Protect Me Not ((Un)Professionally Yours 2)

He stared at her, clearly torn between fleeing, and trying to be the “good” guy. But after a moment, his shoulders slumped, and he nodded.

“If you need me for anything. You know where to find me.”

“I won’t need you.” A shadow of something closely resembling sorrow flickered over his face, but it was gone before she could properly decipher it.

He nodded again.

Turned.

And left.

Ty had been to only one wedding before this. Enid and George’s wedding was smaller than Dylan’s had been, with fewer people in attendance. But they were a happy, close-knit group of people.

It was nice.

He watched, from his table in the back, with the rest of the security detail, as Miles stunned his mother and her groom with the keys to their brand-new house. At first it looked like George was going to refuse, but the older man’s eyes welled up, and he folded his uncomfortable looking new stepson into a bear hug instead.

Vicki got up after that, and Ty was happy to have an excuse to stare at her the way he had been longing to do all day. She looked heartbreakingly beautiful. In a shell pink, long flowing dress, with a sweetheart neckline that plumped her pretty breasts in a way designed to draw the eye to her modest cleavage. Her curly hair was in a complicated looking twist at the top of her head, leaving her elegantly curved neck, and pale, slender shoulders bare. The curls were stubborn though, and a few of them had escaped the twist to wisp around her face and neck attractively.

That gorgeous, enchanting woman claimed to love him. Ty couldn’t quite wrap his head around that novel idea.

She loved him!

What the fuck?

He hadn’t handled the confession very well. He couldn’t shake the memory of the tears that had welled in her beautiful eyes, when he’d taken that involuntary, shocked step back after her words.

His flight response had kicked in. Fight hadn’t even been an option. His immediate instinct had been to book it and put as much distance between them as possible. But he had caught himself because the fear had almost immediately been replaced by awe that she actually believed herself in love with him.

Awe and pride.

But—by then—the damage had been done. His initial, unflattering reaction had hurt her…and she had lashed out. He knew that it was for the best. He should leave it as is. Allow that hurt to fester into hatred. Because loving him would only lead to even more pain for her.

But when he stared into those lovely, wounded eyes, he found that he couldn’t abide the thought of her hating him.

Man, what would it be like to have a woman like Vicki love him?

There was a smattering of laughter and applause, which jerked him back into the present.

Vicki was still speaking, a tone of wry humor in her voice. “Anyway, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to top a frikken house—thanks for that, Miles, you should have let me speak first—but I’ll try my level best.”

Ty’s lips stretched into a grin at her self-deprecation. Seeing her, hearing her voice—so much lighter and more cheerful than the last time they had spoken—made him happy. It was the only description that fit this buoyant emotion fizzing through his blood.

He had watched her precede her mother up the aisle, his heart lodged in his throat at her wholesome, unassuming beauty. And even though he had hoped she would look at him—just once—she had not done so.

He didn’t want it to end this way. He wanted to talk to her, to hug her, kiss her. Tell her that he was sorry. But she didn’t want to hear that. He knew that. He wasn’t sure what she did want to hear…and even if he knew what that was, he didn’t think he had it in him to say the words she needed from him.

That was why—in fairness—he had to let her deal with this as she saw fit.

Still, he had this last day to watch her from afar. To appreciate her laughter, her wry sense of humor, her sweet smile, as well as, her warmth and affection toward those she cared about.

She was winding up her speech now. “I know you’re going to make my mum so happy, George. I can’t tell you how much I love you because of that. And while, we know it’s not a house…Hugh, Nina, and I have a little gift for you as well.”

She waved Hugh—who had already delivered his best man speech—and Nina over. They moved to flank Vicki.

She nodded at Nina, who was holding what looked like airline tickets, and then at Hugh who—incongruously—waggled his fingers in a very reluctant attempt at jazz hands. They had clearly rehearsed this even though it still looked awkward as fuck.

“We’re sending you on a two-week-long honeymoon to…” She nodded three times—clearly a three-two-one countdown. “Bali!”