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He stood with his back to me and once I walked in, he turned around again and placed a hand on his hip.
“Fine … Maybe I do need your help a little,” I admitted and moved closer to him. “I need you to teach me to defend myself, and then maybe we will tell the cops about the hit and run. I need …” I searched my mind for the right words, then found them in another second. “I need you to be my bodyguard if that will help.”
Tommy stared at me, then he closed the distance between us and stared hard at me. “I can’t protect you if I don’t know what we’re fighting against.”
The air around us tensed, and his eyes bored into mine. Strangely, it seemed suspicious, like he was trying to get words out of me.
“Tommy, I don’t …”
The doorbell rang at that moment and interrupted the moment. Tommy stared at me hard before he backed away then walked past me and out of the kitchen.
Tommy
Petershowedupatmy cottage unexpectedly, and after the meeting with him, I returned to the house and found Leah sitting on the front porch. She had a notepad in one hand and her attention buried in whatever she was writing.
When I got to the porch, I sat too and linked my fingers together. “Sorry, I had to leave abruptly. I had to get to work,”
“It’s fine,” she answered but still didn’t look at me. I watched her write some notes then she looked at me and smiled. My breath sized in my throat at first, then the heavy thud of my pulse came without remorse.
I kept staring at her breathlessly and felt the rush of adrenaline pump through my system.
“I used to write the songs for our band,” she began after some time. “Danielle needs help with some lyrics, and she asked for my input. I’ve been at it for hours and I don’t know what to write anymore.”
“Maybe you should sing it to me,” I answered, then straightened my posture and angled my body towards hers. “Sing your lyrics to me and I can tell you if it’s all right or if you sound like a frog.”
She laughed and punched my arm lightly. “I never sound like a frog, and you know that.”
I joined in the laugh, and as our mirth filled the air, my heart suddenly slowed its pace. My fingers itched to touch her, and simply staring at her made me want to kiss those luscious lips.
“I uh …” she stuttered, cleared her throat then backed away from me. I looked away too, licked my lips then massaged the back of my neck to get rid of the tension there.
“I don’t think this is right, Tommy,” she whispered. “I’m not … Danielle’s my best friend and you’re her dad.”
“I’m her dad,” I repeated, and nodded. Her words struck a realization in me, and I knew she was right. “I’d still like to listen to that song though.”
“Why, because you want to hear me embarrass myself?” she teased, but I laughed and shook my head.
“Of course, I don’t think you sound like a frog. It’s because I want to hear you sing. Your voice has always been a means for me to relax. I used to enjoy listening to you girls sing all the time when Danielle was still here.”
“Really?”
Our gazes met again, and this time, the electrical jolts rushing through me returned. Being around her made me mentally fuzzy. She made me forget all the reasons why getting close to anyone else would end in a disaster.
I blinked back to reality before I lost myself, then I rose to my feet. “I should get inside.”
“Tommy?” She called and I looked back to see her standing behind me. “Thanks for letting me stay, and for putting up with me.”
She didn’t need to thank me. I wanted to stay with her some more and listen to her talk about all she wanted to, but if I didn’t leave, then I would get lost in her.
That should never happen again.
“Goodnight,” I said to her, then walked into the house, and closed the door behind me. I needed to forget the thoughts of Leah and all the emotions she made me feel. There had been no one since Lisa, and that made it all the more troubling.
Chapter Thirteen
Leah
Theeeriesenseofbeing watched followed me through the week. Tommy and I weren’t exactly speaking at this point, but each time he was in the cottage, I felt safer.
