Chapter 8

I didn’t plan for this to happen so quickly. Neither did Halle.

I only wanted to comfort her. She looked like she was going through some rough stuff and if there’s one thing I swore I would never stop doing, it’s being there for her. Halle needs more than just the basic help of a roof over her head and a job to pay the bills.

She needs more than a handful of friends to support her in raising those wonderful kids. Halle needs a man—or three—to look out for her, to keep her safe and happy and always sated.

She looks so beautiful right now, half-asleep in my arms.

We’re still on the sofa, naked and basking in the afterglow of something extraordinary and completely unexpected. I could get used to this, to Halle in my arms, soft and coming down from the clouds. That throaty sound she makes when she comes… holy hell, I will never get tired of hearing it. Whatever it is that Halle went through, it left a mark on her soul, an d I am compelled to heal it with everything I have to give her.

There is so much kindness in her heart. So much strength and resilience. It makes her more beautiful and more enticing than any other women I’ve ever met. The more I look at her, asleep in my arms, the harder the tug between my heart and hers.

There is an invisible string connecting our souls. I feel it, and I have no choice but to protect it, to make it so strong that nothing will ever make it snap.

Her dark hair falls over my chest in a cascade of silky curls. Her grey-blue eyes open, ever so slowly, while her breathing remains even. I glance at the wall clock in the living room, fully aware that we’ve got maybe another fifteen minutes before my brothers come home and Mom drops the kids off.

It’ll be a full house soon enough but I can’t bring myself to disturb this perfect slice of paradise we’ve got going here.

I like the sound of a full house. When my brothers and I bought this place and rebuilt it from the ground up, I wasn’t sure we’d find someone to make a home with here. Then Halle came along, Sammy and Luna with her, wide-eyed and scared of yet another new beginning.

And everything changed.

“You know, I liked you from the moment you walked into the diner,” Halle confesses, her voice low and raspy. I’m surprised by the ease with which she’s opening up, given that she is usually so cautious and guarded with what she chooses to tells us. Something is different between us now, and I think it has to do with this newfound degree of intimacy. “I said to myself, ‘wow. That’s a man’s man, right there.’

”

I can’t help but chuckle. “A man’s man?”

“Yeah. All big and brawny, wearing that uniform and that confident smile that comes so naturally to you,” Halle says, looking up at me. “You commanded the room, and you definitely had my full attention. I don’t even remember what you had for lunch that day. I only remember making sure you had everything you wanted.”

“Well, you kind of failed me there,” I reply.

Halle gives me a troubled look. “Huh. I knew it. I mucked up the order but you were too nice to say anything. In my defense, it was my first week on the job.”

“The order was fine. I wanted you, Halle.”

She stills in my arms, her eyes widening with genuine yet glimmering surprise. “Really?”

“The moment I looked at you, I knew. I knew you were one of a kind. I wanted you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone, to be honest. I’m not sure what came over me,” I say. “I think we can both agree at this point that we’ve got a lot of chemistry between us.”

“Oh, no argument there,” Halle giggles, briefly hiding her face in my neck.

“But there was something else. Maybe it was that hopeful look in your eyes.”

“Hopeful?”

I nod slowly. “Your scars were visible, Halle. It was obvious you’ve been hurt but I could also tell that you want to love again. You’ve been steadily on my mind ever since. There really are good guys out there. The world isn’t filled with just monsters and assholes, you know.

”

“My boss did mention at one point that you three were coming in more often than usual,” Halle replies.

I was looking for every opportunity, no matter how small, to get close to her. To see her again. To watch her curvy figure wrapped in that diner uniform. That thing looked awful on every other waitress yet it somehow managed to always compliment Halle.

My fingers itched whenever she walked past our table. Who knew I’d end up being a happy man lying here beside her. All I have to do is reach down and grab a handful of this glorious ass of hers, and everything is right with the world again.

“Where do we go from here?” I ask her after a moment of silence. “I still want to take you out on a date. Dates, actually, plural.”

She smiles softly and plants a kiss on my lips. It’s enough to get my engine running once more. The effect that this woman has on me is downright incredible. I have already had my share of erections at work caused purely by her presence and her stolen glances.

“We kind of jumped the gun, didn’t we?” Halle says. “Skipped a few important steps.”

“We can catch up.”

“I agree,” she laughs lightly. “Okay, so you wanna take me out on a date.”

“I’d like that, ma’am. Very much.”

She thinks about it for a moment, pursing those sweet lips before raising an eyebrow at me. “Alright, then. What are you suggesting?

”

“The classic dinner and a movie feels like the right choice, but if you think I’m moving too fast, I’m okay with a coffee date.”

That has both of us laughing.

The front door opens. I didn’t hear the key turning in the lock.

“I got the parmesan like you asked,” Wyatt says as he comes in, casual as ever with a bag of groceries in one arm and a bottle of wine in the other. “Since you’re making spaghetti and meatballs, I’m thinking red wine would…”

His voice trails off as he comes in and sees us frozen on the sofa. Still very much naked. Though I am nowhere near as mortified as Halle is. I feel her turn suddenly cold and stiff as a corpse.

Chase joins Wyatt under the living room’s wide entryway.

“Well, it didn’t take you as long as I thought it would,” Wyatt mutters, staring at me.

Chase can’t take his eyes off Halle.

“Sorry about this,” I decide to get the awkwardness out of the way and reach for one of the throw blankets on the sofa’s armrest. “Here,” I cover Halle with it. She is so quiet and practically shell-shocked. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“It’s anything but,” she manages, white as a ghost, her voice barely audible. She can’t even look me or my brothers in the eye. “I am so sorry.”

“Halle, it’s okay, I promise.”

“No, it’s not!” she snaps and jumps off the sofa .

Wyatt and Chase swiftly get out of the way as Halle bolts out of the living room and flies up the stairs. The three of us remain quiet for a second until we hear the bedroom door slam.

“This is going to make dinner a tad awkward,” Wyatt calmly concludes.

Chase glowers at me, arms crossing his chest. “What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t, actually. And neither was Halle,” I bluntly reply.

Wyatt can’t help but laugh lightly. “Well, at least we know where we stand. Are we gonna talk to her about it?”

“I’d give her a minute,” I shoot back with a wry smile. “Worst-case scenario, you’re in charge of cooking tonight.”

This thing with Halle will swallow us whole if we’re not careful.

I can already feel myself slipping deeper and deeper under her spell.

She almost died because somebody set fire to that diner knowing she and her children were inside. Whether Halle was the intended target or not is still a mystery, but I am becoming increasingly aware that the more I attach myself to her, the harder it’ll be to keep a clear head as we proceed with this investigation.

I wasn’t lying to her earlier, though.

She’ll never have to walk alone.