Perfect Fit (Serendipity's Finest 1)

Mike tried not to focus on her naked body while she was obviously upset, but he couldn’t turn away. She had the most gorgeous curves along with toned muscles from working. Womanly despite the hard demands of her job.

“What do you mean, Daniella left?” Cara asked, her voice rising.

Mike tossed his phone onto the nightstand and came up beside her. She listened and finally spoke. “Yeah. I understand. Call me the minute you hear something. Thanks.” She disconnected the call and threw the phone onto the mattress in frustration.

“The woman you’ve been worried about?” Mike asked.

She nodded, the pain in her eyes unmistakable. “She left the shelter late last night. Just walked out and didn’t tell anyone where she was going. Dammit!”

He eased her onto the bed, but she remained stiff and unyielding. “Cara, calm down and talk to me,” he said in a firm voice, in order to get through to her.

“One of the other girls said she tried to call me and I wasn’t there for her. I let her down. Now she probably went back to her ex. There’s nowhere else she’d go. Her family doesn’t live near here.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Mike had never been good with female waterworks or theatrics, except this wasn’t any of those. Cara, like Erin, didn’t cry easily. These tears were heartfelt and real; he felt like a hand was squeezing his chest as he brushed the moisture with his thumb.

“For all you know, she wanted to tell you but nothing you said could have made a difference.”

She swallowed hard. “You don’t know that.” She pulled in a shuddering breath. “But thanks for trying to make me feel better.” She forced a smile he knew damned well she didn’t feel.

“Don’t.”

She blinked at his rough voice. “What?”

“Don’t hide your feelings from me,” he said, surprising her and himself. “You’re hurting. I get it, but I won’t let you pretend that you’re fine. Not with me.”

She hiccupped and her body shook, but she didn’t reply. Instead she pulled herself together before his eyes and for some reason he didn’t understand, it bothered him that she wouldn’t lean on him.

“What’s your plan?” he asked, instead of pushing her.

“Work. What else can I do? She’s not a missing person; I can’t force her to come back to the shelter. If I follow her home, I might p

rovoke her ex. I have to trust she’ll come to me if she needs me. Assuming she lets herself trust me again.” Cara shook her head in frustration. “I have to shower and get to work.” She pulled out of his arms.

He let her go, sensing nothing he said would help her now. She started for the bathroom, leaving him feeling useless and uneasy at her withdrawal. The door shut behind her and he left her alone, knowing she needed time. He kicked back on her bed, bracing his hands behind his head, determined to ignore the sound of running water. The thought of the water sluicing down her back and over her skin. Naked skin.

She finally opened the door, steam coming out of the bathroom along with the enticing warm scent that only served to arouse him more. She stepped into the room with a fluffy white towel wrapped around her, her damp hair falling over her shoulders.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey.”

“Sorry I took it out on you.” Her somber expression offered all the apology he needed.

He held out his hand. “Come here.”

She eased into his arms and curled up against him. “I’m scared,” she whispered. “I’m afraid that when Daniella’s ex sees her again, he won’t welcome her with open arms but closed fists.”

He brushed her hair off her face and tucked her beneath his chin. “You can’t take on the world’s problems. No matter how much you want to.”

She let out a heartfelt sigh. They sat that way together in silence that was…easy and right.

“Thank you,” she said, quietly but with real meaning.

“You’re welcome.”

She blew out a long exhale and curled more tightly into him, her guilt and fear painfully obvious. He wished he could take it away, but he couldn’t. Instead he’d be here for her now, and if Daniella surfaced.

His biggest fear wasn’t that she’d come to rely on him. No, his worry was that when he finally faced the fallout from Simon and Rex Bransom’s past, he’d be the one needing and relying on her.