Moose flipped on every light in the downstairs as he moved to close the back door. There was no one on this level.
He held his finger to his lips to indicate she should be quiet. He was fairly certain they were alone but he wanted to be sure. He crept upstairs and did a sweep before coming down.
“Gone. Let’s call the police right now.”
“Do we need to?”
“Chloe, of course we need to.”
“I don’t think he took anything.”
“Yeah, well, that’s not the point. Do you want me to call it in?”
She nodded and stayed firmly planted in place while he called.
“I can’t believe he did this,” she said in barely more than a whisper when he hung up the phone.
“It looks like he didn’t take anything. I’d say he’s making a point.”
“What’s that point exactly? He can get in and mess with my life?”
“Pretty much,” Moose said, pulling her in for a big hug. She felt so small and vulnerable in his arms. She’d had a great day and now it was trashed. What a freaking coward this guy was.
They were still standing that way when the local police turned up a few minutes later.
A burly man in his twenties came in the door.
“Chloe? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Dave, just a little shaken.”
“Well, of course, you don’t expect this in our town,” he said. “And you are?”
His eyes were on Moose and he looked like he thought maybe he was the criminal here. “This is Tom, Dave.”
“Ah, the new fiancé. It’s a coincidence you showing up and now this.”
That seemed to help Chloe find some fire. “Dave. We’ve been together all day and there’s just no way . . . okay?”
“Okay. Sorry. I’m protective of my friends,” he said.
“No offense taken. Just doing your job,” Moose answered.
“We play poker together,” he said. “She’s very good.”
One more thing Moose learned about Chloe. His sweet Christian girlfriend was a card shark.
Chloe wasn’t sure how she felt explaining to Dave that this was more than likely her skeevy ex-boyfriend’s work. She was humiliated that she had to come clean about her past life. She hadn’t even really had a chance to tell Tom the full story. Well, that wasn’t true. She’s had plenty of chances, she just had avoided taking them. She didn’t want him to think any less of her for her poor judgment.
How could he not think she was a fool? He’d seen Viper and now he’d seen him in action.
She wondered if the truth would drive Tom away. It should. He should get into his fancy truck with its heated seats and go straight back to his resort because having her in his life was not going to be a good thing. She had poor judgment and she brought trouble with her.
“Okay, we’re going to be looking out for this guy,” Dave said. “I don’t want you alone, Chloe, if you can avoid it. We’ll do drive-bys here and at the ice-cream parlor to be sure. If you discover anything is missing, too, let me know.”
“We will,” she said.
And two hours after she and Tom had arrived back, they were alone again. The kitchen was less of a mess than the living room where the sofa and all the cushions had been slashed. The police felt like the assailant had been disturbed, so while the contents of a few draws in the kitchen had been emptied not much else had been touched. Chloe slumped down at the kitchen table, thoroughly defeated.
“Here you go, honey. Have this.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, Irish cream, I think. Found it in your uncle’s liquor cabinet.” She noticed he was opting for a beer. Still, the sticky sweet liquor was just what she needed. How did he know? “I chose that over the peach schnapps for you. This has been some day.”
“Yeah.” It felt like a lifetime ago that she was sitting on the stairs watching him work out. “It certainly has.”
“I’m just glad we moved so much Elvis stuff in the basement earlier so it wasn’t trashed. That was lucky.”
Lucky. That wasn’t exactly the word she would have used to describe how she felt. Not by a long shot. The man was a thesaurus away from his destination there. Still, she admired his attitude. “You certainly do look on the bright side.”
“Yeah, well, I am really trying to find that silver lining right now. I’d really like to find your friend Viper and teach him some manners.”
“He’s not my friend,” she mumbled. “And please don’t do anything foolish on my account.”
“Lucky for him I’m not that guy.”
She drained her glass. Her lips felt cold and numb; she really wasn’t a drinker but when her glass was topped up she didn’t refuse. Lord knows doing the right thing didn’t seem to be serving her well.
“So were you and Viper, like . . . together?”
“Together?” She didn’t quite get his meaning.
“Was he your boyfriend?” His voice was a low rumble.
She knew the answer he wanted, and the truth was he had never been her boyfriend. He’d been using her. She’d thought he liked her but he hadn’t, not really. That was almost more embarrassing than the rest of the story.
She shook her head. “We were never dating. Not in the way you imagine anyway.”
“Is there another way to date?”
She nodded. “Sadly, there is.”
“Okay, well, I look forward to hearing that story on another day, Chloe, but right now you need to go and get some sleep.”
“What about you?”
“I’m not tired and I need to check some work stuff online anyway. This seems like the perfect time.”
“Okay, if you are sure.”
She stood to go. “Tomorrow will be better, Chloe.”
“Most of today was pretty great, Tom. I don’t know how I can ever thank you for all you’ve done for me.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I’m happy I’m able to be here to help.”
He leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead. It was tender and gentle and made her want to cry all over again.
Tom had a whole lot of pent-up energy to burn. First of all, he wanted to punch someone. Not someone, actually he wanted to punch Viper. He was not a man prone to violence but he would be more than happy to make an exception in this case. Lucky for both him and Viper, the other guy was nowhere around.
On top of that, he’d been near Chloe all day, and being a gentleman, not touching, not pulling her into his arms and kissing her every few minutes, had taken a lot of restraint. He had touched her a bit, a hand here, a hug there but he couldn’t quite help it and they were supposed to be engaged. But it wasn’t enough.
Still, the more time he spent with Chloe the more obvious it was that she was scared and closed off and her experience with relationships was next to nothing. Letting him stay here was a big risk and he understood that. If he got handsy or overly physical, she was going to freak out. He could also tell that her natural instinct tonight had been to run. Had he not been here he suspected she would be in her car driving as far away from the town as fast as she could.
That would have been bad for two reasons. First, he didn’t think she could outrun Viper, and second, it seemed like she finally had a home here. She didn’t go out all that much, but she had Marissa and the Kowalski brothers who seemed to care for her, and while she had been quietly going about her business, the town had been keeping an eye on her. Who would do that if she left? Here she had a home and a business.
First, he booted up his computer and did a quick email check. There were a few things to deal with but they could wait. Once he was certain she was tucked up in bed, he set about tidying the downstairs up as best he could. It was hard to fix a sofa with slashed cushions so he flipped them over and threw away all the throw pillows and extra pieces that were broken. A few Elvises had lost their lives tonight.
Two hours later, energy spent, he sat down to take care of his emails. At
least now he had some focus. Not as much as he needed but some.
He realized he didn’t have a clean shirt for the next day, so he peeled off his clothes again and did a load of washing. So it was that when he padded up the stairs to bed he was once again in nothing but boxers when he bumped straight into Chloe in the hallway.
“Oh my,” was all she said as her body bumped up against his naked chest.
“Are you okay?” he said, placing a hand on each of her forearms to steady her.
In the darkness, he could feel her breathing catch.
“I’m . . . fine. Water.” She cleared her throat. “Just getting water.”
“Oh, right.” He didn’t let go of her. She was wearing that ridiculous onesie again, he could tell by the feel of the fluffy fabric. “Sorry to bump into you.”
“You’re fine. It’s two in the morning. Are you just going to bed?”
“Yeah, I had stuff to do.”
“Won’t you be tired?” Her gentle voice was full of concern.
“Probably not. I usually function on only a few hours’ sleep. It’s pretty normal for me. When I was a kid, I never slept. I think it’s part of why I’m an only child, my folks probably didn’t want to risk another like me.”
“I’m sure they adored you,” she said, not attempting to move away.
“Yeah. But I exhausted them. Different parents would have medicated me but they just kept me very, very busy.”
“They sound like good people.”
“The best.” He could smell the sweet smell of her shampoo and feel her warm breath against his chest. She was too close for comfort. Even in that ridiculous onesie. “Well, good night.”
“Yeah, good night,” she murmured.
Chapter 7
It was late afternoon and despite the lack of sleep she’d had, tossing and turning in a mix of pleasant and sexy dreams about a half-naked Tom and scary nightmares about Viper, she had to admit it was another good day. She had a much better handle on how to work the espresso machine today, and while the crowd was just as big as the day before, she was able to churn the coffees out at a much faster rate. In fact, being surrounded by happy laughing customers and working side-by-side with Tom, who seemed to have charmed the whole town in a couple of days, was about the most fun she’d had in years.
Of course, her break-in had been the talk of the town. Tom had easily said they were sure it was just random, because he knew she didn’t want the whole town knowing about a past she couldn’t even bring herself to explain to him. Having him here helping her felt good.
The problem was it felt too good. When she looked up at him and he gave her that sexy smile that made her toes curl and her insides dance, it felt great. When he put his hand in the small of her back as he moved past her, it felt amazing. When she heard his booming laugh across the room, she felt safe. And when he caught her eye in a certain way, with a certain glint, she felt beautiful. She wasn’t used to feeling any of those things and she surely wasn’t used to feeling all of them at once. It was overwhelming and she was terrified by how great it felt because she knew it was permanent. Part of her wanted to steel herself for the crash that would come and another part told her to just live in the moment.
When Tom snuck out to the library after school to use their Wi-Fi and her part-time employee came in, everything went fine, but she was aware of his absence, which was just plain crazy. How could she have gotten so attached to the man in a couple of days?
He had chosen that time because he knew the place would be full of teens, hungry to try vanilla lattes and other creamy concoctions.
“This is so great,” Annie her part-timer said, handing her the slip with an order for coffees. “I mean, look at this place.”
“Yeah, it is. Although, we’re not selling many ice creams for an ice-cream parlor.”
“A few days ago, we were empty and we weren’t selling much of anything at all. All my friends are so jealous I get to work here now.”
She smiled at her. Annie was seventeen and so confident. Chloe couldn’t imagine being that confident at that age. She was friendly and good at her job, but she also had a great time flirting with the football players and laughing with her friends. She didn’t need the extra boost of a cool job but she had it anyway. Her other part-timer Katie, Lucy’s young niece, was much more timid and more like Chloe had been as a teen. Katie was only thirteen and maybe she’d be more like Annie later. Looking at Annie carrying out the coffees, she looked more comfortable in the tight-fitting retro-style uniform than Chloe was.
She remembered when she started here and her uncle had shown her the uniform and how mortified she’d been to wear it.
“Honey, that uniform sells ice creams. You need to wear it with confidence,” he’d said as she’d come out with her shoulders hunched forward and eyes down. “My parlor is about fun and escape, and yes, ice cream, but friendly waitresses are part of the deal.”
She hadn’t wanted to disappoint her uncle, especially not when he was giving her a home and a job. She never thought much about the uniform these days but that had taken a while.
Annie was back. “So, Chloe, I didn’t even know you were dating anyone and now it’s all over town that you’re engaged.”
Chloe just smiled at her. “Yeah, I’m great at keeping secrets.”
Tom came back in the door, his large frame filling the doorway.
“That’s a big secret to keep,” the girl whispered. And then she sashayed straight up to Tom and introduced herself. He didn’t seem to care that the girl was brazenly checking him out or that the other teens in the shop were too. But she cared. Confident was one thing, but he was hers, at least in the eyes of the town. She rang her bell to let Annie know there was an order to pick up. And the girl scurried back.
Tom leaned over the counter to her. “Miss me?”
She had to smile. The truth was she absolutely had. “You were only gone a little while.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said with a stare that seemed to see through to her soul.
“I did.”
“Excellent.” His big grin came back. “And I come with good news.”
“More?” She didn’t know if she could handle any more good news.
“Yes. I’ve got your store hooked up to Wi-Fi. In a couple of days it will be anyway.”
“Wasn’t that expensive?” She had priced it herself a while back.
“Nah, I was able to do it through the resort account. We’re a big client so they cut me a deal.”
“You can’t pay for it, Tom!” Seriously, he needed to pull back a bit.
“Of course I can.”
“I pay my own way, always,” she said. Aware that she sounded both bitchy and ungrateful. She couldn’t be bought and she couldn’t have him swooping in like a knight in shining armor saving her. He’d be gone in a few days, and what then? He didn’t want to be paying her bills for her.
“We’ll talk about it later,” he said. Apparently, he either didn’t hear her or didn’t care.
“No, Tom. We’ll talk about it now.”
“Oh, our first fight,” he said, grinning at her.
“We’re not fighting. I’m telling you that you can’t just come in and pay for things for my business. Even if you are well-intentioned.”
“Okay. I’ll send you the bill.” He shrugged. Really, was it that easy?
“You will?”
“If you want me to I will. It’s not necessary, but I don’t want you to feel railroaded, Chloe. I’m not that kind of fiancé.” Then he leaned right across the counter and kissed her fair on the mouth.
Although she was shocked, she leaned into the kiss and realized she’d wanted him to kiss her, willing him to since that first kiss two days ago. This was a gentle, sweeter kiss, but her heart still did a little flip and the warmth of his touch spread from her lips to the top of her head.
He pulled back and gave her another of those grins. She was aware the town’s entire teen populati
on was staring at her, and for once, she was okay with being the center of attention, because the truth was he was a fine-looking man and there were worse things than having a guy like that show an interest in you.
“Forgiven?” he asked.
She could hardly remember what he’d even done to ask for forgiveness.
Moose was walking back to the library to do a little more work, having Wi-Fi at Two Scoops would make it so much easier for him to hang around. He was whistling a happy tune. He’d just kissed Chloe and it had been sweet. She tasted like coffee and ice cream and she hadn’t pulled back. Progress perhaps?
His phone rang and it was Chase.
“Hey, buddy.”
“Hey, Chase, what’s up?”
“A little bird tells me you’re in a certain small New Hampshire town and you are engaged to the local ice-cream girl. Is that bird singing a true song?”
“Kind of.”
“Dude, I know you had a crush but this seems extreme.”
“Maybe, but it’s more complicated than it is extreme, and I can’t really discuss it now.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. She just needs someone right now.”
“Yeah, well, you love to be a hero so I guess you’re the guy for the job,” his friend joked.
“Can I ask a question?”
“Shoot. You told me you had a private investigator tracking Lucy’s sister . . . could you send me his details?”
“Sure. But if you’re looking into your fiancée’s past, a word to the wise: You may not like what you find.”
“No, it’s not her, it’s . . . complicated.”
“Okay. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll send his details through.”
“Thanks.”
“Lucy and I are coming up this weekend to see the kids, so if you’re still around, maybe I can help you uncomplicate things.”
“Sure. That sounds great.”
Moose thought about what Chase had said. The truth was he was looking into Viper not Chloe but he was bound to find out her involvement as well. Then again, what did he even know about her? He was a guy who went by instinct, but she was not exactly forthcoming with details about Viper or why he was in town looking for her. Moose didn’t know what Viper was after or why. Now that he thought about it, he needed some answers.
Any Way You Want It : An Upper Crust Series Novel (The Upper Crust Series Book 5) Page 5
