Chapter Ten
ZANDER STOOD BY the stove in his partially renovated kitchen, stirring a pot of pasta.
Meatballs bobbed in the sauce simmering on another burner, and the oven was preheating.
He set the spoon down and began slathering garlic butter onto thick slices of French bread.
He’d needed something to slow his spinning thoughts, and with Shauna sleeping, he couldn’t very well work on his renovations.
When he’d seen her, puffy-eyed, wet hair sticking to her face and shoulders, and those damn bruises on her arm, his protective urges had ignited, hot, sharp, and biting.
She hadn’t shared the details of what went down with Brian yet, but there was plenty of time for that.
When they’d gotten to his place, she’d looked like she barely had the energy to remain upright.
He’d shown her the extra bedroom and had suggested she rest for a while.
She’d said she was fine, which he’d expected to hear.
She was so fucking strong, and with the little he knew about her, it was no wonder.
It probably didn’t help that the beachfront cottage he’d bought to flip looked like a construction zone.
It was a work in progress, the two bedrooms and bathroom the only finished spaces.
The living room and dining room were stripped to bare studs.
Drywall was up in the kitchen, but it hadn’t been painted, and there were no doors on the cabinets and no backsplash above the counters.
He’d given Shauna a gentle nudge toward resting, saying he had things to do. He didn’t mention those things were not working on the cottage but trying to quell the urge to hunt Brian down and fuck him up for putting his hands on her.
She’d finally agreed to rest, and he’d seen a flicker of relief in her eyes, as if she’d desperately needed someone to give her permission to let her guard down.
When she’d disappeared behind the bedroom door, he’d heard the turn of the lock and wondered if she ever had a chance to let down her defenses.
That was three hours ago. He’d spent that time bracing to tiptoe through an emotional minefield.
He wasn’t great at that. When his younger sister, Madigan, was upset, his blunt advice and suggestions weren’t always appreciated, but when Gunner’s wife, Sid, had been wrestling with her feelings for Gunner before they got together, she’d said Zander was a big help, so maybe he didn’t totally suck at it.
As he put the tray of bread in the oven, Kitty, his fluffy gray cat, wound between his feet and meowed.
She’d been wearing a path between Shauna’s closed bedroom door and Zander since they got there, meowing like she was trying to tell him something.
He lifted her into his arms and nuzzled against her fur.
“I know, baby girl. You’re not used to having other females in the house, but she’s a special one, and she needs a safe place. ”
Kitty purred.
He heard the bedroom door open and turned as Shauna padded into the living room, her pretty dark eyes taking in the unfinished space.
Her hair was pinned up in a ponytail now, and she wore a baby-blue sweatshirt with a dandelion on it, the seeds blowing in the wind, as if caught midwish.
He wondered if she’d had many wishes come true in her life, and he had the strange desire to know what they were.
Her faded jeans were torn on one knee, soft pink socks peeking out from beneath the long, frayed hems. It was those socks that tugged at him, out of place beneath the frayed denim and her guarded eyes, revealing another side to the hard edges she showed the world.
She lifted those troubled eyes to his before they drifted down to Kitty, and she smiled a little sheepishly, looking more rested and absolutely adorable.
That tightness in his chest and the urge to protect her no matter the cost returned, and he knew in that moment that if she needed him to tiptoe through any minefield, he’d damn well become the best fucking tiptoer in the country.
“Did you sleep okay?” he asked, turning off the stove and oven as she came into the kitchen.
“Yeah, thank you. That bed is super comfy, and I opened the window. The sound of the ocean lulled me right to sleep.” Her brows furrowed, and she glanced around the kitchen. “Is it too weird having me here? Maybe I should go.”
“What do you think?” he asked Kitty in a hushed voice. “Is she trying to say she’s already tired of us?”
“No, I’m not,” Shauna said sharply. “How could I be? I walked into your house and immediately fell asleep. It looks like you just moved in and you’ve got a lot going on. I don’t want to be in the way.”
“You’re not in the way. I’ve lived here for a few years, but I haven’t gotten around to finishing the renovations. Besides, I figured you might be hungry. I made spaghetti.” He tucked Kitty in one arm and took the garlic bread out of the oven.
“It smells incredible, but you didn’t have to do that. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Angel, if there’s one thing I’m not, it’s shy about saying what I feel. If I didn’t want you here, I wouldn’t have invited you. Okay?”
She nodded, and this time her smile was slightly less unsure, but he could tell she wasn’t used to being taken care of and still felt funny, so he went for levity.
“Good, now relax and tell me how cute my furry girl is.” He scratched the back of Kitty’s neck, and she purred.
“She is awfully cute. I love animals. Is she friendly? Can I hold her?”
“Only if you promise to give her more love than you think she needs. She’s kind of spoiled that way.”
“I didn’t know there was a limit to the love animals needed.”
“I think you just earned a spot at the top of our favorite people list,” he said as he handed Kitty over.
“Hi, cutie pie,” she said, petting the cat. “What’s her name?”
“Kitty.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “You love your cat so much that I had to promise to love her before I could hold her, and you gave her a generic name?”
“It’s not generic.” He drained the spaghetti and began filling their plates.
“That’s like naming your kids Girl or Boy.”
“First of all, I’m not a marriage and kids kind of guy, so nobody is in danger of growing up with those names because of me.
Second of all, she chose her name. She showed up out front a few weeks after I got home from the hospital.
She bolted out of the bushes and scared the hell out of me. She was all skin and bones.”
“Poor thing.”
“I put out food and water for her and sat out there every day trying to get her to eat, but she wouldn’t come near me.” He put garlic bread on their plates and set them on the island. “One day I said, Here, Kitty, Kitty, about a dozen times, and that was the day she came to me.”
She stifled a laugh. “That makes total sense. It couldn’t be because she was used to your voice by then.”
He was glad she was getting comfortable enough to give him a hard time.
“It doesn’t matter if she was. The fact is, she didn’t come when I called her ‘sweetie’ or ‘baby’ or anything else, and if I’ve learned one thing about the female species, it’s not to question things that make them happy.
” He put silverware, napkins, and Parmesan cheese on the island, then opened the fridge and nearly reached for a couple of beers.
Thinking better of it, he said, “What would you like to drink? Water, Red Bull, soda, iced tea?”
“Iced tea is great. I can get it.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got it.” He poured two glasses and set them on the island.
“Why is one chair higher than the others?”
“I’ll show you.” He sat in the chair beside the higher one and made quick kissing sounds.
Kitty wriggled out of Shauna’s arms to the floor, then jumped onto the higher chair and faced Zander, staring at him. He scratched behind her ears, and she purred, tipping her face up. He kissed her chin.
“You bought her a high chair so you could pet her? That’s pretty freaking cute.”
“I didn’t buy it. I made it. I couldn’t find one that was the right height when I sat beside her.” He gave Kitty one last pet and got up to feed her. “She keeps me company while I eat.” He filled Kitty’s bowls with fresh water and food and placed them on her mat on the floor.
“Shall we?” He pulled out a chair for Shauna.
As she sat down, he sat beside her, and she got quiet again. She pushed the food around on her plate with her fork, stealing glances at him. He knew from the awkward silence that she was waiting for him to ask about what happened, but he knew better than to push.
He wanted her to feel safe, and he’d wait as long as she needed him to, without any expectations or demands, so she’d never feel alone again.
WITHOUT THE DISTRACTION of the cat, awkwardness trickled in for Shauna as they ate. She knew Zander must have a million questions, and he deserved answers. She just didn’t know where to start, so she tried to break the tension. “This is delicious.”
“Thanks. I can’t take credit for more than the garlic bread. My mother keeps my freezer stocked with food. All I had to do was cook the spaghetti and heat up the sauce.”
God, was he one of those guys who expected women to do all the things he considered to be beneath him? “You’re thirty and your mother still cooks your meals?”
“I don’t ask her to.” He took a drink and said, “She does it for everyone. I think it’s a mom thing.”
“You’re lucky,” she said, and immediately regretted it. She didn’t want him to feel sorry for her.
“I am, for many more reasons than that.” He held her gaze, compassion brimming in his eyes. “I have great parents, and I’m really sorry you didn’t.”
“I don’t want your pity.”