“I don’t want to start something new with lies and secrets,” I carefully explained. “I know Annie will have a good reason for contacting Phillip, and perhaps it is none of my business, but I hope she would want me to know and trust me with whatever is going on.” Braiden nodded in agreement. “Behave yourselves while I’m gone,” I muttered, heading for the garage.
“We won’t wait up,” Braiden called out.
By the time I pulled up in front of Annie’s apartment, I had decided I needed to know what was going on with her and Phillip, but I wanted her to tell me. It would be a sign that she trusted me, and I needed that sign. Even though the wall between Annie and me was slowly falling down, I needed more. Collecting the roses from the passenger seat, I left my jacket behind and smoothed down my dress shirt. I was as nervous as a goddamn virgin about to get his cherry popped, and no matter how hard I tried to force my composure, it just wasn’t going to happen. Annie was the only woman to ever wrap me up in knots. She had bathed me with her sunshine and warmth, and now I was addicted to it. I just needed her trust, and I hoped she was brave enough to give it to me.
Chapter 9
Annie
I swept the last strand of hair off my neck and pinned it in place. A healthy dose of hair spray later, I stood back and admired my form in Eli’s cracked mirror. The dress I wore had a decidedly Grecian goddess flair, pinned to one shoulder with a rhinestone arrangement. It featured a shutter-pleated bodice, which cleverly added volume, while the empire cut created the illusion of height. With an overlay that draped gracefully in front and sprinkled with silvery sequins, the black dress with its silver shimmer was graceful and stunning. I had never worn anything like it. I knew if I’d returned to the car that day back in Holton Springs without shopping bags, Dillon would have walked me back inside and demanded I bought something. I had found it on a clearance rack, half the usual price. It was still way outside the realm of anything I could ever afford, but I had thrown caution and sensibility to the wind and was now more than a little grateful. The dress looked spectacular. It made me feel like a Greek goddess, and since this was my first ball and first date with Dillon, I needed all the bolstering I could get. Between the nervous flutter in my chest over my first date with Dillon and the constant worry about the threatening phone call from yesterday, I was a mess. Eli had only been gone two hours, and I had already called Rebecca and Charlie’s three times to check on him.
“Wow, that dress is beautiful,” whispered Gabbie, startling me. I glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She looked . . . stunning. Tall, svelte, and seductive in a strapless, red satin dress that wrapped around her curves like a smooth flowing sheet of water, she was the embodiment of perfection. Gabbie’s skin was a delicious sun-kissed bronze, and her dark hair hung to her waist, perfectly straight, not a single kink or wave. She was everything I wasn’t. And she was looking at me with something akin to longing. We looked at each other and sighed. “You’re gorgeous, you’re slim, you positively glow,” she said a little solemnly. “You are perfect.”
I gawked at her.
“Are you serious?” I asked. “Gabbie, you have the most amazing curves. Your breasts, my god, you actually have breasts, and your legs are like a thousand feet long. Your skin is flawless, not even a damn freckle. If anyone in this room is even close to perfect, it’s you.” We stared at each other a moment before both smiling. “We are never happy with what we have, are we?” I chuckled.
“Screw that,” Gabbie said, throwing a hand dramatically in the air. “We are amazing, we are beautiful, and we are going to walk into that ball with the most handsome almost-bachelor in Claymont.” She leaned into the mirror to check her makeup.
“Almost bachelor?” I wondered.
Gabbie snorted. “Everyone knows that man only has eyes for one woman.” Gabbie fought a grin, almost daring me to disagree.
“He’s crazy. I come with more baggage than an airplane hangar. He should be with someone normal.”
“There’s no such thing as normal.” Gabbie pulled away from the mirror. “And everyone has baggage.” Her teasing spirit seemed to dull under memories. I didn’t know Gabbie that well, but it was no secret that she had lost her husband only a few short years ago.
“What was his name?” I found myself asking.
Gabbie seemed surprised by my question, but her tender smile told me she wasn’t offended by it. “Jase,” she said with a wistful sigh.
“What was he like?”
Gabbie’s gaze was distant with obvious memories. “He was everything I wasn’t, calm, tender, playful, romantic. He wasn’t on the force. He was a teacher and therefore completely untainted by the world I lived in. He was always optimistic, a cup-half-full kind of guy.” Her distant gaze crossed to mine. “He was the kind of man who would wait up all night for me to come home from work, even if it meant he worked the next day with little to no sleep. He would serve me pancakes in bed every Sunday morning, and he would stop to kiss me no matter where we were, because he said he just had to.” Her eyes shone with unshed tears.
“He sounds amazing.” Gabbie simply nodded. “He sounds like the type of man who wouldn’t want you to be unhappy, who would want you to move on and live life to the fullest.”
She sighed heavily. “That’s exactly the kind of man he was.” She turned and left Eli’s room, and I followed her to the living area where we both gathered our purses. Dillon was due any moment.
“What about Bomber?” I finally asked. “He seems quite taken with you.”
Gabbie laughed and shook her head. “Bomber is too arrogant, and he has a protective streak a mile long. He would want to wrap me in bubble wrap and tuck me away in a box. That’s not who I am. I love what I do. Jase supported what I did; even though it scared him, he never stopped me from being who I am.”
“I think you’re wrong. Bomber isn’t the type of man to shelve a woman. Yes, he would want to protect you, but he’d never stop you from being the woman you are. I think that’s part of the reason he looks at you the way he does. He admires you.”
At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and Gabbie smiled.
“Saved by the bell,” she murmured as she moved to open the door.
Suddenly, I felt too nervous, too hot, too exposed. I fidgeted with my little black purse and shuffled on uncertain feet. As the door opened wide, the breath was dragged from my body in an audible whoosh. Dillon looked stunning. In an immaculate black suit with his silver tie in place, clean shaven, short hair finger combed with messy yet deliberate purpose, he was the epitome of male perfection. In one hand, he carried a bouquet of roses, and I wondered how I hadn’t seen him collect them from Rebecca’s today—he wouldn’t dare purchase flowers from anyone other than Rebecca. Gabbie, in her equally exquisite splendor, stood to one side, watching Dillon whose eyes were fastened to me. He was frozen in place, his jaw slightly agape as he took a long leisurely stroll from my black heels to the elegant hair swept off my neck. I blushed, unable to not be affected by his hungry gaze.
Gabbie smiled, looking from Dillon to me. “I feel like such a third wheel. I should have sucked it up and let Daniel take me to the ball.” That seemed to break the spell. Dillon grinned and stepped into the room.
“Is it too cliché to say I feel as though I’ve just stepped into heaven and I’m surrounded by angels?”
“Yes,” Gabbie chuckled.
“Wicked angels,” Dillon said, giving her a quick, playful wink. He leaned forward and gave Gabbie a chaste kiss on the cheek, handing her the bouquet of pink roses. “I’ve been told to make sure you are aware that pink roses represent admiration and gratitude.”
Gabbie blushed as she took the flowers from him. It was such a beautiful gesture I couldn’t find it in me to be jealous.
When his grey eyes settled on mine, he stepped forward, a single, red rose in his hand. He gave it a quick inspection before walking towards me. “I was worried it might have got damaged,” he explained nervously, offeri
ng it to me. “This one, I think, is pretty self-explanatory.” I found myself speechless as Dillon stood confidently before me, his hands in his pockets. “But just in case, it represents beauty, courage, respect . . . and love.”
I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t speak.
Gabbie cleared her throat from somewhere behind us. “I might just wait in the hallway.”
It snapped me into action, and even though I wanted to lean forward and kiss the ever loving life right out of him, I settled for a chaste kiss on the cheek and stepped away to fetch a vase for the flowers. I didn’t dare look at either of them. I had taken the coward’s way out, and I didn’t want to see the pity in Gabbie’s eyes or the frustration in Dillon’s.
“When did you become such a romantic, Boss?” Gabbie broke the silence.
“My sisters,” Dillon explained. “And romance movies.”
“You watch romance movies?” Gabbie gasped, shocked. She came up beside me and gave my shoulder a gentle nudge before placing her flowers in the vase I had just filled with water.
“Can you picture Dillon sitting at home in front of his big, fancy TV watching The Notebook?”
A small snort slipped out as I chuckled. “Oddly enough, I can. He’s a big softy at heart.”
“Hey now, you’re going to damage my street cred talking like that. I’m all badass and there isn’t anything soft about me.”
Gabbie burst out laughing, and I quickly followed. Dillon blushed, his words quite obviously not meant the way both Gabbie and I took them. He regathered quickly, though, his grin wide and cheeky.
“Now, enough talking about my manhood. We need to get going or we’ll be late.”
“There is nothing wrong with a man watching romance,” Gabbie murmured as we stepped out into the corridor. “If more men watched chick flicks, they might have a better chance of knowing what a woman really wants in a man.”
Alison and Stephan were walking down the narrow hall towards us, both looking a little harried. They eyed my companions with suspicion.
“Wow, Annie, you look incredible.” Alison said, any stress she had shown moments ago disappearing under her familiar friendly smile.
“Thank you,” I replied awkwardly. “A rare night out without Eli. I feel like I’m missing a limb,” I chuckled.
“Where is the little tyke?” Stephan asked, glancing around to peer into my apartment as I pulled the door closed.
“He’s staying with friends tonight,” I admitted as Dillon took my hand.
“You both have a nice night,” Dillon said, gently pulling me down the hallway.
“You too,” Alison called out.
Peering back over my shoulder, I watched Alison tug on Stephan’s hand, and he followed her into their apartment. They really did seem like such a nice couple. Perhaps I should invite them over for dinner.
“They are odd,” Gabbie quietly confessed. Dillon grunted his accord.
“They’re harmless. They adore Eli because they can’t have children of their own. They spoil him rotten,” I whispered.
“My favorite is Speed,” Dillon said, changing the topic rather abruptly.
Gabbie smiled, her perfect, white teeth bright behind her deep red lipstick. “That’s not a romance!”
“Of course it is. They totally hook up and kiss at the end, and in case you didn’t realize it, the heroine’s name was Annie.” Dillon winked as he opened the passenger door for me.
“What’s your favorite, Annie?” Gabbie asked as she carefully sat into the backseat.
I thought about it for a moment. I wasn’t the world’s biggest movie buff, but I liked romance. “Meet Joe Black. Brad Pitt in that movie . . . oh, lord, it still gives me tingles.”
Dillon raised a brow.
“Oh, that’s a good one,” purred Gabbie.
“What about you, Gabriella?” asked Dillon.
“I hate romance. My favorite movie is Silence of the Lambs.”
“Gabbie, that movie is scary as hell.”
“I know, right? It puts the lotion on its skin,” she said, quoting the movie as I fought a shiver. I hated horror movies; I’d seen enough horror in my life.
“You have sisters?” I asked Dillon, changing the subject. I realized then I knew very little about his family.
“I have two older sisters,” he said, sliding into the driver’s seat. “I learned pretty early on that dealing with females takes a certain amount of diplomacy and sometimes gentle persuasion.”
“Is that so?” The tone in Gabbie’s voice made Dillon shift uncomfortably in his seat.
“Mostly I learned to pay attention and listen. After all . . . they are the wiser and more supreme of the species in almost every way.” Dillon grinned triumphantly, and Gabbie rolled her eyes. “Impressive, right?” Dillon whispered my way.
“I think you layered it on a little thick,” I remarked dryly.
“What do you mean ‘almost every way’?” Gabbie asked.
Dillon’s eyes shot to the rearview mirror before focusing back on the road ahead. “Well,” Dillon carefully began, “I’ve never met a woman who can handle barbequing as good as me.” Gabbie snorted, but kept quiet. “And we can pee standing up.” Gabbie tried to muffle her laughter, and it came out a tight, choked sound. The playful banter between Gabbie and Dillon helped settle my nerves. It had been far too long since I had dressed up. It was my first ever formal event, and I was going as Dillon’s date. I wanted to forget my worries, just for one night. I wanted this, and someone was trying to take it away from me. Fear was a darkness that surrounded me, no matter how hard I tried to push it away. Were these so called men watching me now? Were they watching Eli? God, I shouldn’t be here. I should be at home. Eli should be with me so I could protect him. What the hell was wrong with me? Now wasn’t the time for fancy dresses and social outings; now was the time to lock down the hatches and protect what’s mine! My fingers were locked together in a vice like grip as I tried to settle the panic attack that threatened to swallow me.
Chapter 10
Dillon
I could tell the moment Annie started to lose her composure—her face was pale, a light beading of perspiration was on her brow, and her fingers were gripping onto each other in a white knuckled grasp. Her chest rose and fell as she attempted to draw air into her lungs. We had already reached the large, sprawling vineyard that was hosting the fundraiser. Rather than try and find a parking spot close to the entrance, I pulled my Chevy into the first spot I found. Jumping from the driver’s seat, I ignored Gabbie’s questioning stare as I rounded the car and opened Annie’s door.
“Swing your legs around, Sunshine,” I encouraged, helping her move her legs so they were planted firmly on the ground. Then I pushed her head down to her knees. “Big, deep breaths,” I murmured as I kneeled before her. I felt Gabbie’s presence behind me but concentrated solely on Annie. “That’s my girl.” With my hand on her back, I could feel her take long, deep breaths. After another minute, Annie sat up with a little more color in her cheeks, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.
“Sorry,” she whispered, clearly embarrassed.
“No apology necessary, sweetheart. You and I have been here before. There is nothing for you to be ashamed of.” And we had been here before. I’d guided Annie through several panic attacks, but it had been a long time since her last one. My stomach coiled with tension as I wondered what had set it off. “Maybe we should have taken this a bit slower, dinner and movie,” I wondered out loud.
Annie’s laughter drew my attention. “Dillon, any slower and we wouldn’t be moving.” I grinned and her worried eyes softened. She glanced over my shoulder. “Sorry for the freak out, Gabbie. I guess I’m more nervous about tonight than I thought.”
She was lying; her eyes darted away, and she shivered as she took in the shadows around us. I found myself searching the hidden spots, looking for signs of movement. Annie’s anxiety was rubbing off on me, but the jumpy look in her eyes was real and made me won
der if her worries were, too. Was she in some sort of trouble? Had Phillip threatened her? It was the only thing I could think of, and it made the way she had been acting the last twenty-four hours make sense. If there was a chance that Phillip was coming for Annie and Eli, then we shouldn’t be out in public like this. Suddenly, I felt too exposed.
Gabbie easily waved her words off. “Annie, I go into a panic attack every time I look at a pair of heels!”
Annie managed a nervous laugh, and when she began to stand, I took her hand in a tight grip. It only took us a couple of minutes to reach the wide steps to the sweeping front porch of the exclusive estate. We were a good fifteen minutes late, so a few people lingered out front. By the time we reached the ushers at the doorway, Annie seemed to have regained her coloring, and she was a whole lot steadier on her feet. I, on the other hand, felt off balance and unprepared.
“Let me text Larz, just to let him know we are about to make our grand entrance,” Gabbie said with a playful smile.
“You sure you’re okay? We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. We can go get Eli and grab some ice cream or something,” I whispered in Annie’s ear.
She squeezed my hand and offered me a grateful smile. “As tempting as that is, I’m okay. Mercy’s has done a lot for me; the least I can do is show my support by coming along tonight.”
Gabbie turned her dark brown eyes on us, her smile full of delight. “Okay, show time.”
The girls took an arm each as I escorted them into the building. I pushed the nervous apprehension away and put on my game face, watching for anything out of the ordinary. The foyer was easily the length of the entire building, and a few guests loitered with glasses of champagne. The giant double doors that led to the wide open reception hall stood open, giving us a clear view of the crowd that mingled within. Front and center stood Larz, Drew, Parker, Samuel, and one brooding Bomber. Annie held on a little tighter as we moved through the doors and towards my team.
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