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She tickled his ribs, rolling over and getting to her feet. “Go on to bed. I’ll be right behind you. I just want to run back to the kitchen to see if I’m going to have everything I need, or if I’ll have to go out to the restaurant supply place in the morning before we open to pick up more cookie cutters.”
He frowned as he stood up. “I’ll accompany you.”
Rolling her eyes, she pushed him toward the bedroom. “Don’t be ridiculous, it’s twenty feet away. Go get the bed warm and ready for me.”
Thinking of all the things he could do to be ready for her, he leered. “As you wish.”
She was giggling as she left, and he went into the bathroom to wash the sap from the tree off his hands. He intended to touch her everywhere tonight, and wouldn’t want to get that piney goo anywhere it wouldn’t easily wash off.
Heading to the bedroom, he glanced at the clock and realized it had been at least ten minutes since she’d left—more than long enough for her to check on some cookie cutters. A hint of tension crawled up his spine. Though he’d been with her every day and had seen no sign of trouble, Philip couldn’t help worrying.
Deciding to check on her, he left her apartment and walked down the hallway toward the shop.
He was a few feet from the door when he heard a man’s voice.
“Listen, lady, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll sign. My boss is offering you one last chance. You sell him the building at a fair price, and he throws in your brother’s markers to sweeten the deal.”
Philip’s whole body stiffened at the gruff, threatening tone, not to mention the words. Anger roared through him, and not even considering taking the time to go upstairs and get Teeny, he flung the door open and burst into the kitchen. Casting a quick glance around, he saw Freddy Hoffman standing by the sink, his shoulders slumped, his expression stressed and unhappy.
Claire was near the counter, a shaking hand over her mouth. Next to her stood a scar-faced, burly man who towered over her. He was leaning toward her in an intimidating way, and growled like a thwarted bull when Philip appeared. As if knowing Claire was about to run to him, the man grabbed her by the arm, his grip punishing.
Rage took over. With a cry of pure fury, Philip tore across the floor in two long strides, lashing out and striking the man’s jaw. The thug stumbled back, releasing his grip on Claire, who went spinning. Seeing that she was all right, Philip focused entirely on the ugly stranger, who was curling up his fists for a brawl.
Philip hadn’t trained with the best fighters in Elatyria for nothing. He was the head of his country’s army, had fought nomadic warriors and thieves and pugilists. He knew how to handle himself.
“Philip, watch out!” Claire cried from the corner.
He ignored her, leaning forward defensively as the hulk came swinging. One uppercut to the jaw, a hard left to the midsection and a final right in the kidneys and the other man went down.
“Crawl out of here right now, scum, and don’t ever come back,” Philip snarled at the man, who was hunched over in pain.
“You don’t know who you’re messin’ with, or who I work for! I’m tryin’ to make a deal!”
“Make it with the punk who owes you money,” he snapped, glaring at Freddy, who was watching wide-eyed in shock. “If you ever lay hands on this woman again, I’ll make sure they don’t find your body. And believe me, I know how to do it.”
The rough-looking man staggered to his feet and stumbled toward the door. Before leaving, he glanced back at Freddy. “You have twenty-four hours to make good. Then you’re mine.”
Philip was no longer paying attention. He hurried over to Claire, who was leaning against the counter, gasping and rubbing her arm where the beast had grabbed her. Philip ran a hand over her to ensure it wasn’t broken. When he’d confirmed she was more shaken up than hurt, he pulled her hard against him. “It’s all right now, Claire. He won’t ever bother you again.”
“Philip! Oh, God, thank you for coming. I didn’t even hear them until I walked in.”
“You weren’t supposed to be here,” Freddy cried, finally rushing over to his sister. “I was planning to get him in and out without you ever knowing.”
“Were you going to sell the building out from under her the way you rented the upstairs?” Philip snapped, unable to hide his disgust with the weak young man.
“No!” he said. “I just... Louie the Rat King tried so hard to get Claire to sell last month. I think that’s why they kept giving me lines of credit. So I agreed to show his guy around.”
“The Rat King?” she said, sounding confused. “You mean he was that investor who kept coming in here?”
Freddy nodded miserably. “I didn’t know, I swear. And I was just trying to buy time, to pretend you were thinking about selling, while I figured out how to get the rest of the money.”
Philip didn’t know if Claire believed her brother, but wasn’t nearly ready to give Freddy the benefit of the doubt himself. “What happened to the money I paid you?”
“I gave him most of it, I swear. I paid off the first debt! The extra five, well, I figured I’d try to build it back up so I could totally give Claire every penny. Only...”
“You lost it. And then some.”
“Right.”
“You selfish fool,” Philip snapped.
Claire was openly weeping now. “How could you, Freddy? After everything we’ve been through? After Dad...”
“I just didn’t want to be a burden on you anymore,” her brother insisted. “I thought if I could make some quick money, I could take care of you for a change.”
“She has me to do that now,” Philip said. Claire glanced at him, visibly startled by his words. “Now, here’s the bargain I will make with you,” he said to Freddy. “I’ll pay off your debt under one condition. You go do something useful with your life, and don’t come back until you’ve grown up.”
“Philip...”
“No, Claire. You can’t keep coddling him. He has to stand on his own two feet.”
“Look, I appreciate the offer, but this is our problem.”
He turned to look down at her, seeing the sadness on her face. She seemed to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. “No,” he told her. “It’s mine, too. You’re my family, Claire. I intend to marry you. That makes your brother’s problem my problem.”
Her jaw fell. “What on earth are you saying?”
Not the right thing, obviously. Some romantic suitor he was. The most eligible prince in the kingdoms and he’d completely mucked up the one and only marriage proposal he ever intended to make. Not only was the timing bad, given the audience and the situation, but he still hadn’t told her the entire truth about himself. He would shortly, but not until he’d finished dealing with her brother.
“Are you serious? You’re really going to marry my sister?” Freddy asked, sounding more interested in that part of the conversation than in the financial part. Which was one small point in his favor.
“I am.”
“Do I have any say in this?” Claire asked, sounding annoyed. “Look, Philip, you can’t just take over my life, make these decisions, tell me I’m marrying you and order my brother away.”
“Of course I can,” he replied. “You love me.”
She sighed and ran a weary hand through her beautiful hair. “Yeah, okay, I do. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you solve all my problems.”
“Why not? Isn’t that what people in love do?”
“No. They solve them together. They work together, make decisions together.” She glared at her brother. “Deal with irresponsible siblings together.”
“Very well, then,” Philip said, “we’ll do it together. As soon as we get married.”
If anything, she looked even more unsure. “You can’t propose to me just to save my brother’s ass.”
“I’m not,” he insisted. “I intended to ask you to marry me tomorrow, and to come away with me on Monday.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, as if she didn’t believe him.
“I have much to tell you, Claire,” he explained, “and I will, when we’re alone. But the one thing you must know, before we say another word, is that I am leaving on Christmas Eve. I have to go back to my home, which is far away from here, and I want to take you with me.”
Shock made her take a step or two back, until she was leaning against the counter, eyeing him as if she’d never seen him before. Even Freddy, who’d been staying quiet, probably counting his blessings, looked stunned.
“You want to take her away? Like, forever?”
“She can come back to visit, and if you ever manage to grow up and become a responsible adult, there will always be a place for you in our home.”
