Millie
Millie
Prologue
Six Months Earlier
M illie opened her front door when the incessant banging wouldn’t stop. Who the hell would be banging on her door this late at night? She checked her watch and noted that it was only nine at night and giggled at herself. Millie had always been the type of girl who liked to go to bed early and read into the wee hours of the night. Those were her exact plans for the night, and she had a book on her nightstand that was sure to not disappoint her.
She pulled the door open and found the most gorgeous man that she had ever seen standing on her doorstep. “You Millie?” he asked.
“Um, yeah,” she squeaked. “Can I help you?” She hoped like hell that he’d tell her, yes, because she knew exactly what she wanted to help him with.
“I hate to tell you this, but you might be in danger,” he said.
“Danger?” she asked. “How so?”
“You were over at Ruby’s place tonight?” he asked. She wasn’t sure how much she should and shouldn’t say to a perfect stranger—and he was pretty perfect. Millie nodded, not really knowing what to say to him.
“Well, her friend, Luke, is in trouble, and unfortunately, he might have put you both in danger,” the guy said.
“I didn’t catch your name,” she said, ignoring the fact that he just told her that she might be in danger.
“I’m Luke’s friend, Ranger,” he said. “Sorry, I’m kind of a cut-to-the-chase kind of guy.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Millie teased. He cracked a smile and she had to admit, he was even more handsome when he was smiling down at her like that. “You have a nice smile, Ranger,” she said.
“Thank you,” he mumbled, turning the cutest shade of pink. “But could we get back to the part about you being in danger?”
“Sure,” she agreed. “Well, I appreciate you letting me know,” she said.
“Don’t you want the details and to know what to watch for?” Ranger asked.
“Not really,” she said. “I’ve learned to keep my nose out of other people’s business. I appreciate your wanting to help me. Good meeting you, Ranger,” she said as she started to shut the door in his face. The poor guy looked so confused, that she almost wanted to giggle.
He put his hand on her door, stopping its progress. “If you need me, I’m going to be staying at Ruby’s place—you know just to keep an eye on things.”
“Where will Ruby be staying?” she asked. If the new hottie standing on her doorstep said that Ruby would be staying with him, she was going to need a whole gallon of ice cream to drown her sorrows.
“Actually, that was one of the things that I didn’t get around to telling you. Ruby has agreed to leave town with Luke until this thing blows over,” he said. Millie just bet that Ruby jumped at the chance to spend some one-on-one time with the hot guy from work.
“How do I know that Luke didn’t abduct my friend?” she said.
“Ruby promised that she’d call you in the morning so that you would know that she’s safe,” Ranger assured. “For now, if you notice anything out of the ordinary, just bang on the door.” He nodded over to Ruby’s place, and she nodded.
“Will do,” she promised.
Millie woke the next morning to someone banging on her front door again and she moaned and rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head. She pulled off her covers, got out of bed, and stomped off to the front door to see who was trying to bang it down. She pulled it open to find Ranger standing there again.
“What the hell?” she hissed. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“You really have a shitty morning disposition,” he growled. “Ruby’s been trying to call you all morning because it’s after nine and you haven’t answered your phone. How about you answer the phone, and I won’t have to come over here?” he asked.
“I turn my phone off while I’m sleeping,” Millie spat. She was a light sleeper, and every notification would wake her up, and the one thing Millie loved most was sleep. “What can I do for you, Ranger?” she said, looking the big guy over. She loved the way that he always seemed a bit flustered around her, but she knew that she wasn’t his type. He was probably like that with all women, her included.
“I’ve come to ask if you have any coffee,” he said.
“Ruby doesn’t have any?” Millie asked.
“Ruby doesn’t have much of anything over at her place. I’m guessing that she was going to need to make a grocery trip soon but didn’t get around to it before she took off with Luke.”
“Come in,” she said, “are you ever going to tell me what’s going on with her? I mean, I think I have a right to know since you said that I’m in danger and all.”
“I can’t tell you too much, Millie,” Ranger insisted. “It’s for your own safety.”
She found the coffee and handed it to him. “Just return it when you’re done with it. Maybe keep some for tomorrow. Better yet, I have to run to the grocery store to pick up a few things. I’d be happy to grab you what you need if you want to make me a list.”
“No,” he almost shouted at her. “You can’t go into town and go shopping. I don’t think that you’re taking any of this seriously, Millie. You are in danger and if you go to the grocery store, you’ll be out in public where anyone can get to you.”
“Well, my need for groceries isn’t going to go away on its own,” she said.
“I’ll come with you then,” he insisted. “I have off today, and I can take you to the grocery store and pick up a few things for Ruby’s place since I’ll be staying there for a while, to keep an eye on you.”
“While I like the idea of you keeping our eyes on me, Ranger, it’s just not necessary,” Millie insisted.
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that, honey. I’m going to take you to the grocery store. Be ready to go in about an hour. Thanks for the coffee,” Ranger said. He walked out of her apartment not waiting for her to give him an answer. Honestly, she wasn’t about to fight with him about spending time with him. She liked the idea of having some extra time with the big guy.
Millie showered and got dressed in a pair of ripped-up jeans and a t-shirt, grabbing her favorite sweater to pull over it to keep her warm. She loved this time of year when the weather was turning cooler, and she could wear her cozy sweaters and drink hot cocoa. She pulled her hair back and was ready to go just minutes before Ranger banged on the front door. That man was a force. Every time he knocked on her front door, it sounded like he was going to bang it down.
She pulled the front door open and found him standing there with his fist in the air, ready to bang on her door again. “Don’t,” she shouted pointing her finger at him. “You need to stop beating my door down every time you come over here.”
“Sorry,” he breathed, “I guess I’m just on high alert with everything that’s happened to Luke and Ruby. I promised to keep an eye on you and you’re not exactly making that easy.”
“How exactly am I not making it easy for you, Ranger?” Millie asked. “I’ve opened my door every time you’ve banged on it and even gave you coffee. And I’ve done all that in good faith since I still haven’t spoken to Ruby, since I’ve missed her calls. How do I know that she’s all right? How does any of that make me difficult?”
“You could let me just stay with you,” Ranger said. “That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about you over here.”
“You’ve been worried about me?” she asked. “You know that I can take care of myself, right?”
“Ruby said that you’re in cyber security, Millie. That doesn’t mean that you can take care of yourself—well unless you hack your attacker to death.” He laughed at his own joke, and she crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down.
“Not funny,” she grumbled. He looked her over and sobered.
“What do you want from me here, Millie?” he asked.
“I don’t know you, Ranger. Why would I let you stay in my apartment with me just because you said that I’m in danger?”
“I think I have a remedy for that,” he said.
“I can’t wait to hear this one,” Millie teased.
“Go out to dinner with me and get to know me. Then, you’ll see I’m on the up and up and you’ll let me do my damn job and protect your sexy ass.” Ranger’s face turned the cutest shade of red and she couldn’t help her giggle.
“You think I have a sexy ass?” she asked.
“It’s just a term, Millie,” he insisted. “Don’t go getting any ideas.”
“Right,” she agreed. “I won’t get any ideas about my ass being sexy,” she promised. She grabbed her purse and jacket. “You ready to hit up the grocery store then?” she asked.
“Sure, after you agree to have dinner with me tonight,” he said.
“Fine, I’ll have dinner with you, Ranger. Is it safe for us to go out?” she asked.
“No,” he breathed, “I’ll have to order in. Do you have a favorite take-out place?” he asked.
“I know just the place. They have the best Chinese food in the area. You’ll love it,” she assured.
“Great,” he said, “we can order in and get to know each other tonight. It’s a date.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to correct him for calling their dinner a date or hope that he meant what he had said. It was about damn time that Millie had a date with a hot guy. Her last real date was when she was in college and that was many moons ago. Yeah, tonight was going to be fun—a date to remember.
They spent the morning shopping and Ranger even agreed to run her over to the library to pick up the books that she had reserved for herself. It was a stack of books tall enough to get her through the weekend. By the time they got back home, he got the name of the Chinese place from her, and she told him her order. Ranger promised to be over at six with dinner, for their date.
Every time he called their dinner that, she felt a little bit giddy, and who’d blame her? Ranger was way out of her league, but she refused to buy into that shit. She was always a little bit different from the other girls, but she had confidence that helped her to push past her inadequacies. Her mother used to tell her that if confidence was enough to get her through life, she’d be golden. It was something that she’d always liked about herself—her confidence, and she wasn’t going to go and change any of that now.
She put away her groceries and freshened up, even cleaning her little apartment before Ranger came back over with a bag of Chinese that smelled like heaven. “Did you get the fortune cookies?” she asked.
“I did,” he said, looking pretty damn proud of himself. “And I got the egg rolls that you asked for.”
“You rock,” she said. “I’d high-five you but I don’t want you to drop our food. Come on in. We can sit at the kitchen table or on the couch. You can choose.” Ranger walked into her apartment and put the bags of food on the table.
“Want to watch a movie while we eat?” he asked.
“That depends,” she said. “What kind of movie are you thinking of?”
“Um, whatever you’d like. I don’t even mind Romcoms if that’s what you’re into,” he offered.
“Really?” she asked, pleasantly surprised by his admission. “Well, while we’re being honest, I don’t mind an action movie.”
“And here I had you pegged as a total Romcom kind of girl,” he teased.
“Let’s see what we can find,” he said. “The second bag has a few beers in it. I didn’t know what you liked to drink.”
“Beer works for me,” she said. “Thanks.”
“Not a problem,” he said. They both grabbed some food, and she handed him a plate and a beer as they settled on the couch to find a movie.
“Thanks for agreeing to a laid-back date tonight,” he said. She leaned into his body and gave him a little bit of a nudge.
“I don’t mind,” she said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date, so this is actually quite nice.”
“You don’t go out much?” he asked.
“Um, no,” she said, “not since college, really. Work keeps me pretty busy.”
“You know, we could use someone with your job skills at McTavish. You looking for a job by any chance?”
She chuckled, “Not really, but I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks.”
“Well, the offer stands,” he said. “Just think about it.” Millie was pretty sure that was about all she’d think about. Working with Ranger day in and day out would be a dream. She knew that Ruby loved her job at McTavish.
They ate and found an action movie to watch and before the end of the night, she was cuddled into Ranger’s side, his arm around her shoulder, and she was sure that she had to be dreaming up the whole thing. And when he leaned in to kiss her, she nearly asked him to pinch her, just to check to see if she wasn’t dreaming.
“Was that okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” she breathed. “You know how you said that you’d like to stay here and get to know me, Ranger?” she asked. He nodded and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get this next part out without choking on her words.
“Yes,” he whispered.
“Spend the night with me—in my bed,” she said.
“Are you asking me for what I think you are, Millie?” he asked.
“If you think that I’m asking you for sex, then yes,” she said. “I’d like for you to stay here and have sex with me, Ranger.”
He stood and carried their plates to the kitchen, and she was sure that she had pushed him for too much. Millie felt like an idiot and there was no taking back what she had just asked him for. He came back and stood over her and she wasn’t sure if looking up at him was a good idea or not, but she just couldn’t help herself.
She looked into his big blue eyes, and he nodded. “I’m in,” he said. Millie felt like a kid who just got what she wanted on Christmas morning, and she couldn’t wait to unwrap her next present—Ranger.