by Natalie Ann
“Not last night. He was getting really good for a while, but now he’s not doing so well.”
“Maybe he’s not eating enough.”
“He has a checkup on Monday. Hopefully, he’s not getting sick. I can’t afford to learn how to deal with that with everything else going on.”
He chuckled, then changed the subject. “Hey, did you hear, a couple of civilians and security from the Protag Security group went missing.”
That got my attention and took me back to when Alex and I had been taken prisoner the last time that Alex had been overseas with me. “No, what do you know?”
“Not much, just a few whispers down the lane. They are keeping it close to the vest. Don’t want the news to get out.”
“Shit. I assume Jake knows?”
“Yeah, he does.”
Well, if something came up, then Jake would fill us all in. Until then, I needed to get my head back into the game. I had enough on my plate, and as the morning went on, it grew fuller. One of the class members ended up almost shooting himself in the leg at the range because he had his finger on the trigger when he went to holster a pistol. The bullet had ricocheted off the cement at his feet and into the wall next to another person’s head.
I’d almost lost my shit, and it was Harvey that calmed me down, telling me to walk away and start the paperwork. As I did, I heard Harvey’s deep voice trying to calm the person down, while at the same time being stern and admonishing him for not being safe.
I felt my phone vibrate but couldn’t care less who it was. I dug around in the file cabinet in the office for the misfire paperwork. That fucker should be the one filling this out, not me. As far as I was concerned that douchebag shouldn’t even be allowed to have a gun. He had practically failed every aspect of the training. He was going to be a handful to deal with overseas, probably wouldn’t even last a week before he was sniveling and begging to come home.
I called Jake and told him, listening to him scream in my ear for a minute, and that didn’t help my mood. Even seeing a text from Davina didn’t lift my spirits. I was just ready for the day to be over with and get home to try and sleep. Maybe Davina could come over tonight and help me out. Man, I really was going to have to find a nanny soon. Otherwise, I was never going to get a good night's sleep again.
We were almost finished with the day when Alex called. “What’s up?” I said as I rubbed my eyes.
“Just reminding you of the rehearsal tonight.”
Well, shit! “Um, yeah, what time is that?” I had honestly forgotten all about it.
He chuckled. “Figured you had forgotten. Be at the church at five-thirty. After we rehearse, we’ll go over to Fiorello’s for dinner.”
“Shit, man, I did honestly totally forget about it. I’m going to have to bring Devon with me. I don’t have a sitter tonight.”
“That’s okay; you can bring him. Nothing fancy. We’re just going to relax and enjoy dinner together.”
“Okay, you sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. You can ask Davina to come.”
“No, that’s okay. It will just be me and Devon.”
Alex was quiet for a moment. “You alright? Davina still coming tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, just exhausted, and it’s been a fucked-up day.”
Alex chuckled. “So I heard. I could hear Jake screaming from the other side of the office.”
I laughed. “I’m sure you did. Okay, I’ll see you later.”
After we got out, I called Lucy and asked if she could keep him another thirty minutes. It only made sense to go home and change first, get what I needed for him, and then pick him up on the way to the rehearsal.
When I pulled up at her apartment, I wondered if I should say hello to Davina, but then I glanced at my watch and saw I was already running late. I hustled up to Lucy’s and gathered Devon and his things, quickly changing his clothes to something a little nicer than the onesie and sweatpants he was wearing. Instead, I put a fancy little shirt on him with fake dress pants that I’d found in the pile from Carol.
As I rushed out, I wasn’t paying much attention to where I was going and almost crashed into two people coming up the stairs.
“Sorry,” I mumbled to them and stepped aside for them to pass. Behind them another face came into view, and my dim world brightened slightly.
“Hey,” Davina said with a smile, and then it began to fade. “You do look like you had a hell of a day.”
“It sucked.” I glanced at my watch. “I’d love to chat, but I need to get going. The rehearsal starts in a few minutes, and I still have a twenty-minute drive.”
“You’re taking Devon to the wedding rehearsal?”
“Yeah, I forgot about it, to be honest.”
“Do you want me to watch him?”
“No, I can’t ask you to do that.” I stepped around her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, one o’clock sharp.”
“I’ll see you at one,” she said, looking slightly disappointed, and I flashed her a smile and dashed down the stairs. It wasn’t until I was out at my truck that I thought about the fact that I should have invited her. I paused by the truck and pulled out my phone, calling her.
“Yes?”
“Do you want to come?”
She laughed slightly. “To the rehearsal dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Would they mind if I did?”
“No, not at all. Dinner is informal after.”
“Okay,” she replied. “Give me one moment to put my laptop away, and I’ll be down.”
I said goodbye and put Devon into the truck, went around and started it, and then got out and came back to the passenger side as Davina exited the building. I opened the door for her, and she smiled brightly at me. I absorbed her smile, feeling a little more like myself as I did. Once she was settled, I closed the door and went to get in.
“You look nice,” she said once I had the truck on the road.
I glanced down, totally forgetting what I was wearing. I’d pulled a gray button-down shirt out of my closet and grabbed a pair of black slacks. “Thanks.” I glanced toward her. “You look nice yourself.” She did. The part of me that wasn’t exhausted had noticed that she was wearing a blouse, dress pants, and heels. “Why are you dressed up?”
“I had a meeting at the office.”
“Ah, I thought you were still off.”
“I was, but some things happened with a program, and the buyers for it were only in town for today. My boss called and begged me to come in and help with them.”
I yawned as I nodded.
“How much sleep did you get last night?”
“Not much.”
“Did Devon keep you up?”
I gave her a tired smile. “Yeah, something like that.”
My cellphone rang, and I hit the speaker. “I’m on my way, got tied up.”
“Was it good?”
“What?”
“Getting tied up, was it good?”
Davina chuckled beside me. “Man, I wish it were that kind of being tied up, but no. Traffic. I’ll be there in ten, and Davina is with me.”
“She’s there now?”
“Hi, Alex,” Davina called out.
“Oh, hey, Davina. Sorry about that tied-up comment.”
She giggled. “It’s okay.”
“Alright, I’ll see you guys in a few.”
I hung up after saying goodbye and yawned again.
“Do you want me to drive?”
“No, I got it, but thanks.”
Davina remained quiet beside me, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. “Did your meeting go well?”
“Yes, it did. We got the customers onboard. Scott mentioned that you had tested some of our products.”
“Yeah, I have.”
“He also mentioned that you said you’d fail the testing of our new tracker if he didn’t give me the time off.”
I glanced sheepishly toward her. “Did I say that?”
She laughe
d. “You most certainly did. It looks like my boss holds you all in high esteem. He said he doesn’t take lightly to being threatened, but he didn’t want to lose your help. He said that you and Alex have given good input in the past that has helped us out. I think I’ve seen some of your notes on some of the products that have come back.”
“We enjoy doing it. He didn’t give you a hard time, did he?”
“No, he was fine. I can deal with him.”
“Good to hear.”
We were quiet for the rest of the ride, and after I parked, Devon started to get fussy. “I’ll grab his seat if you can grab the diaper bag.”
“Absolutely.” Davina gave me a big smile before opening her door. “Does he need to be fed? I can do that while you guys are rehearsing.”
“Yeah, it’s probably time. I forgot to ask Lucy when he ate last, but this is about his time.”
As I came around the truck, I opened the back door and got his seat out. I stepped back, and Davina reached in and grabbed his bag. We hustled into the church and found everyone inside the front door.
Lexi rushed to take Devon but stopped to hug a surprised Davina first. I guess I was chopped liver, because other than a quick hi in my direction, I didn’t get anything else.
Lexi got him out of the car seat, gave Devon one hug, and then passed him back to Davina telling everyone we needed to get the show on the road. I winked at Davina and headed toward the front of the church where a man stood waiting for us.
The rehearsal was a quick rundown of what happened when, and it was relatively painless. There was a lot of laughter and jokes between Alex, Jake, and me as we messed around on the side while the pastor spoke with Lexi and the bridesmaids.
Every once in a while, my gaze wandered to the back of the church where Davina was feeding Devon. She smiled a few times when I looked at her, and it made me feel pretty damn good to realize that she had been watching me. The more I looked, the more I wanted to keep looking. God, she was beautiful sitting there feeding my son, with her wild hair pulled up in its usual fashion.
When we finished, we filed down the aisle, and Lexi snatched Devon from Davina’s arms. Davina stood laughing, and the sound went straight to my chest as she stepped into the aisle beside me. I put my hand to her lower back, and she leaned slightly into me. I no longer felt as exhausted as I had been as my second wind hit me, and thoughts of having Davina leaning against me differently filled my mind.
I watched with avid interest as Lexi introduced her to Clare. I loved the way her eyes sparkled and how at ease she appeared around these people. I was glad that she was comfortable with my friends; I wanted her to be comfortable with them, and me. I wanted a whole lot more than that, but I wouldn’t allow myself to dwell on that now.
Back in the truck, we got Devon situated, and I held the door for Davina again. She smiled shyly at me as she stepped around me and climbed inside, and my heart did this funny kind of beat in my chest for a second.
She had just seated herself when she glanced my way. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I stepped toward her and leaned into the truck. I hesitated an inch from her face, staring into her beautiful whiskey eyes.
“Yes?” she asked as she stared at me, her head slightly tilted to the side.
“I’m wondering if I kissed you right now if you would get mad at me.”
“Why don’t you try it and see?” she whispered.
I cupped her left cheek as I leaned forward. Our lips brushed together, and I wanted to get lost in her. I didn’t know how it had happened, but somehow this little spitfire with the whiskey eyes had entangled my heart.
I pulled back, raising a brow toward her.
“Not mad,” she said playfully with a grin.
I winked at her and closed her door, grinning at myself as I went around the back of my truck. I honestly wasn’t sure when it had happened or what I was going to do about it, but I think that I had finally found that one person that my gut instinct was telling me to hold on to and never let go.
Chapter 20 – Davina
I was looking at Trevor with new eyes. The memory of my conversation with Carol about lightning, causing me to wonder if my first meeting with him had been a strange kind of sign. Hadn’t Carol herself hoped that we would be friends, or even find love with one another? Was it possible? Was she really looking down over us? Hoping that we would find one another? A little piece of me wanted it to be so.
Trevor looked wiped out as he drove, and I wished that he trusted me enough to let me do it for him. I understood the male need for control, though, so I remained quiet so he could focus on the road.
Watching them all have fun at the church altar made me want to be part of it, especially after Lexi had greeted me with a hug. While I watched them all, I was vividly aware of Trevor whenever he turned back to me. Was he making sure that Devon was alright?
I was drawn into the exciting atmosphere as they finished their rehearsal, and I was introduced to Lexi’s best friend, Clare. For a moment, sadness filled my chest as I realized that if I ever got married, I’d wouldn’t have my best friend at my side. I didn’t dwell on it, although I did allow Trevor’s strength at my side to help me move through it. How easy it was to deal with the pain of grief when you weren’t alone with it.
After Trevor kissed me in the truck, my heart began to fly. I know that I had told him that he wasn’t allowed to kiss me, but I was ready to let that go. I wanted his kisses, and I wanted more, and that kind of scared me.
We reached the restaurant and collected Devon and his bag. As we walked inside, Trevor had his hand on my lower back, and it just felt right. Dinner was more fun than I’d had in months. The group laughed, and the guys made jokes at the expense of others. Devon was passed around the table, and almost everyone took a few moments to hold him, everyone but Jake, Trevor’s boss. He had looked at Devon like he had two heads and didn’t even want to touch him.
Under the table, Trevor’s knee had pushed against my leg accidentally, and the two of us had quickly looked at one another. My leg tingled where it had been touched, and my eyes widened as I stared back at him. The side of his mouth turned up in a small grin, and instead of moving his leg again, he kept it there. As the meal progressed, I found myself paying more attention to the tingling in my leg than I did on the conversation.
Trevor was yawning again when Devon began to get fussy. “Okay, guys, I need to get some sleep so I can function tomorrow.” Trevor joked as he collected Devon and began to strap him back into his seat. “At least try to get some sleep with this little guy.”
We said our goodbyes, and both Lexi and Clare hugged me. It made me feel like part of the group and not an outsider, and I loved and appreciated it. I was flying on a high as Trevor and I waved goodnight and slipped out of the restaurant.
Trevor yawned again as we got to the truck, and after he snapped the car seat into the back, I held my hand out. He looked at my hand and then my face. “What?”
“Give me the keys. You’re not driving. You are too tired, and you had two beers, which I know only made you more tired.”
He began to shake his head, but my brows popped up, and I stuck my hand out farther. He snorted and dropped the keys into my palm. I went around the truck, and it wasn’t until I was behind the wheel that I paused. Holy crap, this thing was big. I had never driven something so large, but how hard could it be?
In all honesty, it wasn’t that hard once I got used to the turning radius, acceleration, and braking. Trevor had his eyes closed beside me, and when he opened them a few minutes later, he looked confused.
“Why are we at my place?”
“Because you need to sleep.”
He turned to me. “But what about you?”
I glanced at him as I turned the truck off. “I have been getting eight hours a night, and I can live without getting a great night's sleep. I’ll crash on your couch, keep an ear out for Devon, and let you get some solid shut-eye.”
“Not that I’
m not grateful, but why are you doing this?”
I shrugged and reached for the door. “I’m trying to honor Carol’s wishes of helping you and being there for Devon.”
He didn’t say anything else until after we were inside, then he turned and studied me. “Are you sure you want to stay? I can take you home, Davina.”
“No,” I stepped forward, putting my hand on his arm. “You get rest tonight. You look like you’re dead on your feet, and you have a big day tomorrow. I’ll take care of Devon.”
“I can take the couch,” he said quickly.
I shook my head. “No, sleep in your room. Otherwise, when Devon wakes up, I’ll bother you when I have to get his bottles ready. Just wheel his bassinet out here, and I’ll take care of him.”
The tender smile that slipped over his lips made my heart squeeze, and he cupped my cheek. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”
“Go get ready for bed. I’ll feed Devon now and then try to get him down, but I do have a favor to ask.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you have a t-shirt and sweats I can throw on?” I glanced down at my blouse and slacks.
“You want to wear my clothes?”
“Well, I think it might be more comfortable than sleeping in my dress clothes.”
He grinned. “Or you could sleep in nothing.”
I laughed and stepped away from him. “Yeah, no.”
“Alright, let me get you something.” He disappeared into his room as I went to get a bottle for Devon.
The kitchen was a little more organized now, and all of Devon’s bottles were stacked neatly in rows like little soldiers. I chuckled as that thought crossed my mind. He really did like things orderly. I was almost done when Trevor came back into the room pushing the bassinet. On top of it was a pillow and blanket, along with some clothes.
He had also changed clothes himself, and as he bent over to get Devon out of his seat, my gaze locked on to his backside. Man, he had a sexy ass in those lounge pants.
I brought the bottle out to him, and he held his hand out. “I’ll put pj’s on him and start feeding him while you change clothes.”
I gave him the bottle and then collected the clothing he had brought out for me. In his bathroom, I glanced over the vanity; like the kitchen, everything was neat, not even a drop of toothpaste in the sink. I loved that he was such a clean freak. Was that weird that it turned me on?
