Page 73 of Hearts at War

He chuckled as I opened the door to the coffee shop for him. “You got that right. If they’re not paying your check...” He blew a raspberry.

“Exactly.”

I wished stress about a work project could’ve been the cause of my problems. Not this headache about David being here. Or worrying that Roarke could be a bad man for me to trust or look to for a good time.

For the rest of the day, I struggled to focus. It seemed that no matter what I did, my thoughts would eventually drift back to last night.

Roarke.

David.

Even Nevaeh. I caught myself worrying about her several times.

This was my issue with working through numbers. They were boring. They were cold and simple. There was no creativity to this sort of busywork, and without engaging my mind that much, I kept falling back to thinking and fretting about what happened not even twenty-four hours ago.

By the time I was finished with the day, I was tired and hoping my fatigue could mean a better night of sleep. We all bade each other goodnights, and when I got into my car, I looked around several times, paranoid that David would be walking around this Main Street area again.

He wasn’t, but that didn’t persuade me of anything. Maybe it wasn’t him. But perhaps it was.

This waiting game would eat away at me. My nerves would continue to unravel.

Maybe I could tell Roarke?

It would be hard, but it had to be better than obsessing about my future alone.

On the drive home, I was extra careful not to speed. I volleyed my gaze back and forth between the speedometer and the road, sticking right to the line.

Letting Roarke in on my past wouldn’t be that hard. He prompted me to lower my guard. He never pushed hard, insisting that I speak up. He had yet to look pissed that I was being quiet.

Probably because he has practice with Nevaeh.

He said last night that she was cagey and didn’t talk much, yet he hadn’t shunned her or shut her out of his life completely.

If I tell him, then that’s an implication I need his help. That I need to be protected and saved.

I pulled in at my cabin and hurried inside, hating that this sensation of being watched was even stronger now.

A couple of minutes after I entered and set my purse down, someone knocked on the door.

“If you’re back again to ask me for anything...” I shook my head as I went to the door. I needed a peephole, dammit, but it had to be Nevaeh. I didn’t hear any vehicle going through. Tires would crunch on the gravel drive.

“What?” I said, flinging the door open and stepping outside, ready to tell that sassy teenager to watch how she acted around me. I didn’t deserve disrespect.

But it wasn’t her.

David stood there.

The sight of him backing up a couple of steps froze my heart. It was locked in terror, and I held my breath in.

No.

No!

I gripped the door for support, but I’d burst through it, so intent on telling Nevaeh off, that I’d exited further than what was safe.

He was here.

He was right here, within reach.