desire touched her insides with every step she took. Only Drew could do this to her. She had broken her own rules and he had made her very glad she had. How could she not love a man like that?
She eased around the breakfast counter, then saw a packet laying there with the words, Investigation Report-Antonia Oliver, written on the cover.
She frowned. What in the world? She snatched the packet off the counter and was about to open it when she heard Drew’s voice behind her. “I thought I’d join you for some PB&J.”
She turned around as anger spiked all through her. “What is this about, Drew?” she asked, holding up the packet.
“Can we talk about it over the PB&J?”
“No. We need to talk about it now.”
He obviously heard the anger in her voice and paused. Searching her features, he asked, “What are you mad about, Toni?”
“You had me investigated?” she asked.
“What makes you think I had you investigated?”
“It says so, right here.”
“No, it doesn’t. And I don’t particularly like you jumping to conclusions.” He turned around to leave.
Toni was incensed. How dare he walk away from her? “Where do you think you’re going?”
He stopped and glanced back at her, anger and disappointment clear in his expression. “Read the damn report, Toni. When you’re finished, you know where to find me.”
She watched as he went back up the stairs without looking back. It was obvious he was pissed, but then, so was she. Why would he hire an investigation firm to check up on her? She should leave...but did she really want to? So instead, she pulled the file out of the packet and sat down on a barstool to read it.
It only took a few minutes for her to realize the report had not been about her—it had been for her. The person under investigation was Thomas Gilmore. It was then that she began reading in earnest.
• • •
A part of Drew felt entitled to be angry. Toni should know better than to assume he’d invade her privacy. Of all the idiotic things.... However, another part of him really did not want to stay angry.
He recalled what it had been like in his home, back when he was a kid. When his parents got angry, they’d throw around hateful words that they’d later regret saying. And then one of them would stalk out the door, without anything being resolved.
It would always be his dad who’d leave to go drinking with his friends. His mom would be left at home, crying. He’d never managed to figure out if she had cried because of the argument or because she’d known just what a drunken asshole Andrew Logan, Sr. would be when he returned home. His dad had never hit his mother, but the harsh words he would throw at her had hurt, nonetheless. Andrew would never forget that.
He slid out of his jeans and got back in bed. Why was he remembering his dysfunctional parents now? Mainly because he wished he could remember happy times and couldn’t. His mother had been a good mom, but she had worked herself to death, just as his father had drank himself to death. Andrew now realized the reason he’d gotten into so much trouble as a kid was so that he could deflect their attention off each other and onto him. Only that hadn’t worked.
“Drew?”
He glanced up. Toni was standing in the doorway. “What?”
“I am sorry.”
Andrew figured if she was waiting for him to accept her apology, then he would let her wait a little longer.
“You did that investigation for me,” she added, when he refused to respond.
Since she had not presented her statement as a question, he figured she was not expecting an answer. So he still didn’t say anything. Refusing to be ignored any longer, she came to stand by the bed. “Why, Drew? Why would you do that for me?”
Now she had asked a question, one he had no problem answering. Especially when it was asked in a tone of wonder. Obviously, she had never expected anyone to ever do something like that for her. Help fight her battles. Conquer her demons. Take whatever action was necessary to protect her, even if it meant kicking somebody’s ass. Or…having them investigated.
He met her gaze. “I would do just about anything for you, Toni.” No longer angry, he extended his hand to her.
Andrew watched as she eased his shirt off her body before taking his hand. He tugged her into bed beside him,