Taking His Woman(14)
Chris shook his head. His phone in his pants vibrated.
“No. You’re making a mess and nothing edible. I’d rather get my own breakfast, thank you.” She walked out of the kitchen with her head held high.
Trent followed behind her. Chris checked his phone. It was a message from Cassie, letting him know the picnic was set up and in the fridge.
He grabbed the wooden basket, checking the contents when David threw all the breakfast things into the sink. The sound of broken glass echoed ‘round the kitchen.
“I give up.”
“Shouting at her when she was trying to help wasn’t your smartest move,” Chris said.
“Don’t talk back to me, Chris. Not now.”
Chris shrugged at him, lifting the picnic hamper onto his shoulder. “You’re not going to win her back like that. Maybe you really want to be alone.”
He left the house, getting into his car and driving off. He didn’t want to deal with family drama. Erica sat out on the front porch when he drove up. Ben was with her. Chris counted to ten before getting out. She wore a beautiful pale blue dress, the thin straps exposing her arms and the top part of her chest. The dress fell to her ankles. Her blonde hair was tucked into a clip at the back. She looked like a vision of purity.
“Hi. I didn’t think you’d show,” she said. The damage he’d done to her had caused this doubt. He would never give her a chance to doubt him again.
“I overslept, and then there was a family disaster.” The closeness between them was missing. He scowled at Ben.
“Why don’t you go and get your stuff, Erica? I’ll keep him company.”
Erica nodded, leaving him alone with the jerk. Ben closed the gap, standing close to him. Chris was a few inches taller, which added to his threat.
“You’ve hurt her before.” Ben snapped the words at him.
“Back off. I may be forty years old, but I can take your fucking ass and make you look like a baby,” Chris said. Growing up in a houseful of brothers had kept him at the peak of fitness.
“I don’t think you’ve got it in you.”
Chris saw Erica coming back out. “Let’s get something straight. I love Erica. I always have, but I was too stupid to say anything. I’m never going to hurt her. This is my last chance with her. Back the fuck off. I may be a businessman, but I’m a fucking mean ass fighter when I need to be.”
Ben stared up at him. Erica was putting on her sandals.
“She likes looking at flower and water gardens. Treat her right, or I’ll take you out.” Ben turned, embraced Erica, and left.
Chris watched him go before taking Erica and helping her into the car. “What was that all about?” she asked.
“I think your friend was protecting you. He promised to kick my ass if I didn’t treat you right.”
She chuckled. “That is so like Ben.”
“I thought you were dating him?” He got into his side of the car, starting up the engine.
“We were. Things didn’t turn out as we planned them. I thought we were going to the beach. We can walk from here.”
He smiled. “We’re going to a secluded part of the beach.”
“Yeah? What makes it secluded?”
“It’s Sinclair territory.” He pulled the car onto the road.
“How was your night?” she asked.
Chris thought about his nightmare. He knew he needed to talk to her about it. “It wasn’t good. You?”
“I slept fine. Why didn’t you?”
He overtook a van then pressed on the gas. “I dreamt about Monday morning three years ago.” She let out a gasp. The tension in the car built. “I know I shouldn’t bring it up.”
“Do you dream about it often?” she asked.
“Enough to lose sleep over.”
They drove in silence until he parked the car. He turned off the engine before turning to her. “If I could change what I said and did back then I would.”
“I know.” Her words were a mere whisper, and he struggled to hear them. He knew she didn’t believe him.
“I know you don’t want to talk about the past because it hurts. However, I need you to understand some things.”
He stared at her face and saw she’d gone pale from his words.
“I don’t want to relive the past, Chris. It hurt too much to live it then.”
“And while it is between us we can never get past it. Please, hear me out. Once I’ve explained some things if you want to go home, I’ll understand.”
Chris waited for her to nod her head. “I come from a fucked up family.”
“Who doesn’t?” He went on regardless of her interruption.
“My father, David Sinclair, is under the impression that we only love one woman. He married my mother when he was very young. She gave birth to Blaze, then to me, and during her third and final birth, she died bringing Trent into the world.” He stopped, recalling the pain of learning his mother was dead and the happiness of having a baby brother. “Trent came home, and dad turned to ice. He wasn’t the fun, happy-go-lucky kind of guy anymore. Anyway, years went by, and then my father met Molly.”