Laura. Laura had been FBI until she’d been stalked and kidnapped by a serial killer. She’d barely made it out, and now she was strong and offering women like Lucy her expertise. And he was arguing with her choices because he didn’t like feeling butt hurt.
Shit. He’d been an asshole. He hadn’t liked the idea of her dismissing men and forgot entirely why she should fear them. She’d been assaulted, and he was questioning her choice of who could make her feel safe. It was selfish, and he was falling into the habit of being selfish because he’d spent two years concentrating on nothing but his own misery.
He handed her his coat and then held out his hand when she turned back to him. “Forgive me. I’m glad you had Laura. I’m glad you have a place where you can feel safe. I was feeling dismissed, and that wasn’t what you were trying to do. I’ll be less of an asshole if you give me a second chance.”
Her smile lit up the room, and she took his hand. “Of course.”
She let him bring her close, allowed him to wrap his arms around her, and the tension he’d felt eased. He could fucking breathe, and it made him wonder how long he’d been so wound up.
She rested her head against his chest, the affection coming off her soothing to his whole damn soul. “Thank you for not beating the crap out of that guy.”
He chuckled. “I thought about it, but you handled it well.” He didn’t like to think about the time she almost hadn’t gotten herself to safety. “I wish I’d been around when Hope’s ex-husband tried to hurt you.” That was wrong. He had been around. “I wish I’d known you better then.”
“You didn’t come off the mountain much in the beginning. You needed some time,” she replied. “I wish I’d been less naïve. I was lonely, and I let myself get into a bad position because of it. I won’t let that happen again. I didn’t even like him, but I wanted something of my own.”
“And now?”
“Now, I only go out with men I really connect to, as evidenced by what happened in that hallway,” she said, her head tilting up to look at him. “You should know there haven’t been many. Any in the last year or so. You see I like this guy but he’s a weirdo and I have to be patient with him.”
Oh, she made him smile. “I’m glad to hear that.” But he needed to be honest with her. “I still wanted to smash that guy’s face.”
“I can see that was hard for you. Thanks.” She squeezed him and then backed away. “So you said Ty had an emergency?”
He didn’t want to talk about Ty. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to indulge himself for as long as he could, but that wasn’t their bargain. “Yes, and I think it was an actual emergency and not him trying to get out of anything.”
She moved into the kitchen, glancing back his way. “Well, he did have a shift scheduled for today, and he’s an actual emergency medical tech, so I believe him. I also believe that he snuck in here before his shift because he knows I didn’t have any…” She opened the fridge and leaned in, coming back with a bottle. “…wine. Or beer. I think that’s for you because Ty will drink this Moscato with me.”
Ty’s taste in liquor left something to be desired, but Michael couldn’t argue with the fact that the other man was thoughtful. He wasn’t sure he would have remembered what Lucy liked to drink. “He said it wouldn’t take too long and he’s close to the pizza place, so he’ll bring it with him.”
Ty had sounded incredibly peppy for a man who was transporting a guy who’d taken on a hive of bees to the hospital. He’d sounded excited to get the evening going, and he didn’t seem worried at all that he would be sharing his date with a guy who wasn’t known for being nice.
He was known for growling at everyone, for frowning and being generally unpleasant.
He hadn’t always been. He’d been quite charming once.
You’re too nice, Novack. It’s going to bite you in the ass one of these days.
He tried to shake off that voice in his head. Jessie’s voice, the one that reminded him she’d shown him exactly who she was and he’d fooled himself into thinking he could be the one to change her.
Lucy popped the top off his beer and offered it to him. The cabin had a bar that separated the kitchen from the dining area and living space. He sat down on one of the barstools and took the longneck.
Naturally the little bastard had bought his preferred beer.
He didn’t like to think about the fact that it had been a long time since someone gave a damn about what he wanted, made an effort to figure out what he preferred. It was weird that the person being so thoughtful was another man.