Even though it had been a long-ass day, he didn’t want it to end. And yes, it had been quite the day. From the budding anticipation of seeing Freya again, to the excitement and utter relaxation from that amazing massage when he got his hair cut, and then to the adrenaline spike of her car getting vandalized, his emotions had been all over the place.
Yeah, he’d nearly had a damn heart attack when Esme and Tash had joined them at dinner, but it had turned out fine. Freya had rolled with their intrusion, and frankly, he’d been happy tosee the women get along. He adored both Tash and Esme—he hadn’t been lying when he’d said they were his sisters—but he knew they could be prickly as hell. They didn’t tend to go out of their way to befriend other women. So it meant a lot that they’d all gotten along so well, and that Freya had liked them.
The thought had him stilling.
Shit. He was in trouble with this woman.
“Ready?” Freya asked, pulling him from his musings.
“Yup,” he said, placing his hand at the small of her back and leading her toward the exit.
When they stepped onto the sidewalk, the cold air had him shifting closer to Freya. Her jacket, while pretty, looked to be more fashionable than functional.
“You said you’re a few blocks away, right?” he asked, turning down the sidewalk.
“Oh, you don’t need to walk me home.” She gestured to his SUV, which was two vehicles in the opposite direction. “Your car’s right here, and my place is out of your way.”
She had to be out of her mind if she thought he’d let her walk home by herself. Yes, Hudson Island was a relatively safe community, all things considered. But she’d just had her car vandalized in the parking lot of an uber-upscale resort. Plus, it was dark, nearly nine at night. However, instead of saying any of those things, he simply arched an eyebrow at her. “Seriously?”
The corners of her lips twitched as she gazed up at him. Humor danced over her face. “Alpha protector. Right. Silly me, how could I have forgotten?”
Who knew he’d find sarcasm so attractive? “That’s right, smart-ass, how could you possibly forget?” Unable to resist, he reached for her free hand and laced his fingers with hers. After a split second, he met her gaze. “This okay?”
He held his breath as he waited for her reply.
The smile playing at the edges of her lips broke free, and she nodded, squeezing his hand. “Yeah.” Then she pulled him a few steps down the sidewalk. “Come on, I’m above Knit Wits.”
“How’s Hazel doing?” he asked, falling into step beside her.
“I’m not sure, actually. She was all smiles and raving about this new guy she was out on a date with but...” Freya sighed, shaking her head. “She said she was surprised the resort had fired her, and I genuinely think she was being serious.”
“I’m assuming the resort explained to her why they fired her?”
“They did, but Hazel said she didn’t think the whole do-not-talk-to-the-press thing applied to her.” A look of disbelief colored her face. “I mean, how could she think it wouldn’t apply to her when it was a company-wide message from the resort’sowner?”
Because people were selfish.
But he bit his tongue. He wasn’t about to badmouth the other woman. Regardless of what had happened, Hazel was still Freya’s friend.
“We’re going to meet up for coffee next week.” She let out another weary sigh and frowned. “I just worry about her, you know?”
He squeezed her hand. “You’re a good friend, Freya.”
That frown on her pretty face was all kinds of wrong. As they continued down the quiet street, he was determined to change that. He told her a funny story from that morning at the gym. How an overly cocky Carmichael had gotten absolutely destroyed by Tash on the sparring mat.
After a block, Freya’s laughter had him smiling. The lyrical sound did something he couldn’t quite describe to his insides. Hell, her mere presence had his heart beating an erratic rhythm in his chest.
He liked her. A lot.
And that scared the shit out of him.
As shallow as it sounded, he didn’t like womenandsleep with them. He either liked them and enjoyed their company—like his female colleagues and some of the women who were in relationships with his friends—or he slept with them.
Not both.
Shallow? Absolutely. But that’s what he’d always done. The women he’d slept with knew the score, and the arrangement worked for all parties involved.
But Freya? She was easy to talk to, funny as hell, got along with Tash and Esme—which was freaking unheard of—and so damn sweet. He liked spending time with her, and getting to know her was surprisingly fun.
