glimpse. He kept wondering if she’d remembered him from Friday night. But if she had, the police would have already come to see him.
He pretended to readjust the other boxed lunches for this floor in the hopes he’d get a glimpse of her.
“You can put that down for a few minutes,” Athena said.
He watched as a laptop slid into his view, moving to the edge of the desk. So she had been working. It didn’t ease his tension any. Some days he kept his food truck open longer just to get a peek of her leaving work, but the last week he hadn’t seen her coming or going. He’d still been reading all her texts but they didn’t tell him much other than she’d been in some argument with one of the guys she was screwing. Which was good.
He took a deep breath. He wouldn’t think about her being with anyone else right now. It would just upset him. Soon enough she’d see that she was meant for him, no one else. He could forgive her if she was sorry enough.
“…dress fitting tomorrow. Supposed to be over by two.”
“You’ll have to tell me what La Boutique Bellissima is like. I’ve got an appointment scheduled there in two weeks to talk with the owner.”
Teo knew he’d been lingering long enough as it was and pushed his three-tiered cart out into the hall. He’d gotten so much more than he imagined today. He knew that bridal boutique, had set up his food truck in the area on multiple occasions.
Red Stone Security was one of the only places he did actual deliveries to. Until a few months ago he hadn’t even done the deliveries himself. One of his part-time employees hadn’t been feeling well so he’d let him take over the food truck while he’d finished the deliveries personally. It was how he’d met Raegan for the first time.
Beautiful, vibrant Raegan.
Now that he knew where she was going to be tomorrow he’d be able to get there before her. He wouldn’t even have to track her using her phone. He’d still check it, of course, but it was better for him to set up early and check out potential spots to take her from if the opportunity should arise.
He’d head down to the area later tonight, look for any security cameras in the vicinity. He could disable some and break others.
For once, it seemed fate was on his side. He had an advantage over her this time. It would give him the element of surprise. Grabbing her in broad daylight was a risk, but if he could get her alone he’d do it.
Soon she’d be all his. Once he made her understand that he was in charge, that she belonged to him, things would be good again. The burning anger inside him would be manageable again. At this point he almost didn’t care about someone seeing him. He just needed to be with her, to have her. If he couldn’t have her, no one could.
Chapter 16
“Is it normal for guys to come to these fittings?” Ford asked Montez and Ivan, who were sitting on the bench next to him.
They were outside the bridal shop after Julieta had kicked Ivan out “for inappropriate suggestions,” as she put it.
Ford understood why
Ivan was there, even if he wouldn’t be allowed to see Julieta try on her wedding dress. And Montez was Julieta’s brother—though he was clearly only there because Ruby was. But Ford had never thought guys came to these kinds of things. He’d have been shadowing Raegan regardless, but she’d asked him before he could suggest it. He hadn’t wanted to ask her if it was normal for significant others to be here and reveal how truly relationship-challenged he was. He’d grown up with a brother and most of his friends were either cops or retired Marines. And his ex hadn’t had many girlfriends so this was new territory.
Ivan just shrugged as Montez nodded. “Yeah, things are different now, man. Women want their men involved in all of the wedding stuff. They’ve even got couples showers.”
Wait…couples showers? He blinked, trying to figure out what Montez meant. Was that like a swingers thing? It seemed too weird for Montez to be talking about casually. God, he really felt old.
Montez burst out laughing, shaking his head. “Oh my God, not like that. I see where your mind just went. Showers, like for babies and weddings and stuff. Not all guys go and not all of them are joint, but yeah, it’s a thing now. Trust me, I’ve got a lot of female cousins. You’re gonna be expected to go to all sorts of stuff like this now.”
Ford didn’t think that sounded like a bad thing, not if he got to hang out with Raegan more. Just maybe not all the time. Baby showers didn’t sound like fun. “Those drinks inside were fucking awesome,” he said, referring to whatever the hell they’d given them in the shop earlier. It was bubbly and had fruit in it and he wouldn’t be caught dead drinking it anywhere else, but damn.