Chapter 11
Cole needed a cold shower to tap down all the testosterone he had moving through his system.
Maeve felt amazing in his arms, and he wanted nothing more than to drag her back to the bedroom and love on her all day but he’d only known her for a few days.
Would she think he was rushing her a bit?
A lot of his buddies wouldn’t hesitate to sleep with a girl the first night, but he wasn’t really a one night stand kinda guy anymore.
Oh, he had been once or twice but standing in Maeve’s house, those memories were starting to make him cringe.
He wanted something more; permanent, lasting.
He wanted the happy ever after. He wanted Maeve.
As if he weren’t already on high alert where she was concerned, he suffered a serious jolt to his chest as he watched her walk toward him, all dressed and fresh from a shower.
“You look beautiful.” He kind of figured compliments made her nervous. Her face flushed every time he said something.
“Thank you, Cole. Did you want to shower?”
“I probably need one but there’s no time, we have to get down to your shop. I called one of my construction buddies earlier and he’ll be there within the hour to fix the back door. I also called another friend about getting you some security in there.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that. I’m sure Chloe and I could figure out something.”
“I know and I’m sure you’re both more than capable,” he said as he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, “but I wanted to. Your safety is important to me and anyway, it’s already arranged.”
She didn’t say another word, only blushed and went for her keys and pocketbook on the counter, heading toward the door. With a locked apartment behind them, they set off toward the sandwich shop and another joyous visit from the fire inspector.
Twenty minutes later they walked into the alley behind the shop.
“It looks so different and less menacing during the daytime, doesn’t it?” Maeve had cuddled herself closer and gripped Cole’s hand just in case.
“I know how you feel. Last night shook me up a little too. Hey, there’s my buddy Mark. I’ll introduce you.”
They approached the man wearing a hard hat and a tool belt. Cole introduced Maeve and gave him some information about the break-in the night before.
“Whew, sounds like a real piece of work whoever’s doing this. I’ll get it all boarded and secured tight. No one will be breaking it down and I’m pretty sure I can have the replacement door installed tomorrow.”
“Mark, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you getting here so quickly.”
“No worries, ma’am, any friend of Cole’s is a friend of mine.”
The rest of their day went quickly, consumed with another not so pleasant meeting with the fire inspector who seemed gruffer and more resentful every time they spoke.
The security company showed midafternoon and measured the space for cameras and alarms on the doors and windows.
Chloe joined the couple for a late afternoon lunch and helped clean up the kitchen in hopes they’d be able to open back up in a few days.
***
They’d stayed around while his friend worked and before they knew it, the sun was going down.
At least they didn’t have to go out into the back alley since Mark; the construction friend of Cole’s, had boarded and barred the entry from both the outside, then the inside.
It looked sturdy enough to withstand a tornado.
The three had parted ways and Chloe left while Cole and Maeve locked up the front door.
“Shouldn’t we have some stickers or something on the windows and doors alerting people of the alarm system in place Cole?”
“That’s the usual practice but I was thinking, maybe we’d forget for a day or two, see if any unwanted company shows up again. I’d hate for the stickers to scare them off. I really want to catch those idiots and put them away for good.”
“I never thought about that.”
“So, where to mi ’lady?” Maeve was caught off guard, not understanding what he meant and stared at him in confusion.
“Your place or mine? It’s your choice.”
“Oh sorry, I hadn’t even thought that far. I was just getting comfortable having you around. If we stop off at the market before they close, we can go back to my place, and I’ll make us dinner.”
“Sounds like a plan, I never could turn down food.” Cole placed his arm around Maeve’s shoulders comfortably and before they knew it, the market was in view. Maeve glanced over her shoulder quickly.
“Did you see that?” She’d pointed in the direction of the Waterfront Market.
“What? Sorry I wasn’t paying any attention, what did you see?”
“I’m not sure. It looked like a dark figure along the side of the building. I’m getting this awful feeling like we’re being watched.”
“I hate that feeling. Come on, let’s get food and we’ll get back to your place.”
Cole hadn’t acted too concerned, maybe for her benefit but she just couldn’t shake that eerie stalker vibe. Too many weird things had gone on the last few days.
Sometime later, they walked out of the market with rice, fresh veggies and chicken for a stir fry.
The walk back to her apartment wasn’t but a couple blocks and there were streetlights every twenty feet or so but the nagging feeling she’d been having of someone watching them hadn’t gone away.
She even though she heard footsteps once or twice that she knew weren’t their own.
Each time she glanced behind her, she saw nothing.
“Are you alright?”
Cole probably figured she was losing her mind. Maybe she was. “I’m okay I think; I just know there’s someone following us. I keep hearing footsteps and I’m sure I felt a rock hit my shoe just a minute ago.” She looked around the sidewalk where they’d stopped but there were no rocks anywhere.
Cole kept a firm grip on her hand but turned around and walked a few feet behind where they’d stopped as he scanned the bushes that lined the sidewalk.
“I don’t see anything but let’s hurry up and get you home and I’ll call Sheriff Masters and let him know what’s going on. I needed to check in anyway, so he knows we’re having the door fixed and what we’ve done with security in the shop.”
Cole turned them back around and they made quick work of walking the rest of the way to Maeve’s apartment. She felt much better once they were inside with the door closed and locked.