“Oh really?” Honor mocked her tone from earlier, and they both broke out laughing.
Felicity smoothed her hair and followed her sister to the dining hall in the lodge. When they entered, her gaze zoomed right to Gabe. He was already seated but scanning the doorway like he’d been counting seconds to the time she arrived.
Honor gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll be sitting with some of the guys.”
“Okay.” She headed straight for Gabe like he was carbon steel and she was a magnet, helpless against him.
She slid into the seat beside him.
“Thought I was getting stood up.” His warm chuckle washed through her.
She studied his eyes. “Sorry. I had to put the flowers in water.”
A hint of shyness crept into his expression. “I should have gone to the florist and bought you a proper bouquet. I found those growing under a rock on the ridge.”
She settled a hand on his arm, the muscles strong and firm beneath her touch. “I love that you thought of me when you saw them, Gabe. That’s more meaningful to me than any elaborate bouquet.”
His eyes sparkled. “I found your note.”
Her heart fluttered.
“It means a lot to me too. I’m going to keep it…always.”
The air between them was still charged with the electricity of their attraction and a lust that hadn’t even begun. But beneath it she sensed their relationship had shifted into a connection every bit as meaningful as notes and flowers.
Chapter Ten
Gabe stepped into the Malones’ house with Carson at his side and was greeted by the scent of baked goods and strong coffee.
Carson tossed him a glance over his shoulder. “Honor baked brownies. I guess it’s her and Felicity’s mom’s recipe.”
At the mention of Felicity, Gabe’s insides both warmed and steeled with protectiveness. He and Carson spent all evening digging through the past of every person Felicity ever knew. They cross-referenced all of the intel with the timing of the break-ins. While they didn’t get to the bottom of anything, it was good to use his brain the way he used to on ops.
It felt like getting back to his roots after such a long time.
The more they uncovered, the clearer it became that whoever was stalking Felicity was patient and methodical. He and Carson had eliminated a few possibilities and found others worth a closer look.
Their boots thumped on the hardwood floors, tracking over the faint sound of the women talking. Once in a while, the voices were interspersed with the occasional laugh or the squawk of a baby.
It sounded a lot like his sister’s home. Like a family.
The second he walked into the living room, his brain shifted from how to guard Felicity to how to care for Felicity.
His gaze landed on her where she was tucked between her sister and Aspen. A movie played on the big-screen TV, and Navy sat on the floor with her farm animals, just as he remembered her from the therapy office.
Felicity smiled at whatever Aspen said, but Gabe could see the brittle edges of it and the bruises of fatigue beneath each eye.
At that moment, she looked up and saw Gabe. Her gaze locked with his, and he watched relief wash across her face.
A knot jerked in his chest, drawing him toward her with the unshakable belief that she needed him right then.
As he crossed the room to her, Navy spotted him too and bolted toward him. He swept her up and tickled her belly. Her peal of laughter had every person in the room smiling.
“How you doing, Navy?” He spoke to the child but stared at Felicity.
Her eyes were warm and soft, though he read more there—a plea to get her out of there.
While every one of the Malone women were well-meaning, caring and attentive, he could see how that could seem too attentive to a woman like Felicity. She was accustomed to being alone, and she sought company when she wanted a break from the solitude she relished.
