"It's better than nothing," Forrester said, "and a guy like me, hell, I take what I can get. Harry, do you have champagne in this fine establishment?"
Harry's eyes lit up at the mention of champagne. "You'd be surprised, son. I've got some very fine bottles."
"Well, bring us your finest."
"You seem pleased," Elle said when Harry left them to get the champagne.
Forrester didn't answer. He knew he had a big, stupid grin on his face, but all he could think about was having a future with Elle. The world was suddenly very full of opportunities. He thought about Lacey and Faith, and how happy they'd been during their pregnancies, how excited they'd been about having a baby, and how in love they'd been with their men. He wanted to see Elle like that, if that was what she wanted.
He reached across the table to her and she gave him her hand.
"You really are something, Elle. You know that?"
She shook her head. "If you knew me better, you might not say that."
"Yes I would."
"I don't know, Forrester. You seem awfully sure of me."
"I know what I like, Elle."
"But you don't know half of the baggage I carry."
"You're talking about that jerk from the diner this morning, aren't you?"
"How do you know about him?" Elle said, her eyes widening.
"I saw him walking out. We had a little chat in the parking lot. Charming guy."
"Yeah, real charming," Elle said.
"He's your ex, isn't he?"
Elle nodded slowly. "I don't know how he followed me here. I tried to leave him behind. Somehow he found me."
"Guys like that, if they're intent on finding you, they'll find a way. I have a friend, a good friend, practically a brother, and it took him ten years to get rid of some guys who wanted to harm his woman and his baby."
"Ten years?" Elle said, startled.
"Ten years or even more. Twelve maybe. It wasn't quite like your situation. He had trouble with a criminal gang down in Nevada. But he knew that he couldn't come home until he neutralized the threat. He knew that guys like that, they'd find him, even if he did everything in his power not to be found."
"So what did he do?"
"He took care of them."
"Took care of them?"
"Let's not get into the details," Forrester said.
"All right," Elle said, "but you do know that sounds pretty mysterious, don't you?"
"My brothers are mysterious guys, Elle. That's something I'll have to explain to you some day soon, if you want to stick with me."
"If I want to stick with you?" Elle said.
"Well, I'm not the one who's sneaking out, first thing in the morning."
Elle laughed. She was about to explain herself, and Forrester was curious about what she had to say, but Harry came over just then with the champagne.
"This is the finest bottle in the house," he said to Forrester. "I assure you."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"It's not cheap."
Forrester nodded. "Harry, I wouldn't have it any other way."
As he poured, the doors opened and a gust of snow blew into the bar. Along with the snow came five guys. Elle had her back to them and didn't turn, but Forrester was facing them and he noticed every single detail. Along with the four jerks he'd had the altercation with the night before, was the new jerk in town, Elle's ex.
"You better pour us a couple of glasses fast, Harry," Forrester said. "Something tells me I'm about to get interrupted."
Harry saw the guys enter, but didn't seem as afraid of them as he had before. Now that Forrester was in town, things didn't seem to be quite so hopeless. He continued pouring the champagne as if nothing was out of the ordinary, and Forrester clinked glasses with Elle and enjoyed a sip of the crisp, ice-cold vintage.
Gris was already walking toward him. Forrester sighed. He'd have liked to avoid another fight, and he'd have liked to keep the atmosphere romantic with Elle. Everything was going so well and she seemed so happy and relaxed. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation with her ex.
"Hey, dip shit," Gris said. "Do you know you're drinking wine with another man's girl?"
Forrester stood up. "Please excuse me for a few minutes," he said to Elle. "There's some trash I have to take care of."
To his surprise, Elle winked at him before he left. She wasn't as helpless and afraid as he'd have thought. She was actually quite courageous. This guy was definitely big enough that he could do some serious damage to a girl like Elle, and Forrester had no doubt that he'd hurt her badly in the past, and yet, she was playing this cool, or at least as cool as she could. As well as winking, he noticed that her hands were trembling.
"Look, buddy," Forrester said. "Your little friends here will be able to tell you that I'm a fighter. Fuck. I love to fight. Feeling your face crush beneath my fist would be a special treat for me. But I'm on a date right now. So if you'd rather save yourself a whole world of pain, I'd be happy to watch you leave."
"I ain't leaving, fucko."
"Fucko?" Forrester said.
"That's what I called you, fucko. You got a problem with that?"
"I don't have a problem with anything," Forrester said. "You fellas just play nice and leave me and my girl alone, and we'll all get on just fine."
"Your girl. Oh, hell no. Elle's a little slut, I'll give you that much, but she's my slut, fucko. Always has been. Always will be."
Forrester was willing to do quite a lot to avoid a fight with this guy, he had no desire to put him in hospital, but one thing he wasn't going to do was stand by and let him insult Elle.
"What did you say?" Forrester said, his voice a low growl.
"I said she's a little slut," Gris said, and he looked back over his shoulder at his four henchmen for moral support.
That did it. Forrester gritted his teeth. Gris had crossed the line. Keeping perfectly calm, Forrester sized up the situation. He didn't know how Gris had hooked up with the four local troublemakers. By the look of them, they were a little more cautious than Gris was. They'd seen Forrester fight already. Two of them had even had a taste.
Forrester let a wry smile cross his face. He might not have chosen this job, but he was good at it, and he knew he was good at it.
"Let's take this outside," he said.
Chapter 22
Elle
ELLE COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT WAS happening. Forrester led the way, walking straight out of the bar to the parking lot, and Gris and his four cronies followed. Elle gave a desperate look to Harry before running to the door herself. She had to see what was going to happen.
She was surprised at how calm she felt. Ordinarily, Gris had the ability to scare the crap out of her, especially when he'd been drinking, as he clearly had been. Not only that, but he was with the guys who'd been causing trouble at the diner since her arrival, Phil and his idiot friends. Not only did they cause her and Kelly trouble, but their fathers had the power to shut down Gracie's diner and Harry's bar at the stroke of a pen.
There was a lot to fear. Five guys against one. Gris threatening to take her home with him and cut short her bid for freedom and a new life. She should have been terrified.
But she wasn't.
She knew that she wasn't alone anymore. Forrester had called her his girl. He'd insisted that she was his. He'd committed to her and she knew he meant it. She could feel it. He wasn't just some guy trying to pick her up. This was something real.
And it made her feel safe. Safer than she'd ever felt in her life.
Even with him about to face up to five big, mean assholes, Elle felt safer than she ever had. That was the effect a real man could have on her.
She'd seen how Forrester had wanted to avoid all of this. Forrester didn't want a fight. But when Gris had called her a slut, that's when things changed for Forrester. That was when he decided to take action.
She stood at the door and watched. Despite her new confidence in her own position in the world, she grew more afraid when she saw five guys standing in a circle around the man she was falling in love with.
She prayed he didn't get hurt, but when she looked at his face, he only looked amused at the situation.
"So," he said, "which one of you wants to throw the first punch?"
"Fuck you," Phil said, and lunged at Forrester.
Forrester dodged him easily and used Phil's own weight against him, forcing him into one of his friends. Another of the local boys then leapt forward. Forrester caught him in the gut with his fist and he doubled over. Then Forrester's knee came up into his face.