hands, he slowly lifted my arm, slid the shirtsleeve up. “Whoever he is . . . I know he hurt you.”
I pulled away, loosened the sleeve to cover the bruised skin, ashamed. I looked away, but he pulled my face closer to his. “He’s scum of the earth. The one back in Seattle, too. Neither one of them deserve you.”
“How did you know?” I asked softly, wondering how obvious it was.
“Lucky guess.” He wiped a tear that formed in the corner of my eye. “Was that him on the phone? The one who did this to you?”
I nodded my head, looked down.
“I just want you to know that I’ll wait for you. However long you need. And that I’m here when you’re ready to talk about it.”
I hesitated, then peered up at him and reached out to pull his arms around me. I’d tell him about Andrew later. For now, I focused on the gift being offered to me. He held me tight, placed his head over mine and ran his fingers through my hair. “I guess this means we’re good?” He laughed, uncertain.
“Yeah.” I buried my head into his neck, wrapped my arms around his waist. “We’re good.” I breathed in his scent and exhaled. His depth only seemed to draw me farther into the recesses of his being, and I was more than ready to dive into its very core.
CHAPTER 6
La Bise
The four of us were silent in Gavin’s Maserati, a somber mood filling the cramped space. In the last week, we’d all returned to Cafe Des Amis several times, went fishing and kayaking, and watched about a thousand movies, including all of Gavin’s favorite Hitchcock flicks. Before I was ready, it was time for Audrey to go back to Seattle, and I wasn’t the only one feeling the weight of her pending departure.
Gabe and Audrey sat in the backseat, her suitcase piled on Gabe’s lap, ready to sentence her back to Seattle. Helping her pack that morning, I tried convincing her to leave the Pacific Northwest and come live in the gator-infested swamps to be closer to Gabe and me. She rejected the idea, as I’d suspected she would. Then she gave me hell for retracting my promise to go to the police when she left. I reminded her that Andrew had forgotten about our date anyway, and that he hadn’t called since the night at Café Des Amis. Both true. I added that things would be safer now that Gavin was around, too, and that seemed to finally mollify her.
From the backseat, Gabe complained, “This thing doesn’t have much room, Gav. We should’ve taken my truck instead.”
“Deal with it,” Gavin snapped back. “Camille and I are going out after we drop Audrey off. I’d kind of like to have my ride with me, if you don’t mind.”
“God you guys, don’t hold back the enthusiasm or anything. Lighten up,” Audrey said, oddly upbeat considering the circumstances.
“How are you possibly in a good mood right now?” Gabe scrunched his face, looking annoyed.
She sighed. “Well excuse me, but I’d prefer to actually enjoy our last few minutes together instead of sulking about it.”
I raised my eyebrows at Gavin, then at Gabe. “She has a point, guys. Can we cool it with the dramatics? Please?”
“Thanks, Cam,” she said. “Put these boys in their place. Man, and guys say we’re the drama queens?”
I laughed, happily agreeing.
“Call it what you want,” Gavin said, “but you ought to be glad we’re the way we are. Like with that guy at the restaurant last week.”
She chuckled. “I believe that’s called over-protective, not over-dramatic.”
“Whatever, babe,” Gavin said, propping his hand on the armrest between us. “You have no idea what kind of scum these guys are, checking you out. It’s disgusting. We don’t have to guess what they’re thinking when they’re staring you girls down, believe me.”
I placed my hand on his arm and gave him a smile. He smiled and then shifted his eyes back to the road, but I saw anger in his balled-up fist as it moved to rest on the shifter. Maybe Audrey had hit a nerve. Maybe these guys were too sensitive. I glanced out the window, realizing I already missed my best friend.
From the airport, Gavin and I drove Gabe back to his place, then decided to grab dinner out on the way to my house. We made our way toward Saint Martinville with the windows rolled down, Breaking Benjamin blasting through the speakers. “For the record,” I called