Chapter 9
HAZEL
“Remember, don’t go anywhere on your own.”
Alec’s gaze darkens with intensity as he looks at me. His expression is somber, with no sign of the easy smile he wore when he picked me up just half an hour ago.
When he arrived at the front door of my cabin, his eyes were sparkling with humor as he held out a large bouquet of goldenrod to me. “I couldn’t get dandelions this late in the season,” he explained, “but I did some research and found out goldenrod is considered a weed, too.”
As I stared at the bouquet, his cheeks went pink. “I thought it would be funny,” he added quickly. “After the other night. But maybe I should have gone with traditional flowers instead.”
“No, they’re perfect,” I told him. “These are better than any regular flowers.”
And they were. They are. Because they meant Alec was thinking about me. He didn’t rush into the florist just to grab the first flower arrangement he saw. He was intentional about it. He remembered our conversation from three nights ago and acted on it.
Is it weird that my heart got all squishy over a bouquet of weeds? To someone else, it might be. But to me, it’s just another reminder of why I like Alec so much. Of why I’m taking a chance on him after three years of swearing I’d never date again.
Alec takes my hand in his, wrapping his much larger fingers around mine. “I know I’ve said it before. But I worry. And I just want you to be safe.”
“I know.” I kiss his bristly cheek. “And I promise I’ll be careful. Just like I have been.”
He casts a suspicious look around the mostly-empty bar, like he’s expecting an enemy to leap out from under a table or behind the silent jukebox at any second.
“No trips to the supply closet by yourself. Or outside to throw out the trash. If you need to use the bathroom, let me know so I can check it first.”
We’ve already been through this the other times Alec accompanied me to work, but I can’t bring myself to be annoyed by the repetition. It’s his job to protect me, after all. And now that we’re dating, I guess it’s natural he’d be even more protective.
“I will,” I agree. “Frank knows the deal. I’ll stick to the kitchen and the dining area. Anything else, he’ll ask one of the other employees.”
I felt a little bad asking Frank for the special accommodations, but he brushed aside my worry like it was nothing. “Whatever it takes to keep you safe,” he told me. “You just let me know.”
After years of never asking for help, it’s kind of jarring to be the object of all this concern.
Frank, Wendy, all the employees at Blissful Brews, Jess, now that I’ve filled her in on everything, and of course, Alec and all his GMG teammates—but I have to admit it feels nice.
Even though there are times I’m still not sure I deserve it.
“Okay.” Alec palms my cheek as he leans in to kiss me. His mouth is soft and warm and tastes slightly of the cider donuts we ate on the way over. He nips at my lower lip before sweeping his tongue across the small sting. Then he teases my mouth open and dips inside, stroking and tasting.
Desire kindles in my belly, igniting into an inferno. My nipples go hard. My skin sizzles with electricity. Need pulses at my core.
Everything around me fades into unimportance—everyone bustling around getting the bar ready to open, the clank of pots and pans in the kitchen, the beep of a delivery truck backing up outside—as I give myself over to Alec.
As I twine my arms around his neck and kiss him harder, meeting each plunge of his tongue with a matching one of my own.
But all too soon, Alec breaks the kiss, leaving me breathless and tingling all over. He sweeps his thumb across my sensitive lips and gives me a regretful look. “I’d love to continue this,” he says, “but considering you’re at work and I’m supposed to be protecting you…”
My cheeks go hot. I glance guiltily around the room and spot Wendy behind the bar, grinning widely at me. “Right. Work. Protection. Not kissing.”
He presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “No more kissing for now. But later, once you’re done with work?” His gaze heats. “I plan on doing a lot of it.”
Anticipation bubbles up inside me. “So you’re still coming over after, right?”
“Of course.” Alec smiles. “I thought we could pick up pizza on the way home. How does that sound?”
“And some cuddling on the couch after?”
“Absolutely.” He gives me a soft look. “I can’t wait.”
Oh.
There goes my heart again, melting into a puddle of goo on the worn wooden floor. “I can’t wait, either.”
“Hazel?” A feminine voice calls across the room, jerking me rudely back to the present. A present where I’m supposed to be working and not fantasizing about spending the evening making out with Alec.
I look to my right, where Angel is approaching me with an apologetic expression.
“Sorry,” she says. “I hate to interrupt, but I was hoping you could help me in the kitchen? The iced tea machine needs to be cleaned and it’s too heavy for me to pick up by myself.
I’d ask Frank or Wendy, but they’re both busy… ”
“No, it’s fine.” I give her a reassuring smile. “Of course I’ll help.”
Before I leave Alec’s table, I ask him, “Do you want anything to drink? Soda? Water? Coffee?”
“Nothing right now,” he replies. “Go do your thing. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay.” I catch his hand and give it a little squeeze. “I’ll come back to check on you soon.”
Reluctantly, I follow Angel into the kitchen, each step away from Alec harder than the last. Right before we push through the swinging double doors, I glance back over my shoulder to see Alec’s soft gaze shift to a watchful one.
He’s no longer just the man I’m dating, but the Special Forces operator focused on protecting me.
Once Angel and I enter the kitchen, she turns to me. Her eyes are bright with enthusiasm. “You guys are so cute,” she says. “I’m so happy for you, Hazel.”
I smile back at her. “I’m happy, too.”
“So.” She grabs a cleaning packet before heading towards the iced tea machine, which is set on a counter near the dessert cooler. “Are you two officially together? Or still figuring things out?”
I join Angel at the counter. “We’re dating. But it’s new. So I guess we’re still figuring things out, too.”
Angel nods. “Nothing wrong with taking things slowly.” The light in her eyes dims. “My problem was always jumping in too fast. That’s how I ended up—” She cuts herself off.
“Anyway,” she adds more brightly, “we’re not talking about me and my screwed-up relationships. We’re talking about you and Alec.”
“We’re taking things slowly,” I agree. “Neither of us has dated in a long time, so I think it’s probably better that way.”
The fearful part of me says it is, at least. The frightened part that worries I’ll somehow get Alec hurt. That the person who came after me twice will make a third attempt, and Alec will end up injured, or worse, killed, because of it.
And I can’t let that happen. Not again.
Angel lifts one side of the dispenser and waits for me to pick up the other. As we carry it over to the sink, she says, “I’ve never seen Alec show the slightest interest in another woman. But he used to watch you.”
“He used to watch me?” That’s news to me.
“Not in a creepy, stalker-ish way. More like… he was trying not to watch, but he couldn’t help himself.”
My heart jumps. “Oh. I didn’t realize.”
“It was sweet.” As we set the dispenser down, she turns to me. “I never said anything because you always said you wanted to stay single. But…” Her lips lift in a wistful smile. “The way he looked at you… I wish I had a man who looked at me that way.”
It feels strange being envied after so many years spent as the object of pity. Or of scorn from all the people who made subtle or not-so-subtle comments about how I should have noticed Jason’s instability sooner. How if I’d been more observant, maybe Marissa would still be alive.
No.
That kind of thinking isn’t productive.
What was it my counselor used to say? It’s easy for other people to judge when they haven’t walked in your shoes. And her favorite saying—hindsight might be twenty-twenty, but in the present, no one’s vision is perfect.
Forcing my mind back to Angel’s statement, I reply, “You’ll find someone who looks at you like you’re the only woman in the world for him. I’m sure of it.”
She shrugs. “Maybe. But even if I don’t, I’ll be okay. I’ve got Haley, and she’s more important than any man.” Her expression brightens again. “That reminds me, did I show you the costume she’s wearing for Halloween? It’s just the cutest—”
Angel stops as the kitchen drops into darkness.
For a moment, the silence is absolute.
No hum of the ventilation system. No faint rattle from the cooler Frank keeps babying in hopes of keeping it going a few months longer. No strains of Frank’s favorite country music filtering through the kitchen doors.
Then a pan falls to the floor, its metallic clang echoing.
Kyle, the sous chef and only other person in the kitchen with us, utters a low curse. Then he grumbles, “Is the damn utility company messing with the power lines again? What’s this, the third time in less than a month?”
Angel’s voice holds a hint of a quaver in the eerily dark kitchen. “I don’t know. But I hope the power’s not out all over town. Haley gets nervous when the power goes out like this.”
Fear nudges at me, but I refuse to let it take over. Instead, I take a deep breath, hold it for five seconds, and release it just as slowly. Once I trust my voice not to shake, I say, “I’m sure it’ll be right back on.”
I pull my phone from my pocket and turn on the flashlight. A quick scan of the kitchen shows it looking just as it did a minute ago. Nothing alarming. Nothing dangerous. Nothing to indicate this power outage is anything other than normal.
“Maybe we should go into the dining room,” Angel starts. “With the windows, there’s more light to see by.”