“Take a nap,” Alicia said to Argos, the German shepherd, and Toto, the Corgi.
Both dogs obediently stood down and wandered away.
Grace could hardly believe he was in her sanctuary.His gaze darted around the space as if he couldn’t figure out where to rest his eyes.“Nice place.”
“Have a seat,” Alicia called as she walked back to the kitchen.“Make yourself comfortable.”
He eyed the furniture.To be fair, it wasn’t just the wallpaper that looked like it should be in a dollhouse.The furniture was delicate and highly customized.The cushions were silk-covered, embroidered, or wrapped in handwoven tapestries.The furniture, carved with custom inlays and intricate designs, brought whimsical touches into the cheerful room.Callum eyed each piece as if deciding where he’d do the least damage.
He actually loomed over the living room.His jawline could cut glass, and sinewy muscle stretched tight over his forearms.This Callum Hale wasn’t the one she’d last seen at her parents’ house.“Just sit down.You’re not going to break anything.”
His eyebrow crooked as if he didn’t believe her, but carefully lowered himself onto the couch.
Sherlock, Alicia’s inquisitive cat who never approved of guests, hopped onto the coffee table and locked his green eyes on Callum like he was a danger that needed to be dragged out.
He lifted his hand to stroke its orange-and-white fur.
“I wouldn’t do that—”
Sherlock had no problem speaking up for himself.
Callum snatched his hand from the hissing cat.“Regal little fucker, isn’t she?”
“He,” Grace corrected.“His name is Sherlock.Well, originally Purrlock Holmes, but he’s too dignified for a punny name.Of all the alarm and early warning systems I’ve come across over the years, Sherlock has been the most cuddly and reliable.”
His eyebrow crept up as he looked dubiously at the cat.“There are far better security options out there.I could recommend—”
Alicia tsked as she walked in with a tray of iced tea and her dogs by her side.“It’s not your life, and you’re not the one who had to live in hiding.You don’t get to Monday-morning quarterback her choices.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked as he eyed the dogs.“There are personal protection options more dependable than a friend’s pets.”
“You work in the personal protection business,” Alicia pointed out.“That’s what you’re paid to say.”
The personal protection business.That wasn’t a far stretch from the Army, but still another world entirely where he and Hayden lived and breathed with insurgents and roadside bombs.Grace wanted to ask him about it.Later, maybe, when she could pivot his attention from her problems.
He continued studying Argos and Toto, frowning at Grace’s security decisions.There were things she could have done differently, but the legal system that was supposed to have upheld the law always fell prey to Dominic’s moves.His release was just another piece of proof that her ex-husband would always have the upper hand.
He blew out his breath.“I’m only suggesting a better option than dogs.”
“You don’t know my babies,” Alicia said.Argos and Toto flanked her as she set the tray on the coffee table and shooed Sherlock away.“And before you walk in here, making assumptions and judging what you don’t know, why don’t you keep your mouth shut, Mr.Big Muscles, and listen to what Grace has to say?”
Inwardly she collapsed.Exhaustion rolled through her body.Memories ached, and trauma ricocheted.She’d already said more than she wanted to, but explaining the decisions she had made and the ordeal that Dominic had dished out over their years of marriage wasn’t Alicia’s responsibility.“I’ve already shared most of everything with him.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” he disagreed.
Whatever she said to him would make its way back to her brother, and Hayden would have covered her in bubble wrap and never let her live her life.She’d determined long ago that a life-in-hiding was better than a life in a fishbowl where Dominic could find her.There had always been a balancing act between being scared, staying tucked off the grid, and letting her big brother bury her under an avalanche of protection.
Callum cleared his throat.
Alicia shoved a glass of iced tea into his hand.“It’s sweet.But if you need more,” she gestured to the tray with simple syrup and sliced lemons, “doctor it up.”
“Thanks.”
Alicia stared at him until he took a drink.That was probably her way of giving Grace more time to organize her thoughts.
Finally, under Alicia’s unflinching study, he got the message and sipped.“It’s great.Thanks.”
“Coaster.”Alicia tilted her head toward the hand-tatted doily coasters next to the tray, then signaled for her dogs to sit next to Grace.
