Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
“Did any of them approach you?” he asked.
“Well, no. But what does that matter?”
“None of those people triggered our instincts. And it doesn’t matter if they’re an actual threat or simply a perceived one. A strange man approached you. I assessed that he could be a threat and stepped in front of you to ensure you were safe, yet you moved. You need to stay where you’re put.”
He did not just say that.
Bebe waited for him to take it back, but he was too busy heaving for breath.
“Fine,” she said in a curt voice. “I’ll stay where I’m put even when I know the person you think is a threat isn’t one. Happy, now?”
He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. “Nope.”
“Makes two of us.” Standing, she stepped past him. “Guess I’ll just go and call some contractors about my back porch since I’m also not allowed to stand on that.”
Fuck.
Corbin sat in her chair after she left the room, placing his elbows on the table. He rested his head in his hands, breathing in slow and deep.
Why had he done that?
He’d overreacted. He’d acted like an idiot.
And worse, he’d upset her.
She had every right to be mad at him.
“Everything okay?” Hayes asked.
Corbin didn’t even look up. He simply shook his head. “Not exactly. I overreacted. This guy approached us. He looked rough, not like someone she would know, and I saw him as a threat. I made an assumption based on his appearance. And then I got mad at her for stepping around me and getting between me and him.”
“I mean, it seems to me like you’re right to be upset at her. If you told her to stay still, then she should have. She knows the deal.”
“Yeah, but she did greet him, so I probably didn’t need to go as far as I did.”
“Ahh,” Hayes replied. “And now you’re beating yourself up for overreacting?”
“Yeah. She’s upset at me.”
“Would you have made that judgment if she was someone else?”
“What?” he asked
“If she was another client, would you have done the same thing?”
Corbin had to take a moment to think that over. “I mean, I would have had a chat with them, but I’m not sure that I would have started pacing or kind of dragged them inside to lecture them.”
Hayes nodded as Corbin glanced over at him. The other man was leaning in the doorway, looking thoughtful. “You’re protective of her. But you’ve only known her a day.”
“I know. I need to step back.” He heaved out a breath. “Man, I even told her that she can’t walk on her back porch as it doesn’t seem safe. And that she had to get a real contractor to look at it.”
Hayes snorted. “Now, that’s fair enough if you ask me.”
“Can you take point with her while I set this security system up?” he asked, knowing it was for the best.
“If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
It really wasn’t.
“I need to go apologize to Bebe.”
10
Corbin was avoiding her.
At least, that’s what it felt like.
And she didn’t like it.
Three days had passed since Bob came to visit and Corbin had basically blown up at her.
Okay . . . blown up might be an exaggeration. And after she’d had a chance to think and breathe, she’d realized that he was just trying to do his job. Sure, he could be less of a jerk about it, but she could also be more understanding.
And she had stepped around him when he’d had no idea that Bob wasn’t a threat.
Plus, he’d apologized almost straight away. Which she could respect. Apologizing wasn’t easy.
At least for her, it wasn’t.
But now it felt like he didn’t want to be around her. She’d spent the last three days doing things in the house . . . hoping that she’d run into him as he set up the security system.
But he seemed to have a knack for avoiding her.
She even had a contractor coming out tomorrow to check her back porch.
With a sigh, she put on some workout clothes. She needed to get out of the house, and luckily, it was time for her skateboarding lesson.
Heading downstairs, she saw Hayes in the kitchen, eating a sandwich. He was a surprisingly good cook. Even if his specialty was sandwiches.
She wasn’t complaining. She was eating better than she had in . . . well, since him.
Urgh. The asshole.
She rubbed her chest. She always seemed to get indigestion when she thought about him.
“Hey, I’m headed out for my skateboarding lesson.”
“Your . . . your what?” he called out, following her as she moved to the front door. “Wait. Stop. Where do you think you’re going?”
She had to hide her grin. She did like to keep Hayes on his toes.
“Right . . . I’ve got everything set up. I just need to take you through it all,” Corbin said, approaching her with his tablet in his hand. He pushed his glasses up his nose.