“It was an honest mistake,” she said quickly. She couldn’t handle long, drawn-out apologies. “I’d appreciate if we kept this between us. I like it here. I was hoping for a fresh start in this town.”
“I won’t say a word.” He looked away. “But I can’t speak for Amber. I don’t know her well.”
Lena raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know the other woman, but he’d been ready and willing to do all the naughty things he’d spelled out to her—touch her, taste her—with Amber?
“If she says something to Katie, my sister might put two and two together,” he continued. “Might be best to head that off and explain I came up here, surprised you, and left. Leave out the naked part.”
“That makes sense.” Lena nodded, pushing off the bed, dragging the sheet with her. “Let me get my stuff and I’ll get out of here.”
“Lena, wait.” Chad stood too, taking a step forward, reaching for her arm, but then thinking better of it. Or maybe she’d flinched. She’d been working hard to control that reaction, but tonight had thrown her, leaving her troubled mind wondering if every moment was a threat. “You don’t have to leave.”
“I don’t want to be in the way,” she said.
He placed his hands on his hips. “It’s the middle of the night. Do you have someplace to go?”
“No.” The place she’d called home was no longer hers. She’d given it to her ex-husband as part of their divorce six months ago. Right now, she owned a duffel bag filled with clothes and necessities; her revolver; a ten-pound bag of dog food; a giant, always-hungry golden retriever; and a beat-up blue Toyota pickup. “No, I don’t.”
At twenty-eight, she was a homeless veteran. And she’d drawn a gun on the first man to touch her in months.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
But her father had forgotten to warn her about the humiliation. And that just might slay her.
“Stay. Please,” Chad said. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes tonight. Let me do something right.”
“I don’t know.” She’d never get to sleep now.
“My sister will kill me if she finds out that I chased you out of here.”
“Fine. I’ll stay.” She couldn’t afford to make waves, not if she planned to live in Independence Falls. And she didn’t want to give Katie Summers a reason to talk.
“Good.” Chad smiled. Not the devil-may-care look he’d wielded at the party earlier, the one that had drawn her in and left her wishing she could invite a man like him back to her bed, but a genuine smile. “And Lena, promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Let Hero sleep out here with you. I don’t care if he chews the furniture. I want you to feel safe. Promise?”
“Yes.” The way he looked at her as if she was too delicate to touch, the way he moved around the room, careful to keep his distance—she might as well have a neon sign about her head flashing “Broken. Stand Back.” Part of her wanted to be more like the woman he’d planned to meet in this room. Carefree. Fun. The kind of woman who would melt into his kisses. Instead she was the one who agreed to let her dog sleep next to her even if he chewed up the place.
“I promise,”
she added.
“Good.” He headed for the stairs. “I’ll see you around, Lena.”
Lena gave a quick nod, even though he wasn’t looking at her anymore. She closed her eyes and made a silent promise. She would find the road map to normal and follow it to the end. She’d do anything to get to there. Anything.
Chapter 4
“WE HAVE A PROBLEM.”
Chad uncrossed his legs and sat up straight in the chair. No one wanted to hear those words from his boss/business partner’s mouth at an impromptu Saturday meeting. His mind jumped to last night. Had Eric found out about the misunderstanding with Lena? Shit, if Eric knew he’d probably found out from Georgia, which meant Chad’s little sister also knew by now.
The fact that Chad hadn’t been the one to tell Katie would count against him. He should have called his sister first thing this morning. But he didn’t want to make a big deal about it. And picking up the phone at dawn felt like the act of a guilty man.
“Something I can help with?” Chad asked, going with innocent-until-proven-guilty.
“Yeah.” Eric leaned back in his chair. “Your dating life has become a problem.”