Executive Protection(40)

Sitting on the office chair beside his daydreaming friend, Thad cleared his throat.

Snapped back to the real world, Darcy straightened some papers and put them back into a folder on his cluttered desk, two computer screens and a keyboard sticking up from a bed of papers, folders and books.

“We were talking about Cam confronting Lucy outside her hair appointment,” Thad reminded him, not missing his self-conscious preoccupation with the papers. Moving them to other piles on his desk would hardly tidy things up.

“Right. Yeah. I’ll get the paperwork going to charge him for stalking. We may not have enough evidence.”

They had Lucy’s phone records, and Thad had witnessed the first confrontation in front of the hospital, but Lucy hadn’t gotten the old woman’s name who’d witnessed the confrontation in front of the hair salon. She had no pictures, nor had she reported the second incident to police.

Maybe the threat of charges would be enough to scare him away from Lucy. Thad had a feeling it wouldn’t.

Noticing Darcy drift off into another daydream, he gave up trying to get any work done. “Things are going pretty good between you and that girl.”

Darcy’s attention came back to him. “I talk to her every day. We’ve gone out a couple of times. Dude. I can’t get her out of my mind.”

Wow, every day. “Do you want to?”

“No. Yes. It’s so soon after my divorce.” His uncertainty was palpable, but Thad didn’t think his uncertainty extended to his feelings for the woman.

“She makes me feel so good,” Darcy continued, getting that dreamy look again. “Am I just desperate or is this for real?”

Thad had no idea, and he was the wrong person to ask. “Just go with it.” That’s what he always did. Stay in the now and enjoy it while it lasted.


“This is different,” Darcy said.

He could tell his friend was torn over this. “How? Do you think you’re falling in love with her?”

When Darcy could only answer with silent resignation, Thad controlled his alarm. “Already?”

“I know it’s crazy, but Avery is... I don’t know... She’s so...perfect for me. She’s having a rough time getting over what happened to her, and we’re taking it slow, but we talk about everything.”

“Are you hearing what you’re saying? Taking it slow? You just met her.”

“It doesn’t seem like it. It seems like I’ve known her my whole life.” His whole face corroborated his claim.

Thad had never experienced anything like that. Or had he? Being with Lucy felt like that, only it was different. With her, there was this burning cauldron of...not lust...attraction. Pure attraction. The kind that led to something deeper. Unlike Darcy’s relationship with Avery, his with Lucy was slow to develop. He couldn’t say she was perfect for him because she had opposing beliefs. But there was something about her that drew him to her. Her literacy charity. Her caring nature. The way she teased him without being insulting. If he were to make the stretch and say they had things in common, it was their service to the community. Didn’t that qualify as the same belief structure? Was it only his issue with marriage and babies that didn’t mesh?

When a resounding affirmative response resonated inside of him, he tensed. That removed, his relationship with Lucy had a striking resemblance to Darcy and Avery’s.

Darcy chuckled as he observed Thad. “Maybe we should plan a double wedding.”

Thad pushed the office chair back and stood. “I’m not getting married.”

“Fine. Don’t get married, but you’re falling in love, my friend. There’s no stopping it. The same is happening to me, so I know.”

That only instilled fear and panic in Thad. And then he wondered why. Why did falling in love with Lucy give him the instinct to run the other way?

Because she wanted a family. A traditional family. Thad wasn’t against sharing part of his life with someone. “Till death do us part” wasn’t realistic. And he was a realist when it came to marriage. Marriage didn’t last. Period.

“Easy, there, fella,” Darcy teased. “You should see your face.”

“I’m okay.”

“You’re more than okay. You’re falling in love.” He chuckled some more. “I can’t believe it’s happening to us at the same time.”

“It’s not happening to me.” As the words tumbled out, he wondered why he felt he had to say them. He wasn’t against falling in love. It was the same principle. Enjoy it while it lasted; that was his motto. But would Lucy force him into marriage if he did fall in love with her?

Darcy patted his shoulder. “You go ahead and keep telling yourself that.”

“Thanks for being a friend, Darcy. I have to go.” He walked away to more of Darcy’s chuckles.

This morning his mother had mentioned she needed the house in Carova Beach prepared for a visit and needed someone she could trust. She suggested he take Lucy there. All this talk about falling in love had him tempted to agree. Take Lucy somewhere isolated and let all his guard down with her. Spend an entire day naked in bed...

In the hall leading to the exit, his cell rang. Not recognizing the number, he answered. “Winston.”

“You don’t know when to back off,” a man’s voice said. He didn’t recognize it.