Protecting Her: A Romance Bundle

by Mia Ford

  I stood listening to the ticking of a clock that I couldn’t seem to find on any of the walls. The house smelled like a fresh shower and leftover breakfast, what I assumed most houses smelled like. I usually picked my breakfast up and rarely cooked at my place, but I could still remember what my house smelled like as a child when my mother would wake up early and cook us all breakfast. She loved cooking bacon, and we definitely loved eating it. I wondered many years later if it was because that was all she knew how to make.

  I looked up out of my daze to see Josie walk around the corner. She was clutching a furry pink robe closed in front of her that had seen better days. On her feet, she wore matching fuzzy slippers, and the rose color matched her cheeks. Her hair was dripping wet, and she wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup. I assumed I had pulled her from her shower, and I realized maybe I should have called, after all. Then I wouldn’t have gotten to see her in her all-natural state, which was beyond breathtaking. She looked absolutely amazing, even more amazing than she did all done up at the bar the night before. She smiled at me and slapped her dad on the shoulder as she walked forward.

  “Hey,” she said, confused. “It’s good to see you. Did I leave something in your car last night?”

  “No,” I said, laughing. “I came to check on you. I figured with as much as you had to drink last night, you might feel pretty hungover.”

  A smile spread across Josie’s face when she realized I wasn’t there for any reason other than to see her. She pulled her robe a little tighter and glanced back at her father, obviously not wanting to be too candid in front of him. I still couldn’t believe just how gorgeous this girl was in her all-natural state.

  “Oh,” she said, laughing. “Yeah, I was hurting pretty good this morning. I couldn’t even remember what I had drunk, but my mouth tasted like juice and gummy bears, so I’m assuming the girls went shooter crazy. Nothing a few aspirin and some serious amounts of water couldn’t cure.”

  “You know what my secret cure always was?”

  She walked forward as if I was going to release a huge, hidden secret. “What?”

  “A big, greasy breakfast,” I replied. “There is a place not too far from here if you would let me take you.”

  She looked at me for a second, her eyes glimmering brightly. I could tell she either didn’t completely trust the situation, or she didn’t trust herself, but either way, my easy stance and charming smile would do the trick. I reached over and plucked a piece of lint from her robe and smiled as she blushed.

  “Unless you’ve already eaten,” I said, looking over at the kitchen.

  “No, I cooked my dad breakfast, but at the time, I wasn’t hungry.”

  “So,” I said, stepping forward again. “What do you say? Let me take you out to breakfast.”

  “Okay,” she replied. “Let me change out of this robe and throw my hair up, and we can go. You can sit down if you like. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be out in a jiffy.”

  She turned and walked back toward the bathroom, and I let out a deep sigh, happy that I was going to get to spend some time with her. Was it strange that I was feeling just as excited as she was? This might be a bad thing for my normal routine with women, but at that moment, I just didn’t care.

  4

  Josie

  My morning started with the spins, a super headache from hell, and a serious mental beatdown for my lack of responsibility the night before. I was being that typical girl, wavering between chastising myself and getting giddy as hell every time I thought about the hot sex and even hotter guy that I had hooked up with the night before. I got out of the shower, one of the few private moments I had in my day, and wiped the fog from the mirror. I stared at my tired face and soaking hair, glad to have washed the makeup and booze off my skin. I replayed my drunken state over in my mind, cursing at myself for being so reckless. I had a lot of responsibilities in life, and the last thing I needed to do was get wasted at a bar and end up putting myself in danger.

  Blaine had been such a gentleman, from the moment I started dancing with him, but what if it hadn’t been Blaine? What if one of these skeevy West Palm boys had picked me up? I could have woken up in one of the beatdown areas, surrounded by creeps, and I would have had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Worse than that, I could have really gotten hurt. I was lucky that he showed up when he did. Just as I took a deep breath and thought about Blaine, my father knocked on the door, telling me some guy was there to see me. When I walked around the corner, I was more than shocked to see Blaine’s gorgeous blue eyes looking back at me with a smile on his face.

  Never in a million years did I ever think that I would actually see Blaine again. I figured we would text a few times, try to make plans, and then fade from each other’s memories. I really thought it had been a seriously good one-night stand, but knowing men, there was no way I was going to see him again. But there he was, in all his glory, standing awkwardly in my father’s living room. It was rare to sleep with a guy within the first couple hours of meeting him, and then they actually had some sort of interest in you. I didn’t do that very often, but I was a girl who went to college, and as a social person, it was bound to happen every now and then. I drank way too much the night before, and even when I woke up that morning, I questioned myself as to whether my mind was playing tricks on me or if I had really had Blaine over. When I rolled over in my bed and smelled his cologne, I knew that it had not been a dream at all. Having him standing in my living room, though, was definitely not something I was expecting in the least.

  I looked at him and tilted my head, curious and excited at the same time. Not only had he come over for no particular reason, he wanted to take me to breakfast. I thought for sure I had left something like my wallet or shoes in the car, and he came back to return them, but no, he was really there just to spend time with me. I was starting to feel like I was in the twilight zone, and I half expected him to tell me something crazy over eggs and bacon. I brushed my hair and grimaced at how fluffy it had become from the blow dryer. Having breakfast with this guy wasn’t the normal, everyday Saturday morning for me, and I really wished I had been able to straighten my hair and put on makeup. However, seeing that he was standing in my living room with my crazy father, I figured faster was better. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and smeared some lip gloss on my lips. The last thing I wanted to do was make Blaine wait. He was too damn hot to be standing around, waiting on my ass. Of course, I had to remind myself that he didn’t know me or my situation at all, so I might want to enjoy this because it probably wouldn’t last forever.

  I hurried around the corner and into my bedroom, throwing open my closet and staring at my choices. I didn’t know where he was taking me, so I didn’t want to do a sweatshirt and shorts, but at the same time, I didn’t want to go nuts with a maxi dress and fancy sandals, either. These were the kinds of decisions I would normally mull over for hours, even days, before choosing something, but in the current situation, I needed to grab something and go. I pulled a pink sundress off the hangar and pulled it over my body, looking at how my curves fit the dress perfectly. I nodded my head and smiled, leaning down and slipping a pair of strappy sandals on my feet. I tightened my ponytail and squeezed my cheeks, trying to give myself some sort of color. It was summer in West Palm Beach, and I looked like a damn vampire with my fair skin and dark hair and eyes.

  I looked in the mirror and swished the skirt of my dress back and forth, happy with my choice. I sighed at the bags under my eyes and shrugged, knowing there was nothing I could really do about it at that point. I reached over and grabbed my bag from the night before, making sure I had all my stuff, and headed back out to the living room. As I reached the opening, my father yelled out loudly, spewing a steady stream of curse words into the air. I sighed and took a deep breath as I rounded the corner to see my father still playing the damn game. My cheeks blushed immediately, realizing that Blaine was witnessing the ridiculousness of my father. He didn’t understand my family dynam
ic, and from the look on his face, he was being very understanding of that fact. I leaned over and kissed my father on the top of the head, listening to him grunt in response.

  “I won’t be out too long,” I told my father. “There is egg salad in the fridge if you get hungry. I’m taking the keys to the car with me, so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call my cell. I have it in my purse.”

  “Yeah,” he said gruffly, looking up at me. “Have fun.”

  The fact that my dad forced a smile and tried to be supportive of the fact that a man had come calling was a big step for him. In reality, he never really saw me doing anything out of my normal routine, but I knew that bothered him. However, he was my responsibility, and in order for me to go anywhere and feel comfortable, it took a bit of preparation, almost as if I had a child to take care of. Luckily, my father could make his own meals and generally take care of himself physically. I was more of a guardian than anything.

  “Ready?” I looked up at Blaine and smiled.

  “I am.” He smiled back and walked toward the door.

  He looked over his shoulder to say something to my father but realized he was lost in his computer screen. I closed the door behind us as Blaine escorted me to his bright teal sports car parked out front. Immediately, I remembered thinking about how much I would like this car sober, and my drunk self was right on the money. It was sleek, shiny, sparkly, and had to have been almost brand new. The thing was luxurious and from my limited knowledge of cars, extremely expensive. Seeing that told me one of two things. Either he had a rich daddy, or he had some seriously fat pockets of his own to be able to cruise around in something like that. He definitely was not a West Palm Beach boy. That was for damn sure.

  However, I didn’t really care about his money at all. It was just an observation that helped me start to piece together who Blaine actually was. I couldn’t remember him telling me anything about himself the night before, so in reality, the only thing I could do was piece together who I thought he was, though it was very likely that I was wrong. It didn’t matter at that point, anyway. I was just glad to see him standing there, waiting for me, something I never thought would happen. But I couldn’t deny that his car was pretty sweet.

  Knowing that Blaine was obviously not poor made me a bit nervous about where he was taking me to lunch. I really didn’t like snobby rich people, and I wasn’t dressed to face those kinds of people at the moment. I assumed, though, that he would take me to a fancy brunch place or something, and secretly, I was dreading it. To my surprise, however, we zoomed down the road just a short way and pulled into the parking lot of Hal’s, a greasy spoon type of diner that had the best fried foods in the whole town.

  I had gone there as a teenager with friends, when I could eat whatever I wanted and still have a rocking body. I wasn’t going to lie. I was pretty relieved to be there and not someplace with the rich and the famous of Palm Beach. I was just used to West Palm, no matter what people said about it. It was home, the place I grew up when times were simpler, and it had provided for me ever since then.

  It was definitely more relaxing, knowing I was going to face Blaine on my own turf. He was intimidating enough as it was.

  He walked around the car and opened my door, reaching down to help me out. As my hand moved across his, I could feel the electricity sparking through us. I stood up and straightened my dress, feeling his eyes on me. I linked my arm into his, and we walked inside, grabbing a booth in the back corner for a little bit of privacy. We both ordered a big sloppy burger and greasy fries. Then we sat back, talked, and ate for quite a bit of time. He was so funny and charming, and I felt that his candor was refreshing, even if it did take me by surprise at first. It was quickly becoming apparent that I liked him more and more.

  “What do you do?” I asked.

  “You can’t hold it against me if I tell you,” he said, chuckling. “I’m a lawyer. It was my parents’ firm.”

  “That’s awesome,” I said, impressed. “Do your parents still work there?”

  His face went blank, and I could tell he was guarding himself against me. I sat back and thought about apologizing, but if he wanted to get to know me, then he needed to start opening up, too. I wasn’t upset. I just wanted to know this stuff because it was important. He took a deep breath and softened his face.

  “My parents both died in a boating accident in my first year of law school,” he said with an embarrassed smile.

  “I’m so sorry,” I replied, feeling like I should have stepped back. “Were you at school?”

  “No,” he said with a deep breath. “Actually, I was there. I was the only one that made it out alive.”

  “That’s terrible,” I said, shaking my head. “Well, at least we still have you. You saved me from myself last night.”

  I lightened up the mood and breathed a deep breath as his face turned to laughter. We spent several hours enjoying our food and talking. This guy had my attention, and he had it good.

  5

  Blaine

  I had always been such a guarded person, never opening up to anyone. I kept everything close to my chest, even to some of my closest friends. My inability to open up to people had gotten the best of me on many occasions, but at the same time, I had carefully crafted my walls so that I didn’t allow myself to get close to women, especially ones that were as easy to talk to as Josie. There was just something about her that made me feel incredibly comfortable. She was kind, caring, and extremely empathetic, something I was not used to with the women that I normally hooked up with. They were interested in my wallet, not my heart, and they were not looking for complications. I was a giant ball of complications since I found it important to keep people at bay. I didn’t want to be hurt, not after going through what I did with my parents. I also knew these women would expect me to be the bigshot lawyer, something I was not interested in whatsoever. However, sitting across from Josie and staring into her eyes, I couldn’t help the words that just kept spilling out of my mouth. I wanted to tell her everything, and I had little restraint.

  “Ever since my parents died,” I said, looking down as she reached across the table and covered my hands. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been drifting.”

  “Why do you think that is?”

  “I wish I knew,” I said, smiling and taking a deep breath. “I don’t mind law, but financial law is really boring. I know it my parents’ business, but I have pretty much no interest in it at all. I find myself making excuses to get out of it, not caring that I’m living off the partners and my inheritance. I was so on track when they were alive, though I still wasn’t planning on working for their firm. I wanted to change lives, not wallets, and I hate the big corporate aspect of it all.”

  “Have you talked about maybe selling your part of the firm?”

  “I could never do that,” I said, looking down. She grasped my hands tighter. “It is really the only thing I have left of them. It was their legacy, the company they built from the ground up. I remembered being a small child and my father working for someone else. When he and my mother split off to start their firm, it was like he changed for the better. I couldn’t sell that off. It was the man and woman behind the name that made it valuable to me, not the actual firm.”

  “I’m sorry you have to go through this,” she said with a kind grin. “I am sure, though, once you have worked through this, you will see that you have much more of your parents than just their law firm.”

  “I hope so,” I said, looking at her beautiful face.

  “I understand that family problems can hit you hard,” she responded. “They can cut you down to the core and really change who you are as a person. My mother left when I was a sophomore in high school. My father, he has a serious gambling problem, and he put our family in a really bad spot. He’s gotten better because he has no choice, but she wanted me to come with her. In the end, I just couldn’t think about leaving my dad all by himself. Sometimes, I think about the what-ifs. What if I had gone with
her? How different would my life have been? But I still wouldn’t change anything, except maybe get my father a little bit more help earlier on. He pretty much gambled away everything we had, and now, he is jobless and struggling. I support us on my salary, but I still can’t seem to get through to him some days. It’s like the addiction takes over, and he is another person.”

  Everything was starting to make sense, from her comments last night, to the small house in West Palm, and the way her grumpy father sat at the computer, playing online poker games. Her inability to go out on a regular basis was completely clear, and I realized that she was the one taking care of everything. I admired just how kind she was. I went through my life, forcing myself to not care about anyone, just doing what was best for me. All the while, this beautiful girl was across the city, caring about everyone she came in contact with, even me with my sad story. She didn’t know me from Adam, but she sat there and listened to my story, comforting me whenever she could. She had been through hell and back with her family, and I couldn’t imagine having to take care of a grown man while in high school. She’d been just a child.