Chapter 8
Idrive off with Walker in my rearview mirror. “Even with half a beard, he’s still the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I drop by my office to check on a few things before getting my workout in. Before I know it, three hours have passed and I rush to the gym. Alden’s cooking dinner, and I don’t want him to make a bigger mess than I can clean up. Which is going to happen anyway.
Hurrying back to my place, I open the door to the smell of burnt meat. “Alden?”
“Sorry. I got caught up in a call. It’s under control,” he yells from the kitchen. I leave the front door open to help clear the smoke.
As I turn the corner to the kitchen, he’s trying to switch the alarm off. “Dammit.”
“Do tell.” I shake my head, jerking a magazine from the table and fanning the alarm from the floor. “How about takeout?”
“I’ve got this. Chill.” About the time he says it, the alarm in my room goes off, a screaming sound bouncing off the walls. I run to my bedroom, standing on a chair to fan it. Alden runs in right behind me, bumping me off the chair.
I fall into his arms, our bodies a tangled mess, legs and arms everywhere. We’re laughing our asses off until someone clears their throat, surprising us. I look up from my splayed position on the floor into dreamy blue eyes, the color of the sky on a crisp fall morning.
“Walker?” I utter, trying to register that he’s here.
“Are you all right?” He reaches down for my hand. As I slide mine into his, a charge makes my hair stand on end. My heart pounds in my chest. I look to see if it’s cracked it open. Why is he here? In my house?
“I am.” I shake my head as he watches me untwine from Alden, who giggles as I push away from him, crawling until I can stand. “We were cooking.”
He squints as he scans the room. “In the bedroom?”
I point to the ceiling. “The alarm was going off from the smoke.”
His eyes snap to the ceiling, which is quiet now. “Right.”
“Hey, I’m Alden.” My best friend reaches for Walker’s hand, who reluctantly takes it.
“Walker,” I grunt.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. I wanted to drop the new proposal off. Give you a little extra time to look it over.” He holds up a file.
I take it from him but never take my eyes off his. “Thank you. That’s awesome.”
“I didn’t mean to barge in but with the smoke, the door was open,” he explains as I stand here, holding his hand, dumbfounded.
“Oh, no. You’re fine… it’s fine. Thank you.” I stumble over every word.
Walker rubs the back of his neck. “So yeah. I’m gonna go. Sorry for the intrusion.”
I trip over my feet when he turns to leave, catching myself on the doorjamb to Alden’s delight. He cackles at my clumsiness, earning him a death glare from Walker. I spin around quickly, admonishing him.
“Stop it. Now.” I turn back to find Walker stepping out the front door. “Uh, Walker. Just a second.”
He slows to a stop on my doorstep, where I join him. “I wasn’t trying to interrupt.”
I’m shaking my head before the words come out. “No, I don’t think you were interrupting. I mean, there’s nothing to interrupt. We weren’t doing anything.”
“Lucky me.” He drops his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Look, I only stopped by to give you the new prospectus. I’m gonna let you enjoy your dinner. See you Tuesday.”
Dammit, Reese. Think of something. NOW. “I’ll make notations if I have any questions.”
His head bobs in acknowledgment. When he steps from the stoop, he turns, dragging something from his pocket. “It has all my numbers on it in case you need to call. Office and cell.”
“Thank you. I’m sure I’ll need it at some point… for something.” Shut the fuck up. You’ve become a blabbering fool.
“Yeah, all right. Tuesday, Reese.” And with that, he walks away. What the hell just happened?
“He’s sprung,” Alden says from behind me.
I whip around, shocked by his assumptions. “What? No, he’s not, and you acting as if he is isn’t helping.”
He crosses his arms defiantly. “Then why was he here?”
I hold the file up, shaking it at him. “You heard him, to drop these off.”
“Oh, I heard him but the look on his love-sick face told a different story.” He smirks.
I roll my eyes, pushing past him. “Get over it. He’s not interested in me.” I stomp through my apartment. “And another thing, it hurts my feelings when you say that shit.”
“What shit? That an intelligent, nice looking man is interested in you?” He blankly stares at me, and my stomach rolls.
I pick at my cuticles. “Yes.”
“Reese, you’re a beautiful woman, but your way of thinking is fucked up.” He pulls his phone from his pocket. “I’m ordering Chinese.”
I slam the file on the table, turning to the sink. “Thanks, Alden. I love that you see me for more than I see myself.”
He wraps his arms around me, hugging me close. “One day, you’re gonna meet a man… who’ll do the dishes for you.” He kisses my cheek and walks away to order our food.
“Asshole.” I toss a towel at his back before stacking the dishes in the dishwasher.
The food arrives by the time I have the kitchen cleaned. I join Alden on the couch with the file Walker dropped off. I open it and find an amazing proposal. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“What is it? He proposed?” He smirks.
“Sorta.” A smile slowly stretches across my face. “He’s saving the house.” The more I read, the wider my smile gets until I’m bursting inside.
“And? You kinda suck at details to be a girl.” He chuckles.
“I need to run it across The Historical Society, but I’m pleased. I’m pretty sure they’ll agree.” I close the folder and pick up my Lo Mein.
“See, he likes you. He’s buying you a house.” He winks at me, making me laugh.
“No, he’s not but he’s saving one.”
I’m thrilled when Alden leaves to go to his apartment next door, and I can climb into bed. I’ve never figured out how he can stay up all night and be up at the ass crack of dawn. Just as I’m closing my eyes, my phone rings. “Why didn’t I turn you off?”
Taking it from my nightstand, I don’t even look at it. I know who it is. “Reese? Are you all right?”
“Hey, Mom. I’m fine.” I yawn on my last word.
“Are you in bed?” How inappropriate is it to say duh?
“I am.” I sigh. “Long week coming up.” I stretch with another yawn.
“Have you spoken to him?” Straight to the point. Ugh.
“No, I’ve been crazy busy, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do, Mother.”
“You’ve said that already.” I roll my eyes. “Well, then, I’ll let you rest. Please put cucumbers on your eyes to help with your bags.”
“I don’t have bags, Mother,” I answer.
“Just you wait, you will at the rate you’re going. Goodnight, sweetheart,” she says sweetly.
“Goodnight.” I end the call before she can go on. I love her but sometimes, I think she hates me because of who my dad is. She picked him, not me.
Daylight breaks, creeping through my window. I turn my alarm off. I didn’t sleep much. I’m too excited to touch base with The Historical Society about Walker’s offer. He really did a great job all around. I’m hoping to be able to tell him we accept.
I have a full day of court, but I want to swing by and forward Walker’s proposal. To keep the buildings, integrating it with the restaurant is ingenious. He went all in and I, for one, think it’s worth talking about.
As the day progresses, it becomes clear I won’t have time to forward the prospectus today. Before I can get myself pulled together from court, it’s time to go to the crisis center. I really wanted to give Walker some inside information on how it was received, but that’s not happening today.
Turning into the parking lot, I can see my day isn’t going to get any better. We’re at capacity and our hands are full. I hit the door running, tossing my briefcase over the counter and grabbing files as I go. I give Maisyn a heads up and get to work.
“I’m here. Crazy day,” I say as I lay my files on the table in the last room. “Walker already busy?”
“He is. Room three. You ready?” she asks.
“I am.” I pause. “Did I see Marie out there?” Marie is a domestic violence client we’ve been working with for a few months now.
“You did. She just got out of the hospital.” Maisyn’s face flames red. “Court date is next week. He’s been following her everywhere.”
I shake my head. “I know it’s hard to protect everyone all the time, but why didn’t they find a shelter for her and her children?”
“She told them we would do it. I guess she felt safer.”
“Well, then. See who can take her and put her in room four. I’ll be right down. She doesn’t need to be seen,” I tell her.
“Hey, Reese.” Walker’s voice sends a signal to my core, and it tightens with a delicious feeling of need. I turn to face him. His shirt is untucked and his tie off. Damn this man, he’s going to be the death of me.
“Hey, it’s gonna be a wild night.”
“We can handle it.” He winks.
I literally go weak in the knees. “True.” I bite my lip, trying to settle the butterflies in my stomach. “I loved the proposal. It’s great, and I can’t wait to get it over to them in the morning.”
“Did you? Good. That’ll help with dinner conversation.”
I smile coyly. “I don’t think we’d ever have an issue talkin’.”
He steps closer to me, causing heat to wash over me. “I don’t think we’d have issues doing a lot of things, Reese.”
My mouth goes dry as everything south of my neck begins to tingle. “Yeah?”
Walker gazes into my eyes, his head slowly bobbing up and down. I sink my teeth into my lower lip. “Oh, yeah.”
We turn in unison as Maisyn’s exaggerated cough draws our attention. “Sorry, I don’t know how to fake cough. You both have people waiting.”
“Oh, of course. I apologize.” I turn back to Walker, who smiles warmly at me.
“We’ll pick this up later.” Walker excuses himself, to which I toss Maisyn a glare.
“Sorry.” She shrugs.
“Ugh. It’s okay,” I groan like a petulant child. I grab Marie’s file and join her in the other room. “Hello, Marie. How are you?”
She glances up at me and my heart sinks. I feel nauseated and angry. Marie’s a battered woman. Her husband, Joel, has beaten her unconscious too many times to count. She sits here today, bruised and beaten. Makes me madder than hell.
“I’m okay,” she tells me.
As my face flames, I swallow the bile rising in my throat so I can offer her my best. She deserves it, even if she doesn’t know it. Taking her hand, I sit beside her. I slip my arm around her, and she easily falls into the cradle of my shoulder and sobs.
Walker’s going to have to handle the rest. This is what’s most important. After twenty minutes or so, Marie calms and we get to work on helping her.
“All right, let’s see what’s left to do. All of your paperwork has been filed. We’re waiting for your divorce to be finalized. I’m going to put you and the kids into a home.”
She winces. “I hate the thought of taking them from the only house they’ve ever known.”
“This is your home. Marie, the founders of the center have made provisions for situations like yours. If you’re serious and follow through with starting a new life, the home will be yours in one year. Free,” I explain.
“What? Why would anyone do that?” Her brow furrows as a tear rolls down her cheek.
“Lea, the founder of this organization, was a battered woman.”
“But she’s rich.” Marie’s shocked look resembles the one most people have when they learn about the founder of this center.
“She wasn’t at the time it started, and after she moved to start a new life, he followed her. So she knows no limit to helping. And her new husband, he’s behind her one hundred percent.”
She begins to cry in earnest. “I’ll never be able to repay them.”
“It isn’t needed. They’re happy to help.” I hug her tightly, wishing I could do more for her. “Now, let’s get the kids and set you up until after your hearings.”
We walk into the hall where we find Maisyn and Latifa. “Ladies, Marie needs transport for her and the kids. Marie, you have our number. We offer transport and support, if needed.”
“Thank you.” She hesitates. “When Joel finds out, he’s gonna be so angry.”
“He will.” I hold her tightly before leaning back to stare into her eyes. “But we’re mad as hell, and he’s no match for us. Not anymore.”
She pulls me into another hug before nodding. “You’re right. You’re damn right.”
Latifa wraps her arm around Marie. “Let’s get you set up. The kids are eating a snack. It should give us time to finish the paperwork.”
Walker’s leaning against the door as I step around Maisyn. He tugs at my shirt as I pass by, making me pause. I look up into the sea of blue and gasp as the fluttering in my chest grows. “You’re amazing.” His words are soft and full of praise.
“Be careful, Pennington.” His brows arch at my words. “You’re making me think you might like me.”
His smile slowly grows, building into a devilish grin. He leans in, his warm breath traveling across my ear, no more than a whisper. “There was never a moment of maybe, only when.”
Walker brushes past me, sending chills racing over my body, my nipples pebbling from his heat. And his words. “What the fuck?” I mouth to myself in disbelief.
The rest of the evening is filled with clients and paperwork. I refused to appear eager or desperate, so I finished quietly and made my escape before running into Walker again. I’m not sure what, if anything, is going on between us. So, I do what I do best.
I put my guard up.