Page 91 of Her Ruthless Protector

“A day or two,” she said firmly. “Now I have to go. The caterers are going to be here soon.”

“Caterers?”

“We’re having a barbeque. If you think I’m actually cooking, you’ve got another think coming.”

Paul let out a roar of laughter.

A.J. hung up her phone and looked at the time. She still had an hour before the caterers were due to arrive. Two hours before Kane and the guests were going to be here. She took her wine and grapes into the huge open kitchen area. She loved this place, it was the first house that she’d ever felt so at home in. She knew that was what Kane had been hoping for.

A.J. felt a little hot and sticky after the outside humidity and headed for the shower. She wanted to look nice today. She never minded seeing the guys. She was excited as hell to see Zed again. Kane said he was moving slow but doing really well. She was curious to meet the mysterious paragon, Marcia. Kane had really built her up. But the picture of LuLu that Kane had on his mantle counteracted her nervousness. If she got baby-cuddle-time, she could deal with her perfect mother.

It was the second time she was meeting Kane’s mother. Rainey was a breeze, she was an absolute doll, she was night and day from her own mom. Sane and sober.

His mom might have issues trying to find the right man in her life, but her love for Kane was absolute. A.J. had finally introduced Kane to her mom where she was living out in Las Vegas in a double wide in a not-so-bad part of town. It was a step up from the trailer that she’d had for years—A.J. had seen to that once she’d started making real coin.

That was the one and hopefully only time she’d take Kane with her when she visited. But he’d said no, that he would be beside her every time a visit was necessary. They’d see about that.

Once again, her mom had gotten herself in a pickle. She’d come home drunk, and by mistake, went into her neighbor’s trailer who unfortunately had not locked up. Her mom had actually gotten as far as the woman’s bathroom before she had called the police.

The neighbor wasn’t pressing charges. The cops weren’t charging her mom for breaking and entering. Instead they had knocked it down to drunk and disorderly, but unfortunately the mobile home park had had enough of her antics and were kicking her out. A.J. had needed to find her mom a new place to live.

She’d done most of the work online. By the time she got to Vegas, the old place was sold, the new place was ready for move-in and the movers were ready to pack boxes. A.J. and Kane arrived just in time to see Candy’s shit-fit. When A.J. tried to intervene, the insults and filth started flying.

The moving company ended up leaving, and A.J. had to get her mother out of there so Kane could arrange another moving company to come and pack and take her stuff to the new double wide eight blocks away. It had to be close enough so Candy could take the bus to work.

By the next day, Kane had had enough, and after Candy got her keys to her new place, he insisted that they catch the next plane out of Vegas.

“Are you okay?” he’d asked when they were finally on board.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t want you to have to deal with that. I told you it would be bad.” A.J. apologized for the forty-fifth time. “Never again. The next time there’s a Candy Crush Scene, I’m going by myself.”

He’d tipped her chin up, and she’d stared into his deep forest green eyes. “You’re not hearing me. I’m coming. No one, but, no one, is making you feel like shit on my watch. My job is to protect you.”

A.J. had thought she’d melt into a puddle. Who said things like that?

No wonder she didn’t want to move to Atlanta. No wonder she was still here in Kane’s house in Virginia.

A.J. eyed the shower.

“Nope, time for a bath. Too much going through the brain.”

* * *

Kane disarmedthe alarm and plopped the actual mail onto the counter and threw the majority of the other crap into the recycling bin. He saw the marked-up script lying on the kitchen counter. Looked like A.J. had had a constructive day.

He’d been wondering how long she’d last before jumping into the driver’s seat of the production company. It’d been three weeks since Troy and Fleur’s wedding in Rotterdam. She was up and running a week faster than he thought she’d be. He didn’t know how he felt about it. He liked knowing she would be here, in his home at Lake Anna when he was on a mission. And that she would come to his high-rise apartment in Chesapeake during the weeks when he was working at the base. Hell, he just liked having her with him. More than liked. Needed.

Dammit, it was time he confronted her and told her that this move to Atlanta idea sucked. He needed her with him permanently.

Permanently, permanently.

He rubbed the back of his neck. Relax, it was any other mission. He headed to the bedroom to see if she was in there, getting ready. Nope. Then he heard music coming from the bathroom.

Ahhhh, a bath. Perfect. He had time to get things together.

He left the room and went back downstairs. He crossed the great room to the office that they were sharing. It used to seem big. Neat. Not so much anymore.

He smiled. Who would have guessed he’d like it this way?