Gunnar's Guardian

by Pandora Pine

  “That doesn’t help much,” I groaned.

  “Here’s what we know. From what Mom and Dad say, he’s a good kid, err, guy. He’s not out to take advantage of you and they said he was truly grateful for the help. Ozzy loves him too. Says he’s the best noob he’s ever had. Said Gunnar does everything he’s asked without complaint.” Hennessey shrugged his broad shoulders. “If you ask me, those are two ringing endorsements right there, but the final decision is yours. Do you want to risk your heart again?”

  My brother made several good points. I hadn’t thought about what our parents and Ozzy thought of him. I could only imagine that after what happened last night at the fire scene, with Gunnar helping to keep Dillon McMasters from tampering with the scene, that Ozzy would be even more over the moon about Gunnar. If I were honest with myself, I’d also have to admit I hadn’t seen any red warning flags about the kid. Yet, my traitorous brain supplied.

  I pushed that last thought aside. “I think I could be.”

  “Take him out on a date. A real date. Pay for dinner. See a movie. Kiss him on his doorstep. Go home alone. Jack off.” Hen waggled his bushy blond brows at me.

  “Micah and I never really dated,” I said absently. We fucked like bunnies and called out for pizza. Come to think of it, we ate a lot of fucking pizza during that time. We never cooked for each other or really talked. All we did was have sex.

  “I remember that,” Hennessey said quietly. “We all knew he was bad news, but you wouldn’t listen.”

  I could see the sadness in my brother’s eyes. It was clear how much Hen loved me. I’d been so angry at him when he and the others told me Micah was no good. We’d almost come to blows over it. When things ended with him getting a job with the Boston Police Department, not only did I lose the man I thought I was in love with, but I’d had some bridge-mending to do with my brothers. None of them made it easy. Those were some dark-ass days. “What if it happens again?”

  Hen sighed. He reached over the bar to give my shoulders a shake. “One day at a time, man. One day at a time.”

  It was odd that my brother was quoting the AA motto to me in the middle of his bar. “Thanks, Dr. Phil.” I snorted, and before long we were laughing like loons.

  “No one knows what tomorrow is going to bring. Be happy in this moment, but keep your eyes open all the same.”

  Hennessey wasn’t wrong. Get lost in the moment, but not so lost that you can’t see the forest for the trees. “This is why I came to see you, man.”

  “I know. Ozzy would have told you to fuck Gunnar until your dick fell off and Dallas would have told you to walk away now while you still had a chance.”

  Again, my brother hit the nail on the head. I wasn’t the only one in the family who’d nursed a broken heart or two over the last few years. My mother had convinced herself she was never going to be a Mimi. My father had gotten her a rescue kitten from the shelter across town hoping it would help. She might not openly talk about grandchildren anymore, but I knew she was still thinking about them. “Thanks, Hennessey. How about some hot wings before I have to leave for work?”

  “Are you sure? How are you supposed to pick up hookers if your car smells like Buffalo wings and stale ass?” His moustache twitched and he started to laugh.

  “Fine, I’ll have a cheeseburger.” When Hen was right. He was right.

  About everything. While he went to give my order to the kitchen, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Gunnar.

  22

  Gunnar

  Date night? It was more like faint night. Christ, Kennedy was going to be here any minute now and I was a fucking wreck. I’d already changed my shirt three times and I still didn’t think I looked good enough for him.

  What the hell kind of game was he playing asking me out on a date anyway? At least I knew where I stood when he was barking out orders and grinding his cock against my ass. Now, I had no fucking clue what to do.

  Ozzy had told me to just act natural, but he’d said it with his trademark shit-eating grin on his face. I had no idea if he was serious or seriously fucking with me.

  Making matters worse was the fact that Kennedy wouldn’t tell me anything about our plans. I didn’t know if we were going to a real restaurant to eat or down to the beach for a picnic. Not that I would be able to eat anyway. My stomach was tossing and turning so hard I was feeling seasick.

  At 7:00 p.m., on the button, my doorbell rang. Before I opened the door, I took one last deep breath to settle myself down. I didn’t want to jump on Kennedy and ruin our night before it got started.

  Kennedy was standing on my doorstep in dress pants and a jacket. It was ninety-one degrees out and he was dressed to the nines. Hell, I was wearing the only pair of jeans I owned without an artful rip in the knee and a tropical shirt with turtles and palm trees.

  We hadn’t seemed so different the other night when we were getting off against Kennedy’s SUV, but in the stark light of day, we were miles apart. “Uh, hi,” I managed to stammer. He looked good enough to eat.

  “These are for you.” Kennedy handed me a small bouquet of coral-colored Gerbera daisies. They were spectacular.

  My breath caught in my throat as I looked back and forth between Kennedy and the flowers. “Come in.” I ushered him inside and moved toward the kitchen. I’d thought it odd when I’d found a small glass vase under my sink when I went looking for a new scrub brush for the dishes. I figured it had been another little gift from David and Mandy. It would come in handy now.

  I could feel Kennedy watching me as I busied myself with the flowers. When I was finished, I set them in the center of the dining table. No one had ever gotten me flowers before. I wasn’t sure what I should do at this point. “They’re gorgeous. Thank you so much. I don’t have anything for you.”

  Kennedy laughed and held his hand out for me. “Yes, you do. You’re going to tell me all about yourself over dinner. Do you like seafood?”

  “I do.” I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I was going out on a date with the best-looking man I’d ever met in my life.

  “Good. I know the perfect place down by the harbor.”

  I’d take Kennedy’s word for that. Even though I’d grown up in Rockport, which was one town over from Gloucester, I didn’t know my new home that well. It was just a place I drove through on the highway to get away from my parents. Gloucester was beginning to feel more like home every day.

  Kennedy escorted me out to his truck, which I’d never seen before. It was this hulking black Ford that I needed to use the running boards to climb up into. “Where have you been hiding this beast?”

  He grinned at me as he hooked his seatbelt. “I keep it in the garage. I mostly use the police SUV. So long as I’m on my way to work or on my way home, it’s okay to pick up a pizza or a bag or two of groceries. It’s been awhile since I took her out for a spin.” Kennedy lovingly caressed the door.

  The truck was top of the line. Leather seats. Full navigation system. I’d seen the tow hitch and the snowplow hook up. I could see Kennedy plowing out his neighbors’ driveway during snowstorms.

  While Kennedy drove, I made sure to notice where he was turning. It was high time I got to know more about this town than how to drive to the fire station and back home again. I could smell the ocean as we drove toward the harbor. The ocean always comforted me.

  “This is it.” Kennedy pulled into a parking lot of a place called The Blue Collar Lobster Company.

  I looked at the restaurant which sat right on the harbor. There were fishing boats in the marina behind it. The sign featured a blue lobster coming out of a pot. This was exactly the kind of place I pictured Kennedy taking us to. There were a lot of expensive places to eat seafood in this corner of Massachusetts, but The Blue Collar Lobster Company looked perfect for a couple of blue collar guys like us.

  While I’d been thinking about how perfect this place was, Kennedy had walked over to my door. He opened it for me and held a hand out to help me down. God help
me, but I felt like a princess being helped down from her carriage by her romantic prince.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I made reservations.”

  “Why would I mind?” Kennedy was blowing me away with his gentlemanly behavior. Much more of this being catered to and I was going to find myself in some serious trouble with Kennedy Lynch.

  Kennedy shrugged my question off as he opened the door to the restaurant. There was something he wasn’t telling me. Something that was close to the surface. I wanted to ask about it but didn’t want to ruin our night all the same. I kept my mouth shut as he checked us in at the hostess stand and she waved us into the restaurant.

  What caught my eye instantly about the dining room was the wall of windows facing the harbor. I could see more fishing vessels and the Cape Pond Ice building a bit further out. Past that was a lighthouse. The red light in the tower seemed to be flashing every ten seconds or so. Gloucester Harbor was incredible.

  The place was packed. There were families in the lobby waiting to be seated and nearly every table in the place was filled. More tables were outside on the open-air deck. I assumed the open tables were for people who’d made reservations like Kennedy. When we got to the table, there was another surprise waiting for me. Not only was there a sign with our names on it, wishing us a happy first date, but there was a box sitting on my bread plate. It was wrapped in silver glitter paper.

  The box wasn’t the only thing glittering. So was Kennedy’s smile. He looked absolutely dazzling. Before we’d gotten into the truck, he’d shed the suit jacket and had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. My man was magnificent.

  The tables were dressed in a red and white checkerboard pattern with small hurricane lamps burning. It gave the restaurant a soft glow which was magnified by the reflection of lamps in the bank of windows. “Wow! This place is amazing.”

  Kennedy was all smiles. “I thought you’d enjoy getting to see the harbor.”

  “After we eat, can we go out on the deck? I want to get a better look at the lighthouse.” I was hoping we’d take a selfie or two with the harbor behind us.

  “Sure. That’s Ten Pound Island you’re looking at out there. It got its name because ten pounds is what the English settlers paid the local Indian tribe for the land.”

  “You’re a fount of knowledge.” I couldn’t help smiling at Kennedy.

  Instead of returning my grin, Kennedy’s face grew serious. “When I landed with David and Mandy, they told me they were my parents and Gloucester was my home. I’d only been with them for a few weeks when they started the paperwork to officially adopt me.” Kennedy’s eyes had gone glassy. “I decided that since I was going to live here, I wanted to know everything about the city. We went on weekend adventures to all kinds of places here in town. Week by week, I got to know my new hometown as well as my brothers and parents. Mandy told me once that those weekends at Good Harbor Beach or kayaking out to the Ten Pound Lighthouse were the best memories of her life.”

  I nodded along with the story. I had nothing to compare that to. “We never took vacations. My father was so obsessed with running the first dealership, and then the second, that he never dared to take any time off at all.” Christ, I sounded like a sad sack.

  “This is where you start.” Kennedy pointed out the window. “For whatever reason, you landed here. Make the most of it.”

  Kennedy was right. When I took my eyes off the harbor to look at him, he was buried in his menu. I hadn’t given a thought to eating. I’d been so lost in his eyes that the scents of the fresh-boiled lobster and steamed clams hadn’t penetrated my consciousness.

  Following his lead, I picked up my menu. As much as I loved lobster, the last thing I wanted to do was deal with trying to crack one open on a first date. Lobsters were a messy business and by the time you were finished eating one, your hands smelled like the crustacean for hours afterward. Not exactly a prelude to romance when you had fish fingers.

  “I’m thinking of double baked-stuffed lobster. What about you?” Kennedy’s blue eyes shone over the top of his menu.

  Actually, baked-stuffed wasn’t a bad idea. The tail meat was chopped and then tossed with scallops and a Ritz cracker stuffing and baked in the shell. All I’d need to crack open and eat would be the claws. I could live with that. “Same,” I agreed. “With an order of fried calamari to start?” I waggled my eyebrows at him.

  Kennedy laughed. “Anything you want. This night is all about you.”

  “Why?” I asked without thinking. It didn’t make me want the answer any less.

  “Because I’ve been such a jerk.” He laughed at himself. “From the day we met I’ve been nothing but rude to you. Then after that with pushing you away, pulling you close, barking out orders like I was some kind of billionaire Dom from a movie. This is my way of asking you to start over. Start fresh.”

  It was my turn to laugh. Kennedy was a lot of things, but he was no Christian Grey. “We both got off to a rocky start with each other, but that didn’t stop you from always being there for me when I needed you. Even when I didn’t realize I needed you, there you were. Like at the fire the other night. You were my guardian angel.”

  Kennedy opened his mouth but was interrupted by the waitress. He ordered for both of us, getting us both sodas to drink instead of beer. I liked that. He was serious enough about me and this date to be sober for it all.

  When the waitress left, he was back to grinning at me. “Are you going to open your present?”

  My eyes slid back to the glittery box sitting near my right hand. “How did you do this? Get this to be on my plate?”

  “It’s a service the restaurant provides. I could have ordered flowers too, but since I was bringing some to your door, I figured this was the perfect gift.”

  So far as I was concerned, this was the perfect date. Whatever was in this box was just the cherry on top of the sundae. I picked up the box, giving it a little shake. Something slid around inside. Not wanting to wait another moment, I tore the paper off. It was a box of chocolates, but not any chocolates, they were shaped like lobsters. “Kennedy! This is amazing.” I could feel my emotions starting to creep up. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to end up blubbering at the table.

  “Here are your drinks, guys.” The waitress set down two Cokes with paper straws.

  “To you, Gunnar.” Kennedy held his glass up. “No matter what life has thrown at you these last few weeks, you’ve been up to the challenge.”

  I touched our glasses together. They pinged in unison. My heart was hammering so hard, I could barely hear myself think. “I’ve been able to go with the flow because of you.”

  Kennedy opened his mouth to say something when the waitress came back with the calamari.

  I was anxious to dive in. My appetite had returned with Kennedy’s kindness, but now I could see there was something on his mind. “What is it?”

  “I’ve tried to say this twice now and both times I’ve been interrupted. I’m just going to say it now in case the waitress comes back to ask us how everything tastes.”

  Now I was nervous. Kennedy seemed amped up and his eyes were unreadable. Was he going to tell me the date was fun, but it couldn’t go beyond this? Christ, I was a wreck. “I’m listening.”

  “I want to give this thing between us a chance,” he blurted out, looking shocked at himself.

  I couldn’t breathe. Did Kennedy just say what I think he said or was I having a stroke?

  “Gunnar? Are you okay?” Kennedy’s smile had faded to a look of concern.

  “Yes!” I gushed, nearly knocking over my water glass.

  “Yes, you’re okay or yes, you want to see where this thing between us goes?”

  “Both.” I was stunned. I was sitting at a table, in a perfect restaurant, with a gorgeous man who wanted to date me. I didn’t know how this had become my life, but I wasn’t going to take one second of it for granted.

  23

  Kennedy

  The food at The Blue Collar Lo
bster was out of this world. Hennessey had been the one to tell me about the restaurant. He’d taken a date or two there because it was just down the street from the bar. None of his dates had appreciated that fact.

  Gunnar’s eyes hadn’t stopped twinkling from the time I picked him up. He’d had as good a time as I had. Now came the moment of truth: the goodnight kiss. I still hadn’t decided if I was going to take Hennessey’s advice and end the night on that kiss or if it was going to lead something else.

  We’d both been quiet during the drive back home. It was an easy silence, not one of those fraught with awkwardness. We were comfortable being together. I couldn’t help but think if Gunnar was wondering what was going to happen when I pulled the truck into the driveway.

  He didn’t have long to ponder. My headlights flashed against the garage as I parked the car. My hands were sweating as I pulled the key out of the ignition. Without saying a word, I hopped out of the truck and walked around to Gunnar’s side. He clutched his box of chocolates in one hand and took mine with the other.

  “I had the best time tonight.”

  “I did too.” Lacing our hands together, I walked him to his front steps. “Good night,” I whispered before bending forward to kiss my date. Gunnar was my date. I still couldn’t believe it.

  When our lips connected it was like coming home. My heart thundered in my chest. It beat harder when Gunnar’s hand came up to frame the side of my face. I moaned against his lips, wanting more. I wanted it all.

  “Are you sure you want to say good night?” Gunnar’s eyes were back to twinkling at me. “I make a mean bowl of Cheerios in the morning.”

  “Are you asking me to spend the night?” My dick was filling at light speed. I swore I started feeling dizzy.

  “I thought I was being very clear. Yes. Spend the night with me.”

  “How could I resist?” I bent to press a sweet kiss to his lips. Gunnar’s hands dug into my hips. He pulled me flush against him. He was as hot and ready for me as I was for him.