Page 21 of Wounded Hearts

Chapter 11

The last threedays had been bliss. Not by most people’s standards but certainly compared to her last few years. It had allowed Mara to settle into herself and start to find herself again after years under the control of a cruel man who’d almost broken her. She wasn’t the old Mara but perhaps a new and evolved one was starting to emerge. Now she had battle scars and unhealed wounds that nobody could see.

By day she spent her time at Fortis with Drew and the others. The men still made her feel a little uneasy, not because they were anything less than respectful but because she no longer trusted her own instincts. They all seemed like good, kind men but so had Brayden in the beginning.

Her gut, which she’d always trusted in the past, told her to trust them. The ease with which the women around them joked and behaved showed her she was right. But knowing something and believing it wasn’t always the same thing.

The evenings were her favourite. She’d curl up on the sofa beside Drew and they’d eat whatever she fancied. Not having to eat the posh menu that Brayden had decided on, her carb intake had practically doubled in the last three days. She realised that the gnawing hunger she hadn’t even known was there was now gone, replaced by a satisfied full belly.

So far Drew had caught her up on the Big Bang Theory seasons 10, 11, and 12. Told her about the friends and people she knew from the therapy centre they had both been at. Drew had been everything she’d known he was. Gentle, kind, patient, funny, warm, and she trusted him. Right from the beginning she’d felt it, a connection with him that was way beyond what it should have been.

It was as if her heart and soul knew him, recognised him as her own. She laughed inwardly at the notion as she dressed in her final pair of clean clothes. After everything she’d been through, soul mates should be the last thing on her mind. She’d just escaped one disaster of a relationship, to jump into a new one was foolish. Yet that was exactly what she wanted. She wanted Drew, felt drawn to him, wanted to feel his arms around her, feel his lips on her own. Even as she wished it, Mara wasn’t sure if she’d be able to trust enough to do that, but she wanted too.

A knock on the door had her crossing to open it. After the first night on the sofa, Drew had very gently insisted that she take his bed. His reasoning was that she’d feel safer if he was closer to the door. The fact that he’d picked up on that tiny detail made her heart warm.

Mara opened the door and saw the man in question leaning against the frame. He looked handsome and strong and so damn sexy her body stirred with desire.

“Hi.” His eyes twinkled with caring as he regarded her.

“Hi, yourself.” Her reply was flirty and full of banter, it surprised her.

“A little birdy tells me that you need more clothes.”

“That’s true.” Mara hated the thought of pulling him away from his work. Drew had explained they were following some leads on Brayden that would lock him away for years without her testimony. She’d felt relieved that she wouldn’t have to face him again in any capacity.

“Well, if you’re comfortable with it, I’ve arranged a little shopping trip for you with Lizzie, Roz, Lauren, and Ava. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. There’s no pressure either way, but I thought it might be nice for you. You can relax, get what you need, and you’ll be safe. Roz is the deadliest person I know and that includes the men I work with.” Her face must have said it all because he quickly added, “She’s deadly but she’s also chairman of the PTFA, and she’s also a sweetheart under all her bluster. She’d die for those she cares for and she loves me so…”

Mara laughed at his impish grin. “Good to know.”

“So, what do you think? Fancy it or not?”

Mara looked down not wanting to tell him she didn’t have any money. Brayden had locked her account, so she had to ask him for everything.

“What is it?” Drew crouched to catch her eye.

“I don’t have any money.”

Drew nodded. “Yes, I thought that might be the case, which is why I had Will do something.” He cleared his throat. “I had him hack your account and transfer all your money from it into a new one that can’t be traced. You can pay with your own money and still be safe from Wells.”

Mara didn’t know what to say. She could hear the contempt in his voice when he spat out Brayden’s name along with his anger at what he’d done to her. That he’d thought to do such a thing to give her back her independence caused tears to fill her eyes. Raising on her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”

He blushed and winked. “You’re welcome.” They stayed that way just watching each other for a beat, neither wanting to move, but eventually Drew broke the sweet tension. “Right, let’s get going. I’ll drop you off at Fortis where the girls are waiting, and you can shop til you drop.”

Mara grabbed the coat that Lauren had loaned her, and they headed out. She felt lighter and freer than she had in years and it was down to this man and his friends.

* * *

Her first meetingwith Roz had been intimidating to say the least. The woman was beautiful, but it was the way she looked at her, as if assessing if she was on the up and up that gave her pause. Being measured to see if she was worthy of Drew—of any of them—made Mara nervous. Mara had never been more anxious about passing a test before, it felt important that these people like her. She’d seen her in St Kitts but hadn’t been introduced to the beauty that seemed to turn heads with her confidence.

Finally, Roz smiled at her and Mara had felt her shoulders relax. Between Lizzie, who she’d spent time with over the last few days and had come to really like and respect, Lauren, who was her appointed watchdog, and Roz, her apparent new best friend, she felt surrounded by love and security as they walked into the quite boutique store on Kings Street. She looked around, taking in the racks of clothes, the displays of bags and shoes, and even the case with handcrafted jewellery. It was expensive and exclusive, but it didn’t feel pretentious.

The rest of the woman dispersed towards things that caught their own eyes, Roz stayed beside her though. She clearly had a style of her own as did each of the women. Clearly this boutique was a favourite with them. All four women had very distinct and different styles of their own, making them catch the eyes of those around them. She wandered around for a while not really knowing what to choose when Lauren appeared beside her.

“What’s wrong?”

Mara turned, surprised she’d picked up on her discomfort. “I don’t know what to pick.”

A look of sympathy and understanding came over Lauren’s face. “I’m guessing you didn’t get a lot of choices over the last few years.”