anxiety is in full throttle.”
“Oh, that sucks. I’m sorry that I put you in this position, but that’s not very fair,” he says, frowning. “A child should never have to sacrifice for a parent. You should be living your life how you want to. Life is short, you know? And your mom is an adult. I’m sure she can learn to be self-sufficient without you.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for.”
We nibble at the food, drink wine in the sunshine and just enjoy each other, pretending that we’re a normal couple on a date, and it’s wonderful.
If only things were this easy. If only he were a local guy I met, a banker or something, and we could have this every day.
But he’s not, and I knew that coming into this, so I can’t place all the blame on him.
And when Saint comes into the garden and tells Temper he needs to speak to him, I know that we’re back to reality.
“You go. I’ll tidy up,” I tell him, feeling a little giddy from either the wine or the company.
“Are you sure?” he asks, leaning forward and giving me a quick yet gentle kiss. “No one has ever done something like this for me before, so thank you. It’s not something I’m going to forget.”
Another kiss, this time on my forehead, and then he follows Saint back inside. Wishing there was more wine, I pack everything up and head back inside. The men are nowhere to be found, so I lie back down on my bed and send a message to Izzy.
Abbie: What are you and Skylar up to today?
She responds by adding Skylar to a group chat, and then typing:
Izzy: Skylar is at work, but I’m at home. Do you want me to come over? I should take my dog for a walk anyway.
Abbie: Yes, please. Something is going down and the men are in a meeting.
Izzy: Be there in twenty.
* * *
I’m sitting on the couch watching a movie when Skylar comes in, her gorgeous staffy mix by her side. “This is Shadow,” she says, patting his head.
“Hello, cutie,” I say to him, and laugh when he jumps on the couch and starts licking my face. “He’s adorable.”
“He is.” She sits down next to me. “They still haven’t come out?”
“Nope. I don’t know what’s going on,” I admit, pausing the movie and giving Izzy my full attention. “I ran over two men last night.”
She waves her hand in the air. “They were fine. They got back up.”
“Still,” I reply, pursing my lips. “Would you have done the same if you were in my situation?”
“Hell yes I would have,” she says instantly, brow furrowing. “You did what any of us would have done, Abbie. You’re not a bad person. It wasn’t you with a gun, making threats. We were just trying to get us all out of there safely. So don’t you feel guilty, not even for one second.”
I nod. It’s good to hear those words from her. “Okay, you’re right. I did what I had to.”
“You did,” she assures me. “Who knows what would have happened if you didn’t do that? It was four against three and they all had guns. It’s a miracle we all got out of there unscathed.”
“I’ve never even seen a gun in real life before all of this,” I admit, blinking slowly. “Now I feel like I should probably know how to use one.”
“You should. Ask Temper, he’s a pro.”
“I bet he is.” I groan, scrubbing my palm down my face. I’m updating her on the little picnic I did for him when he walks into the room.
“We found out who the men are,” he says to us both, just as Saint steps into the room. “Mercenaries. They are former soldiers. The best you can get around our parts. Someone has hired them, and paid them very well, to follow us, get information and kill me, or kill some of us, or basically just fuck shit up with the MC.”
“Who would