Declan and she was clearly distracted. “Right, El—”
I cut her off. “I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry,” I said as calmly as I could considering I felt like my skin was about to bust open with the hatred that rushed through me. I also didn’t want her to even breathe Elle’s name near Declan.
It wasn’t until Declan was in the backroom that she finally started for the door.
I really didn’t have time for this shit.
Hustling, I caught up with her. “Sorry about that, but I really am in a hurry.”
Angered, she stopped and turned to look at me. “I had the wrong idea about you. I thought you were someone nice.”
Ouch.
Feeling like I had to somehow explain, I said, “Declan Mulligan and I have a history. And not a good one.” A pang nudged my ribs. What if Declan told Peyton everything and she in turn, told Elle? I didn’t want Elle to know that side of me. To pity me. Or hate me. To look at me differently. However, I was pretty certain he wouldn’t tell anyone about that night. It didn’t make him look good. Deciding to cling to that argument made me feel only slightly better.
She started walking again. “Well, whatever. I just hope you’re not an asshole to Elle, because she deserves someone nice.”
Speeding up, I turned to walk backwards and face her. “I promise you I’m not, but I don’t think Elle would stick around anyone who was.”
The red in her face began to fade. “I’m going to choose to believe you because my first instincts never fail me. But I have to tell you, I’m not so certain that Elle’s instincts are always spot on.”
My own instincts started to buzz. What did she mean? There were too many people on the sidewalk and I kept bumping into them, so I turned back to walk beside her and blatantly said, “You mean Michael.”
Her eyes dropped and she gave me a slight nod. “In the three months I’ve known Elle, you’re the first guy I’ve seen her with. Well, besides Michael, and I’m sorry, but I think he’s a creeper.”
My pace picked up as if every second counted now. “Tell me why you think that.”
“He just reminds me of my father. His wife’s in rehab and I’m pretty certain he’s fucking the nanny, although Elle tells me no. And I know he wants to fuck Elle.”
My muscles stiffened; that last part had me seeing red.
Peyton waved her hand. “I shouldn’t have said that. Just forget I did.”
I gave her a forced nod and lost myself in my thoughts.
We walked the rest of the way back to the boutique in silence. I grabbed Elle’s purse and looked toward Peyton. I wanted to tell her to stay clear of Declan, but I knew she wouldn’t listen to me without an explanation and there was no way I could give her one, so instead I said, “Lock the door behind me. You shouldn’t leave it open when you’re in here alone.”
She responded with something that sounded like “point taken,” or maybe that was just in my mind and she’d actually said goodbye.
I waited until I drove away to pull over and look inside Elle’s purse. It was small, and the only things in there were a comb, a tube of lip gloss, and a hair tie. I dumped it upside down on the passenger seat just to be sure.
Nothing else.
Fuck! No garage door opener.
That meant whoever broke into Elle’s car did so with the intention of gaining easy access into Michael’s house.
The question was—why?
What was in there?
ELLE
I knew almost every defensive maneuver in the book.
When to duck.
Where to weave.
How to dodge.
I’d studied so many different techniques over the past fifteen years, I was confident in my ability to defend myself. I also knew how to take the offense if needed. How to throw a punch—where to deliver a blow that would incapacitate a guy and let me get away. Firearms were nothing I was afraid of. I’d been taught to fire a weapon—how to stand steady and level my arms before squeezing the trigger.
In addition, I was a fast runner. I was confident I could outrun almost anyone.
My only deficiency? My size. And there was nothing I could do about that.
None of that mattered, though, when it came to guarding my heart.
It was utterly defenseless when it came to Logan McPherson.
That worried me.
The smile that bled across my lips as I parked my car in front of my