Page 24 of Enchant Me

“Are you kidding? Of course. But I—well, could I have one word with Mr. Stark, first?”

“Damien,” he said. “You know you can call me Damien.”

She nodded. “I know. I just—well, what I want to ask…”

“I’ll go help Jamie and Syl,” Nikki said.

“Oh, you can stay.”

“It’s fine,” Nikki said. “Unless you need me to?”

Bree shook her head.

“I promise he doesn’t bite. Not hard, anyway.”

Damien fought a laugh, and Bree visibly relaxed, the joke breaking the lingering tension. “How are you doing?” She’d been released unharmed after she and Anne were taken, but the trauma would linger forever. And now she’d learned that the home they’d considered a fortress had been breached.

“If this is making you nervous,” he added, “I’m happy to let you stay at the apartment until we beef up security and, hopefully, find who did this.”

“The apartment? Oh! You mean downtown?” Half of the top floor of Stark Tower was his personal residence. One of them, anyway. “Oh, no, Mr. Stark. I mean, Damien. No, it’s nothing like that.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“I—I, well, you remember how I was seeing Rory,” she began, naming the man who had been Anne and Bree’s kidnapper.

“Of course, I remember.”

“Right. She pressed her lips together, then drew in a breath. “Um, listen, I hate to be the person who thinks like this, but could you do me a favor?”

“Probably,” Damien said, wondering where she could possibly be going with this conversation. “What do you need?”

“I’ve been seeing this guy for a few weeks. He’s been here a couple of times, and Nikki’s met him. He’s really nice. Funny and charming, and I trust him completely.”

He saw the truth of her words in her eyes. And he saw the guilt, too. “You want me to run a background check.”

She blinked, but nodded. “I hate myself for asking, but I trusted Rory, too, and now—now I don’t trust myself, you know?”

“I do,” he said softly. “And of course I will if it will make you feel better. But Rory was the exception, not the rule. At the same time, you’re doing the right thing by checking this guy out. It’s a matter of your safety and the safety of the kids. So thank you, Bree, for being so responsible.”

She managed a smile. “I still hate asking.”

“Well, technically, you didn’t. Text me his name and any other concrete information you have on him. I’ll get Ryan on it.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He started to head back to Nikki and the others, then hesitated. “Any word on your book?” She’d moved back from New York to attend a low residency masters program in creative writing. She’d finished her first novel and was well into a second, but so far hadn’t found a buyer for it.

“Nothing yet, but everyone says these things take time.”

“Well, you let me know if you need anything, okay? I enjoyed it,” he added, glad that his words were the absolute truth. “I’d love to see you get it published.”

“Thanks, Mr.—thanks, Damien. If it’s okay with you, I’m going to sleep on the playroom sofa tonight.”

He smiled. “I thought you might. And, Bree?”

Her brows rose in question.

“I’m glad you’re part of the family.”