House Rules(54)

“I’m proud of you for not killing him on sight.”

I gestured with my glass. “Can’t say the thought didn’t cross my mind.”

We sat in silence, both nursing our glasses, until Dean asked, “So what now?”

“Now, I go to Tess and let her know that Marcello will leave her alone. You go keep searching for Wasden. I still want him found.”

“You got it.” He took a sip of his own drink. “She makes you happy doesn’t she?”

I thought about my answer. I’d never kept anything from Dean before, and I didn’t intend to start now. “I actually never imagined being this happy with one woman.”

And I would do anything in my power to keep her safe.





CHAPTER 18





Theresa


Three games a day. That was baseball season; at least, from what I’d learned since working at the bar. Not once in my life had I paid any attention to baseball before now, yet here I was, surrounded by screaming fans, getting drunk, watching a bunch of guys toss a ball around. The days were long, but the money was more than I could have imagined.

Turned out drunk sports fans left big tips.

A few weeks had passed, and even though Miller tried all methods of persuasion, I’d refused to quit my job. That didn’t stop him from continuing to try, but he did move me behind the bar and I was okay with that. I was making just as much money, if not more, plus I didn’t have to deal with Miller’s jealous rages—especially since the outfit for bartenders was much more reserved than for floor staff, and there were no hands attempting to touch my ass. Definitely no ass cheeks hanging out. Apparently watching me walking around “half naked” was a concession Miller was not willing to make. According to him, he was the only one allowed to see that much of my skin. I’d wanted to argue that he couldn’t tell me what to do, but didn’t see the point when I was more than happy to switch.

Not that he had any reason to be jealous. After all, I wasn’t the one with the long list of former bed partners. Don’t get me wrong, I loved spending time getting to know Miller, the man with all the secrets I wanted to unravel and understand. The man with the temper and a violent streak a mile wide still secretly worried me, but that didn’t stop me from standing my ground. I wanted someone who saw me as an equal, not someone they needed to take care of. Most of the time when he pushed, I pushed back. He’d warned me up front that he would be an asshole and I always did my best to put him in his place.

Even through all of it, Miller had pushed his way past the barriers I’d placed around my heart. The ones that would protect me when someone decided that I owed them something for them caring about me; as if caring about them in return wasn’t enough. Each day I found that I let him in a little more.

I still hadn’t told him about my parents. About why I left right after my eighteenth birthday. I had a feeling Miller wouldn’t take too kindly to them. And maybe they deserved whatever he threw at them.

We spent the entire spring break together. Being at the club—either sitting in his roped off section or dancing—felt different. I had to admit I hadn’t expected it to feel quite so strange. The employees knew who I was immediately, made sure my drink was never empty unless I wanted it to be, and offered to get me anything else I needed. Most of my experiences up until now had been fighting my way up to the bar and hoping you could flag a bartender down. It was like I’d turned into royalty overnight, and while I wasn’t going to turn it down, I couldn’t help but feel out of my depth sometimes.

But now, with spring break over and the demands the dealership and his own businesses increasing, plus my school and work schedules, it was becoming harder for us to see each other.

Exhausted from Miller keeping me up half the night before, I slid in behind the bar, grabbed a towel, and walked up to the guy closest to me.

“What can I get you?” I set a coaster down in front of him.

His head popped up and I froze. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see him here seeing as he had introduced me to the place, but I really hadn’t thought Ray would be so stupid as to show his face in one of Miller’s places again.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped.

“I came for you, just like I said I would. Took me a little longer to find you, since you moved out of the apartment and ignored my calls, but here I am.”

He covered my hand with his and I quickly snatched it away. “I moved out when two assholes who were looking for you broke into my apartment.”

His eyes narrowed. “That’s been taken care of. So now you can come home with me.”