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“Still afraid of your mother-in-law?” Brayden had complained about his wife’s mother even before they married.
“You’ve never met the woman. When she dies, she’ll probably take over hell. Anyway, I’m headed to Shooters for a beer. Are you interested?”
In the past, he’d join his buddy, grab a beer and burger, and then go back to his place for some television. Tonight, a much more appealing evening
awaited him. “Sorry, I’ve got things to do. Another night.”
“Right, things to do.” Brayden wiggled his eyebrows and Rock’s hand itched to remove the knowing smile from his friend’s face. “Laurie showed me the pictures of you and the Sherbrooke chick together. Don’t blame you for wanting to rush home.”
“Have fun visiting with your mother-in-law tonight, Delray.” He didn’t care to discuss his and Allison’s relationship with Brayden or anyone else.
“Let’s plan for the four of us to go out together once the wicked witch leaves.”
A couples’ night out. He done those before with a few of the women he’d dated. “I’ll let you know.” He had nothing against the idea. What about Allison? Would she be open to spending an evening with his friends? Up until now, they hadn’t added friends to their relationship. If this thing between them continued, it would have to happen at some point. And he wanted it to last. He’d come close to calling his sister crazy when she’d fallen in love with Trent so quickly. Now he was starting to understand because, somehow in a short period of time, Allison Sherbrooke had planted herself in his heart. Each day that passed, her hold on him grew. She hadn’t said anything, but he suspected strong feelings existed on her end too.
“Do that. Enjoy your night. I’m sure you’ll have more fun than me tonight.” Brayden frowned and pulled open his car door.
After all the stories Brayden had told him about his mother-in-law, he didn’t envy what was waiting for him when he got home. At the same time, anticipation at what was waiting for him forty minutes away had him wishing Alexandria were much closer.
When Rock squeezed into a spot in front of Allison’s townhouse later on, he spotted her car parked in the driveway, but he didn’t see Connor’s car. The bodyguard wouldn’t have left her alone. He had his orders to stay with her until he returned. So where were they? Before he left the base, he sent off a text message letting Allison know he was on his way. When she responded back, she’d said she’d be leaving work soon too. That had been fifty minutes ago. It didn’t take anywhere near that long to get from her office to home.
She’s got great protection with her. He’d insisted Allison ask to have Connor assigned as one of her guards, even though he knew his friend would hate the job. He had known the guy a long time and knew what he was capable of. Rock trusted Connor to stop at nothing to keep her safe. The only person he trusted more was himself. The reminder didn’t stop him from pulling up her contact info and calling her.
“You beat me home,” Allison said after answering.
Home. The four-letter word echoed around in his head, causing the roots Allison had planted to dig deeper into his soul.
“I’ll be there in less than a minute. We’re turning onto Cameron Street now. I made Connor stop at Cooper’s Smokehouse, so I could get us barbecue for dinner. It took longer than usual tonight.”
The dark-blue sedan Connor arrived in that morning passed him and parked across the bottom of Allison’s driveway. Rock wasted no time opening his truck door. A thousand ants started their march across the back of his neck the moment his boots hit the pavement, and he started for Connor’s car. A quick glance around revealed nothing out of the ordinary, not even a dark cloud in the sky. But someone had eyes on them. And they were doing a damn good job of keeping out of sight.
Rock reached the car as Allison closed the door. Without hesitation, she smiled and wrapped her arms around him. “I missed you.” Despite Connor standing feet away, she kissed him.
Going home to an empty apartment never bothered him, but he could get used to coming home to a greeting like this every night. He enjoyed her lips against his for half a second longer and then pulled away. The ants on his neck continued their march. He needed Allison inside behind locked doors. “Let’s continue this inside.” Rock took the takeout bag she held and put an arm over her shoulders. “Anything unusual today?” He directed his question at Connor.
“Nice and quiet.”
Let’s keep it that way. “Good. See you same time tomorrow.”
Connor nodded and headed back around to the driver’s side.
“Hope you’re hungry tonight.”
He faced the street, his back pressed up against Allison’s as she unlocked the door. The position allowed him to keep both eyes on the street and protect her at the same time. “Starving.” Her keys jingled behind him, followed by a squeak as the door opened.
Stepping up, he entered the house and took one final glance around before he turned and closed the door. “What did ya get?”
Allison paused at the alarm panel and punched in her code. “Large orders of ribs, chicken, and coleslaw, plus cornbread. They’d just taken it out of the oven. I skipped lunch today. It’s always dangerous for me to order takeout when I’ve skipped a meal.” She turned and started up the stairs “Start without me. I need to change.”
Considering that the snow-white blouse she wore probably cost as much as his monthly rent, he guessed changing was a good idea.
Rock grabbed plates from the cupboard and set them on the table then pulled the to-go containers from the plastic bag. The scent of warm cornbread drifted toward him, tempting him to grab a chunk, but he held back. He didn’t dine at five-star restaurants, but he had enough manners to wait until Allison joined him. He hoped she changed fast tonight. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he was starving.
While he waited, he grabbed a soda and popped it open. Beer complimented barbecue much better than any cola, but he didn’t want anything impeding his reaction time. Allison might still think they were overreacting, but he didn’t.
“You didn’t have to wait for me.” She dropped a kiss on his cheek as she passed by him. She’d changed out of her business clothes and into denim capris and a lilac T-shirt. “I’m having a glass of wine. Do you want one?” She grabbed a bottle from the wine rack near the back door. “How did I forget to lock this?” Allison stopped and turned the top deadbolt. “I need to pay more attention in the morning. I left my bedroom light on too.”
“The ones in here were on when I came in.”
