Chapter 13
ZACH
Tense, I sit at Skyler’s kitchen table. She’s taping a segment for her ClipClap channel, and I would probably get more done if I worked from the other room, but I don’t want to let her out of my sight.
This weekend was amazing. Being with Skyler, seeing her in her element, and getting to know her just affirms what I knew when I first saw her.
She’s going to be mine. Hell, she already is.
I should probably have some regrets, but I don’t have one.
I look over at Skyler, watching her in her element as she glows talking about chocolate lava cakes and their gooey molten center.
Fuck, nothing she says is sexual, but here I sit with a hard-on.
Just being in the same room as her does that to me.
I force my eyes back to Skyler’s laptop. Bakersking has been pretty quiet, and that should make me happy, but it actually puts me on edge. He’s up to something. I can feel it in my gut, and my gut is never wrong.
I close Skyler’s laptop and open mine to check my emails.
My to-do list is ever growing. I have an interview for a receptionist. And I am supposed to meet with a prospective new client tonight.
I send an email to Alex and tell him I need him at Skyler’s house.
Even though bakersking is being quiet, there’s no way I’m leaving her unprotected.
After going through a few other emails, I close my laptop and then focus on Skyler as she finishes making her chocolate lava cake.
She’s smiling ear to ear when she turns off her camera. There’s dishes in the sink and on the counter. I bypass them and stop in front of Skyler, who is holding up a chocolate lava cupcake to me.
She tilts her head to the side. “I saw you looking. Want one?”
I’m staring into her bright blue eyes. “I was looking at you.”
I lift my finger and point at her lip. “You have a little something… right here.”
I’m about to wipe it off with my finger, but at the last second, I lower my hand and use my mouth instead, nibbling at the chocolate on her lips.
She melts into me, and I pick her up, setting her on the counter. Her legs widen, letting me lean between her thighs as I consume her lips in a kiss.
I’m about to suggest we go upstairs when the doorbell rings. Skyler pulls back, and it pains me to see that there is fear on her face. I brush her hair off her brow. “I hope it’s okay. I need to interview a receptionist, and I had her come here.”
Her eyebrows lift, and she laughs. “Sure, sure, nothing like inviting another woman to your girl… I mean… You know what I mean.”
“My girlfriend’s house,” I finish for her, and she lights up.
“Yes, I invited a woman here for an interview, but you should know by now that I’m not going to be looking at any woman other than you.
” I lean in and kiss her forehead. “And if you don’t know that, then I’m fucking this up royally, and I’m going to fix it as soon as my interview is over. ”
The doorbell rings again. Skyler pushes against my chest, and as I step back, she jumps down. “Go, let’s go meet her, and then I’ll let you get on with it.”
I laugh as I put an arm around her shoulder. “You want to meet her?”
She rolls her eyes. “This is Whiskey Run. I most likely know her.”
Whiskey Run has been my home base forever, but I haven’t spent a lot of time here, and that’s something that I forgot. Everyone knows everyone—and everything—in this small town.
When we get to the door, I peek through the peephole, and when I see the woman on the other side, I realize I probably should have warned Skyler.
I disable the alarm, open the door, and stand back.
There’s no hiding the surprise on Skyler’s face. She’s stunned and instantly opens her arms. “Bree! You’re here! Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen you… well, uh, in a long time.”
I watch the two women hug, and it isn’t the first time that I wonder if I’m doing the right thing.
As soon as Skyler releases Bree, she looks at me questioningly and then back to Bree. “Uh, are you applying for the receptionist job at Stronghold?”
Bree bites her lip. “Yes.”
She pauses, waiting to see Skyler’s reaction.
Skyler turns to me. “Uh, does Logan know about this?”
I cross my arms over my chest and shake my head. “No. I haven’t mentioned it.”
Sky inhales deeply and nods her head. “Okay. Okay.”
She doesn’t know what to say, and it makes me wonder what she knows about Bree and Logan. Sky hugs Bree again. “Well, I’m going to clean up the kitchen and let you all get to it.”
I point to the living room. “Have a seat, Bree. I’ll be right there.”
She walks into the living room, and I put my hand at Skyler’s lower back and lead her back into the kitchen. “Leave the dishes. I’ll do them after I’m done with the interview.”
She leans against the counter and smiles up at me. “What if I have other plans for you after the interview?”
I groan and readjust myself. “Fuck, Sky, you’re killing me here.”
She just smirks at me.
I nod my head to the other room. “You think I’m fucking up by hiring her?”
Sky crosses her arms over her chest, tilts her head, and gives me a measured look. “Well, you’ve been friends with Logan for most of his life, so I think you know about his history with Bree.”
It’s not really a question, but I nod. “I do.”
She lifts her chin. “So you know he needs to get his head out of his ass.”
I smirk and point at her. “I know he deserves to be happy.”
Her eyebrows lift. “And you think Bree will do that?”
For the first time, I’m questioning this.
I ran into Bree when I first retired from Walker’s Ghost Team.
This idea has bloomed in my head until I can’t get it out.
I know Logan is going to be mad at me, but hopefully he can come to terms with it and see I’m doing it for his own good.
“I hope that’s the case. If nothing else, he needs closure. ”
Smiling, she taps a finger against my chest. “You’re a good man, Zach Campbell.”
I lean down and press a quick kiss to her lips. “I’ll be back.”
I’m almost to the door of the kitchen when I remember the other thing. “Oh yeah, I have a meeting with a prospective client tonight. I’m going to get Alex to come over while I’m gone.”
She nods. “Okay. I’m going to The Whistler with Aria tonight.”
“Skyler.”
“Zach.” She matches my tone. “What? It was on my calendar. My sister-in-law and I get together twice a month, and tonight is one of those nights.”
I take a step toward her. “You have a stalker—”
She shakes her head. “And I’m not going to stop living my life because of him. I’m going tonight, Zach. Alex can go with me.”
I growl. I don’t know why. I trust Alex, and I know he would keep her safe, but it’s not his job. I want to be the one to keep her safe. I want to be the one to go out with her.
I shift my weight side to side as I rethink the night. “Fine. I’ll meet the client at The Whistler, and Alex and I will both be there.”
She puts her hand at my waist. “Whatever you wanna do, Zach.”
I quirk an eyebrow at her. “That was too easy.”
She starts walking backward away from me. “What? You think I’m going to complain that you want to be with me? Because I’m not.”
I put a hand to my chest, right over my heart and rub. She makes my heart race. I want nothing more than to take her upstairs to her bedroom and spend the rest of the afternoon there, but I have responsibilities and things I need to do.
One being the interviewee waiting for me in the other room. “I’ll be back,” I tell Skyler, and with one last longing look, I point to the back door. “Keep that locked.”
She salutes me. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
I smirk and shake my head. “Please keep that locked.”
She practically preens, smiling at me. “You got it.”
I force myself to walk away. As soon as I get to the living room and apologize to Bree for making her wait, she asks, “So Logan doesn’t know I’m applying for the job?”
I shake my head. “No. Is that a problem?”
She nods. “Yeah, because he’s most likely not going to like it, and we’re probably just wasting each other’s time.” She shakes her head. “This is a bad idea.”
I ignore her and pick up the resume and application that I printed out earlier. “You have the experience. Your background checks are clean, your job references are impeccable, and—”
She shakes her head with a look of defeat on her face. “None of that matters if Logan is going to come back into town and fire me on the spot.”
I nod. “You’re right. Which is why I would sign a contract that you will have a job for six months and then there will be an evaluation.” Fuck, I hope I’m doing the right thing. “So you would have six months to prove yourself.”
She tilts her head and seems to think about it. “And Logan couldn’t fire me in those six months?”
“The contract would guarantee a job for six months.” I hold my hands up. “Now, I don’t pretend to know everything about you and Logan’s situation but I would imagine when Logan gets back… well, he’s not going to make it easy for you.”
She lifts her chin. “One year.”
I open my mouth, but before I can get anything out, she continues, “Make it that I’m guaranteed a job for one year and I’ll do it.”
I lift my hand and stroke it through the stubble of my chin.
My instinct is to say yes. Logan needs this, whether he knows it or not.
As I’m thinking about it, Bree continues.
“You need help starting up your business, and I have experience doing that. I can put in all the systems, prepare training manuals, even train my replacement if it comes to that.”
Fuck, I hope he forgives me for this. “Fine, you’re hired. Can you start tomorrow?”
She nods. “Yes. I’ll have a contract drawn up for you to sign.”
I nod, and we talk about pay, hours, and other details of the job. When the interview is over, I walk her out to her car and meet Alex in the driveway.
Frustrated doesn’t even begin to cover it. I’d hoped to have a little time with Skyler. “You’re early.”
He just laughs, not taking any offense. “That new client called the office and asked to move up the meeting, so I figured I’d better get here early so you could show me around.”
I nod and I remind myself that after this is all over with, we’ll have plenty of time alone together.