Hurry Up And Wait (Owens Protective Services #24)

20. Isla

20

ISLA

I locked the door, then rushed down the steps. I was so late. I was never going to make the movie in time, and then Riley would be pissed as hell at me for making her sit in the theater for so long by herself. I didn’t even want to go, but I desperately needed the distraction—anything to take my mind off Kavanaugh’s terrible attempt at explaining why I needed bodyguards to protect me.

It was hard enough to wrap my mind around what Shawn had tried to do to me. Murder was a new low point in our failed marriage, though I never would have thought it possible. A bad attitude was one thing. Trying to blow me up was just unfathomable.

But still, I couldn’t see him taking it any further. Shawn did everything in his power to advance his career, but when it came to me—to our marriage, he was not a man of action. If I had to guess, he was back at home, wallowing over the fact that his attempt at ridding me of this earth was a botched attempt. But in a few days, another case would come along that would quickly draw his attention, and like every other time that something important happened in our marriage, he would forget all about me.

I pulled out into the street, gasping when I had to slam on the brakes because I failed to check my mirrors. An older car slowly crept past and I raised my hand to Mrs. Braverman, though she probably didn’t see it with her terrible eyesight.

I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “Pay attention,” I muttered to myself.

When she was past my drive, I checked the road and pulled out slowly, cursing myself for nearly plowing into an old lady. I was on edge today, and I really shouldn’t be considering what Kavanaugh did to me yesterday. But our argument kept me awake all night, tossing and turning as I tried to determine if I had been too harsh on him. After all, he was only trying to protect me. It felt wrong to be so angry, knowing his intentions.

I pulled into the theater parking lot with only minutes to spare. I knew I would never hear the end of this. I didn’t even have my popcorn yet. I rushed to the doors, but halted when Kavanaugh stepped out in front of me, wincing as he ran his hand over the back of his neck.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I slung my purse over my shoulder and shook my head. “You didn’t.”

“Can I—can we talk?”

“Riley’s waiting for me inside.” Yes, it was wrong to put my sister above him. “You know how she gets when she’s kept waiting.”

“Still impatient,” he said, his lips quirking slightly.

I stood there awkwardly, waiting for him to move. I was still pissed at him, but the fact that he came here said something about the type of man he was. Shawn would have never done that.

“Listen, I know I don’t deserve the time, but…I have to head back today and…”

He was leaving again. I should have known, but part of me just assumed he would be like a normal boyfriend with a job around town.

“Back to…”

“The city,” was his only answer.

He didn’t tell me about the job and I didn’t ask. He was a bodyguard. Maybe his client had to keep a low profile or maybe it was in his contract not to talk about it. Either way, I didn’t push .

“Come on,” I said, jerking my head toward the bench outside the theater.

“Riley will throw a bag of popcorn at your head.”

“Probably, but if you’re leaving…”

“Yeah,” he sighed, sitting down beside me. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at the ground. “I’m really sorry about last night.”

“For what exactly?” I asked, cocking my head at him.

“For the whole protection thing. I know I took it too far.”

“And?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “And I’m sorry.”

It was nice to know he realized his mistake, but there was still one glaring issue. “What about the whole IKE thing?”

I knew it wasn’t over the moment he stiffened beside me.

“I realize you might not like another man looking out for me, but that’s all it was. I need you to know that. And I need you to trust me.”

“It’s not you I don’t trust,” he grumbled.

“Could have fooled me. You get that tone when you talk about him.”

Sighing, he thrust his fingers through his hair and stood, pacing just a few feet from me. “I’m sorry. I know it’s—But it’s you. Five minutes ago, you weren’t in my life, but now you’re back and—I swear, I don’t mean to be a jealous ass about this.”

There was something oddly charming in the way he put that. It made it nearly impossible not to forgive him. In fact, I almost felt bad for him. I held out my hand, glad when he took it and sank down beside me.

“This is all very new.”

“I know and?—”

I covered his mouth, my eyes laughing at the shocked look on his face. “We haven’t seen each other in years, and then we jumped into bed together. And on top of all that, there’s all this other crap going on. It’s just…adding a little strain.”

“Buh-yu-mmmhmmm?”

I removed my hand from his mouth with a smile. “Sorry.”

“But you still want to make this work, right? ”

Despite everything that happened and the intensity in which it all came down, I still wanted Kavanaugh. We just had to find some even ground. “Yeah, I still want it to work.”

His lips quirked up in a smile and he scooted closer, sliding his hand around the back of my neck. “Thank fuck I didn’t screw it up too badly.”

“Well, I can be a little stubborn. That may have been part of the problem.”

His brows furrowed the longer he stared at me. “Is this a test?”

“What?” I choked out a laugh.

“Am I supposed to say No, Isla. You’re not stubborn at all. Because I will. Just tell me what to say so I don’t screw this up again.”

“I’m not going to tell you what to say,” I laughed. “You’re doing just fine on your own.”

“You kicked me out of your house while I was still in my underwear,” he reminded me.

“Look on the bright side, you might not have even gotten that far.”

“You mean you would have kicked me out buck naked?”

I grinned at him, my lips just an inch from his as I hummed low in my throat. “Or I would have just taken you out. Riley would have helped me with the body.”

His fingers played with the hair at the back of my neck as he smiled at me, shaking his head. “You always were a little crazy.”

“Careful, who knows what will happen if you keep calling me that.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he murmured against my lips. Then his warm lips slid over mine, kissing me deep as his fingers dug into my hair, pulling me close to him. Tingles raced down my spine as he deepened the kiss, reminding me just how good it was between us. I would be crazy to keep fighting him, to not forgive him for trying to protect me. He was a good man, and the undeniable heat between us seemed to help melt away everything from last night.

However, that spell was broken when a throat cleared behind me. Kavanaugh grinned against my lips, kissing me one more time before I turned and faced my pissed-off sister.

“Oh, Riley, hey. ”

“Hey? Hey ? I’ve been sitting in that theater waiting for you. I got you popcorn! And a drink. And you say, hey ?”

“Well, go away seemed a little mean,” I chuckled.

“I can’t believe you ditched me for a guy. I thought we had a pact.”

“I didn’t ditch you.”

“Then what do you call playing sucky face out here like a teenager?”

I flushed bright red at her description. We weren’t that bad, were we? “He’s leaving.”

“I don’t care if he’s going to the moon. We said we were going to the movies. You pinky promised.”

“I did not,” I laughed.

“Okay, you didn’t, but I said Are we going? And you said Yes, I’ll be right behind you. And you said?—”

“Alright, I get the point,” I interrupted. That could go on forever while she tried to force her side of things.

She sighed heavily, staring at the two of us like a parent who’d caught teenagers making out. “Well, I guess you want to go play sucky face with him.”

“Actually, I have to take off,” Kavanaugh said, getting to his feet. “As much as I’d love to play sucky face,” he winked, “I should have left first thing this morning.”

I hated that he was leaving after we’d only patched things up, but that was his job, and I had to get used to it. “When will you be back?”

“I’ll try to come home for the weekend, but I really don’t know if that’s feasible.”

I slid my hands around his waist, grabbing his shirt to pull him closer. “Well, don’t go falling in love with anyone else while you’re gone.”

I thought a moment of panic flitted through his eyes, but it was gone in a flash. “Promise.” He leaned in to kiss me, but then stopped, his eyes sliding over my shoulder.

Sighing, I turned and faced my nosy sister. She stared at us unabashedly, waiting for the juicy stuff to begin. “I’m trying to say goodbye to my boyfriend. ”

She snorted. “Trying and failing. The man’s going away. Give him a good kiss.”

“I would,” I gritted out, “but you’re watching me.”

She held up her hand, spinning away. “So sorry. I didn’t know you required silence and alone time to say goodbye.”

Shaking my head, I turned back to Kavanaugh, but my grin slipped from my lips when I caught the disarming way he was staring at me. The heated look in his eyes was nearly my undoing. I would have begged him to stay with me if I thought he might actually do it. But he had to leave, and he was already late as it was.

“Fuck, I really don’t want to leave,” he muttered. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”

“I swear.”

I barely got the words out before his lips crashed into mine and his arms wrapped around me, pulling me tight to his body. I felt his splayed hands on my back sliding down my spine, gripping my hips as he pulled me even closer. His fingers dug into my sides as he thrust his hard length against me, showing me what this was doing to him.

I gasped, sliding my fingers through his hair, trying to memorize the feel of his lips against mine. But all too quickly, he pulled away, breathing hard. “I have to go.”

I nodded, trying to pull myself together as he kissed me one last time and walked away. My gaze followed him all the way to his truck and still, as he pulled out of the parking lot, raising his hand out the window to say goodbye. I knew I was grinning like a fool, but I didn’t care. That man was going to be the death of me.

Riley sighed heavily. “You’re going to be insufferable until he comes home.”

“Probably.”

“Well, at least with him gone, you won’t be late for any more movies.”

I turned and rolled my eyes at her. “Yes, that’s what’s important.”

She held up her hands. “Hey, you’re the one who was moping around all morning. I was just trying to get you out of your head.”

“Thank you, Riley,” I said with a touch of sarcasm .

“You’re welcome. Now, since we missed the beginning of the movie, what are we going to do now?”

I didn’t really care. I doubted I could think of anything other than Kavanaugh for the next hour.

“Great. You have that doe-eyed look on your face,” she grumbled.

“I do not.”

“Do so.”

“Do not!”

“Do so,” she argued as we headed back to the cars. “And if I have to hear about how wonderful he is all night, I’m gonna puke. Don’t think I’m gonna be that sister who?—”

I stopped listening as I pulled the car door open. She would rant all the way home even though she was in another vehicle. And when we got home, I’d have to hear about how we missed the movie for the rest of the day. But it was completely worth it to feel Kavanaugh’s lips on mine again. She was going to have to get used to it because I knew Kavanaugh wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.