Page 31 of Keel

“If we do this. If we get together, I don’t want you to think I’m abandoning you when I have to leave, even though we have dinner planned. Vacations, I take time off work and wouldn’t be called in unless it was something big.”

“Like nine-eleven?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Something like that. I’m up in my head and may not communicate well. If I’m involved in something deep, I’m in it, and I might not call for weeks at a time.”

She squeezed his arm and stepped closer. “I’ve only been in bad relationships, except one in high school. I’m not sure I’m good enough to be in a good relationship.”

He pulled her close. “I think you deserve a good relationship, and maybe I’m not good enough for you. This may sound crazy, but I want to try with you. I want us to try together.”

She glanced down, her gaze on the ground. Had he pushed too much? Maybe she wasn’t ready, and he was being foolish bringing it up. He was about to tell her to forget it when she reached out and took his hand.

“I’m still screwed up in the head. My last relationship did a number on me. I don’t want either of us to feel trapped.”

He wove their fingers together. “If you’ll have me, I want to try. We may not work out, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

The way she looked at him made his heart swell with a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time. She was perfect for him, and he couldn’t really explain why. The feelings he had for her made little sense, not when he went over how long they’d known each other. But the depths of his feelings couldn’t be denied.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

Frankie’s words came out in a whisper, and he almost laughed. She wasn’t talking about physical hurt. She was warning him because they’d both been through so much. He’d admitted that his ex had screwed him over, and he’d almost not recovered from it. No question, Frankie wouldn’t be anything like his ex.

“And I don’t want to hurt you. You have been so nice to me. I think we should take it slow, though.”

“Yes. We go slow.”

“How about we don’t have sex for at least a few weeks. It may be hard to restrain ourselves, because we’re living together, but I don’t want you to feel any pressure. If you get to a point and want us to slow down, just say so.”

Frankie blew out a breath. “I’m surprised. I’ve never been in a relationship like this.”

“I don’t know how it will go, but I think we’ll be good together.”

She hugged him close, and he relaxed against her. This felt right, like they were supposed to be together. He’d spent a long time thinking about his past mistakes, and it felt like none of that mattered with Frankie by his side. Maybe things would be different with her, maybe they could both get it right.

Chapter 17

On Friday, about the time Frankie was supposed to leave for Ansley and Link’s place, worry hit hard. Keel found her in the hall, staring at the carpet.

“Hey, Frankie, you okay?”

She lifted her gaze to his, blinking rapidly. “What if they don’t like me?”

He moved closer and held her face in his hands. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. These women aren’t like that.”

“What if they do something?”

“Something? They aren’t going to do anything to you. They are good people and just want to be friendly.”

Panic rose. “How do you know they won’t do anything?”

His lips ticked up on one side. “Well, I’ve known them for a while, and I know my guys. They wouldn’t bring women into their lives who weren’t good people.”

She shook her head. “I’m not good people.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Frankie, you are good. Don’t believe what Forest told you. He was an abusive guy who manipulated you.” He held her at arm’s length and stared into her eyes. “You have your phone. Call me if you need anything. Link and the guys are coming over here. If you need anything at all, I’ll be there in less than a minute.”

A part of her wanted to go see what movie night would be like, but fear had a way of worming its way in and not letting go. Forest had done everything he could to make sure she didn’t have any close friends. She’d been through so much, and she knew most of it was because of the way he’d manipulated her, but the fear still held on, making it hard to believe she could enjoy life.

“Trust me, it will be fine.”