Chapter 5
KYLE
Ioffered Nattie a sidelong glance as she led me from the beach toward wherever she was staying. I tried to keep my mind and emotions in check, but the truth was, I was spiraling out of control.
Why hadn’t I brought one of those earpieces Alex and Ava were so fond of using whenever they went out and wanted the other one to overhear everything?
Surely those two could’ve talked me through this—so I didn’t come across like some unhinged stalker.
It wasn’t just that I wanted to help her. I genuinely did. But I also wanted to see more of her. And somehow, I’d already managed to give off strong “Lifetime movie villain” energy.
To my great surprise, she didn’t seem to mind. I couldn’t believe my luck.
A woman had actually not blown me off told me politely that I was completely out of line. And I hadn’t gotten slapped.
But I still had so many more chances to screw this up. Sweat beaded on my brow as I imagined an awkward attempt to kiss her cheek when we arrived at her place. Or maybe instead, I’d just say something really stupid.
Either way, I was certain I could completely ruin my chances with her faster than my half-sister Sierra could stomp one of those ridiculously high heels and call me a nut job.
As we snaked our way through the streets, I tried to focus on our surroundings. It didn’t seem like we were headed to a very nice part of town. Seedy was the word I’d used to describe it, actually.
My concern for Nattie grew, lodging itself in the pit of my stomach as I became more and more convinced that the anomalies that we’d discovered were because she was running from something.
I’d seen it countless times before as a doctor. Women coming into the ER battered and bruised, but unable to escape from their situation. The few that did lived in constant fear that their ex would find them.
I studied her out of the corner of my eye. How could anyone hurt her? If they came after her on my watch, I would pound their face in.
We approached a rundown motel. I prayed we’d stroll on past, but instead, Nattie came to a stop at the entrance.
“Well, here we are,” she said.
She wasn’t making a move to take me to her room.
I didn’t blame her for that. If she was running from someone, she wasn’t going to take a chance letting anyone know where she was.
Taking me to the motel she was staying at was a big leap of faith on her behalf, and I was determined to make sure she knew she could trust me.
But I didn’t like the look of this grimy place. She deserved so much better. I had to say something. I had to do something to keep her safe.
In the little time we’d spent together, we’d had an instant connection. At least, on my side, we had. If I let her walk into one of these rooms and take the chance of being hurt again, I didn’t deserve her. So, I dug deep, shoving my hands into my pockets as I prepared my statement.
“Umm, this is sort of awkward, but…you know, as a doctor, I’ve picked up on a few things. And, uh, I just…don’t feel comfortable leaving you here, Nattie.”
Her eyebrows pinched. I was fully prepared for her to deny what was happening, though. In fact, I was used to it. Most women denied that they’d been in an abusive relationship for whatever reason. I didn’t need her to admit it to me, I just needed her to trust me to keep her safe.
“The thing is…I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on here. And I don’t think I can leave you here.”
Her jaw tightened, fists forming at her sides. This was why I needed Alex and Ava in my ear. Because now I sounded like the overbearing jerk who wanted to control her.
“I don’t—” she started, but I waved a hand in the air, stopping her from speaking.
“Look, Nattie, we don’t need to talk about it…not yet. I just…don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want anything to happen to you. And I know you’re probably thinking that I’m moving way too fast, or maybe that I’m just as bad as the guy you just walked out on, but I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
I waited, the silence growing unbearable as she studied my features.
Her lips parted as though she wanted to say something, but then she pressed them together, her gaze flicking between me and the grimy motel floor. Whatever she was hiding, it weighed heavily on her. “I appreciate that. I do, but–“
“Please don’t say something like you’ll be fine on your own, or even worse, that you don’t need my concern because you have it whether you want it or need it.”
I took a step closer, not meeting her gaze as I sorted through what to say next. “I just…feel this connection between us, and yes, that’s probably an ulterior motive here because I’d really like to explore that, but also, I just want you to be okay.”
Her features softened a little, a slight smile playing on her lips. “I feel it too.”
Her fingers found mine, intertwining with them and sending my heart spiraling out of control. None of the women I’d been interested in recently had returned my feelings. It felt wild and wildly satisfying that this woman did.
And it made my protective instincts surge even more.
“Really?” I asked, my voice a little breathy from the excitement.
She nodded. “Yes, but…I’m afraid right now things are a little–“
“I get it,” I interrupted. “I do. Like I said, as a doctor, I’ve seen plenty of women in this situation. I know it’s hard to trust people after you’ve walked out of an abusive relationship, but you can trust me. I want to keep you safe.”
Her brows knitted for a moment before she repeated my words softly. “Abusive relationship.”
I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, offering her a consoling smile. She glanced down at our interlaced hands before she bobbed her head. “Yes, right. That is my situation.”
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” I answered, my fingers squeezing hers gently.
“Well, thank you. I’m safe here, though.”
“You’re not. Nattie, this place is awful. It’s in a bad part of town. I’m pretty sure I saw a drug deal on our walk here. Plus, there’s probably bed bugs.”
“Unfortunately, this is all I can manage at the moment.”
“Stay with me…us. Stay at Alex and Ava’s.”
Her features turned incredulous before she started to slowly shake her head. “No, I couldn’t do that.”
“Yes, you could. It’s way better than here. The beds are nice, no bugs, better location, Alex has a killer security system. No one could get to you there. Your ex–even if he tracked you down–he’d never be able to get past Alex’s security. It’s win-win.”
“It’s a very kind offer…” She hesitated, and I hoped she’d just give in and say yes. What better way to win her heart than to be this close to her? It worked for Dad and Julia, after all. Like father, like son…I hoped.
I leaned forward, lowering my chin to catch her eyes.
“I really couldn’t,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “It’s too much.”
“It’s not. It’s totally not. Alex and Ava will be so thrilled to have you. Look, I could call them and ask if you want. You’ll see that they’ll be totally on board with this.” I brandished my phone from my pocket.
She studied me, those dark eyes seeming to bore into my soul. “If you think it would be all right…”
“It’ll be totally fine,” I said, my heart thudding so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest. “We should get your stuff.”
She pressed her lips together before she nodded, twisting to lead me into the U-shaped motel complex.
I stumbled behind her, hardly able to believe this was happening. Had I finally found my person? I’d expected to get another polite declination or possibly a slap, but Nattie had agreed to come back to the house with me.
Maybe she was telling the truth when she said she felt a connection with me.
She headed for a door tucked in a corner and fished her key from her purse. We pushed inside the dinghy space, and she flicked on a light before she bolted the door with every lock available. Classic symptom of an abuse victim.
I noted the tightly drawn shades, too. She didn’t want to be seen.
“I won’t be long. I haven’t much to gather.”
I smiled, though my eyebrows squashed together a little.
The way she’d said that seemed so…odd, and I detected that hint of an accent again.
I brushed it aside. It didn’t matter. What mattered was this woman had actually not found me creepy, crazy, or downright weird. And she was willing to accept my help.
“Take your time,” I said as I crossed my arms, pacing the tiny space near the door.
She disappeared into the bathroom and emerged with an armful of things that she dumped into a nondescript black bag. After emptying one of the drawers of a few clothing items, she zipped it shut.
Crossing the room, she pulled the phone charger from the plug and stuffed it into her purse.
“That’s everything.”
I hurried to grab the bag before she could lift it onto her shoulder. “I’ve got it.”
She’d probably left with only the bare necessities. I was pretty sure Ava could loan her a few things—or maybe I’d just buy her new ones.
That definitely sounded like something my dad would do. Wasn’t that the kind of thing women loved in billionaire romances?
“Thank you,” she said with a slight smile as I heaved the bag up.
“Of course,” I said as I reached for her hand, sliding mine around hers.
We left the hotel room behind, stopping at the front desk to check out before we headed back to Alex and Ava’s.
With every step, I felt more and more like I’d won the lottery. This beautiful woman had actually felt a connection with me. And I could handle her jerk of an ex.
In fact, my dad had enough connections that we could probably get him destroyed in one way or another. We’d almost done it to my stepmother’s ex–until she’d caught wind of the plan and put a stop to it.
Plans spun in my mind for ways to keep Nattie safe as we finished our walk, arriving at the beach house.
I pushed inside, pulling her with me. She stepped over the threshold tentatively, glancing around.
Ava’s footsteps sounded from the living room. “Doc, are you finally back? How did–“
Her voice cut off as she stepped into the foyer, her jaw dropping open. “Uh, hi.”
“Hello again,” Nattie said.
Ava’s green eyes settled on me, her eyebrows raised in a silent question.
“Hey, umm, Nattie was actually at the Beach Rider which looked rather gross, so I suggested that she come stay with us. I knew you and Alex would be totally cool with that, so we just packed up her stuff and came right over.”
Ava’s head bobbed slowly as she eyed Nattie. “Yeah, totally cool. Welcome, Nattie. I’ll just have one of the bedrooms prepared.”
“Thank you. That is so very kind of you.”
There was that odd formality again. She seemed to handle the awkward situation with an almost practiced ease.
I didn’t have time to give it much more thought as Ava grabbed hold of my arm. “Doc, why don’t you follow me so you can put her stuff down? Nattie, Alex is in the living room just through there. Why don’t you head on in and say hello while we get things settled?”
Nattie flicked me a glance before nodding to Ava and slipping through the archway into the living room.
“You brought her here? Moving a little fast, aren’t we, Doc?”
“Be cool,” I said, watching Ava’s expression shift from sweet to skeptical. “I mean, I could’ve just married her first and fallen in love later—like some people I know.”
Ava gave me an unimpressed look. “Cute, Doc. And I am being cool. But come on… this is a little unusual.”
“Look,” I whispered as she dragged me upstairs, “I can’t help it. I was on my own there, and I did the best I could. We had a connection, and I didn’t want to lose that. And she’s totally an abuse victim.”
“She said that?”
“Almost. Not in so many words, but when I said it, she didn’t disagree.”
Ava shot me a glance over her shoulder as we snaked through the halls.
“Come on, Ava, please just go along with me on this. This woman actually likes me. That doesn’t happen, like ever. I need this.”
Ava heaved a sigh as she pushed into a room with a view of the ocean. “Fine. Maybe it’s even good. Because I’m telling you, Doc, something is off about that woman. For an abuse victim, she’s incredible poised. I don’t know, things just don’t add up. And I am going to get to the bottom of it.”
And she would, too. I knew it. Ava would dig and dig until she found out what was going on here.
I just hoped that it wasn’t anything that would tear us apart because I really wanted a chance with this woman.
But I had a sneaking suspicion there was far more to her story than any of us were prepared for.