Forbidden (23 page)

“How are things working out? Are you happy here?”

“It feels like this is where I belong.” Lee suppressed a sigh when Drake appeared skeptical. “I’ve been writing some good songs, even tried a few out here. The crowd seemed to like them.”

“Yeah, but you’re here to run a business,” Drake said. “Not play at being a musician.”

Lee felt his frustration mounting. Drake had obviously showed up to extend the olive branch, and Lee wanted to accept it, but only if his brother would cut him a break. “I happen to think I can do both.”

“Guess only time will tell,” Drake muttered.

“Hey, Drake,” Donato said, grinning from his post behind the bar. “What can I get you to drink?”

Drake eyed him in disbelief. “You’re working here… as a bartender?”

“Uh, yeah. You got a problem with that?”

“It’s none of his business who I hire.” Lee gave his brother a pointed look. “Bring the man a Jack on the rocks. It looks like he could use one.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Drake seethed when Donato went to fill his order. “The kid’s been out of rehab less than a year. He doesn’t belong behind a bar.”

“Donato’s a recovering drug addict, not an alcoholic,” Lee said, trying to hold on to his patience. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

“You can’t be sure.”

“I choose to give him the benefit of the doubt. Unlike you, I don’t feel it’s necessary to hold someone’s mistakes against them forever.”

Drake glared at him. “How can you say that? I think I’ve been pretty goddamn forgiving. I let you live after what you did, which was better than you deserved.”

“Wow,” Lee said, sucking in a breath. “How do you really feel?”

“I’m pissed.” Drake raked a hand through his cropped hair. “First you quit on me, then Indie. What the hell is it about me that makes—”

“Wait a minute,” Lee said. “Did you just say Indie quit her job?”

“Yeah, today.”

“She’s in town?” Lee knew she wouldn’t do that via phone or email.

“Yeah, she just left my office a little while ago.”

“Where is she now?” Lee’s heart hammered. She was close. He couldn’t let her get away, not again. “I need to see her. Is she sticking around or is she planning on…” Lee looked up when a woman’s hand landed on the bar.

“Why don’t you ask me those questions?” Indie suggested.

Lee’s heart surged at the sight of her. He’d never seen a woman look so beautiful, which told him she hadn’t missed him nearly as much as he’d missed her. She looked healthy and energetic, and he felt weak from all the sleep he’d been missing.

“Indie…” He wanted to touch her, to pull her into his arms and crush her against his chest, bury his face in her neck and let her scent wash away his pain. “It’s good to see you.”

Drake looked from one to the other. “Well, you don’t need me hanging around. I’ll catch up with you later, Lee.”

“Yeah, sure.” Lee waved him off. He and Drake would be okay eventually, but he couldn’t say the same about himself and Indie.

Donato set Drake’s drink down on the bar. “Hey, where’d Drake go?”

“He left,” Lee said, never taking his eyes off Indie.

“What about the drink?” Donato asked.

Lee felt his pulse pounding as he gripped the edge of the bar. “Dump it.”

“Hey, Indie,” Donato said with a smile. “Good to see you.”

“You too.” Indie returned his smile. “Though I’m kind of surprised to see you here. In fact”—Indie looked at Lee—“I was even more surprised when your brother told me you’d bought this place.”

“It was time for a change,” Lee said, only loud enough for her to hear.

Donato moved on to another customer, leaving them alone.

“Time for me to change.” Lee hoped she believed he had changed, that their brief time together had made him a better, stronger, more confident man.

“Well, don’t change too much,” Indie said, tapping the bar. “I like you just the way you are.”

Lee’s stomach pitched and rolled when he saw the diamond on her left hand. “That’s new, isn’t it?” He inclined his head toward the ring.

She held it up, admiring it. “Sort of. It was my grandmother’s. My mother gave it to me.”

“Your grandmother’s?” Lee released a silent breath, hoping she couldn’t tell how relieved he was. “It’s beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. “I wanted to see you before I left town. I said good-bye to Drake and Cassidy, but it didn’t feel right leaving without seeing you again. I just wanted to let you know there are no hard feelings. I wish you the best of luck with the bar. I know you’ll make a great success of it.” She laughed self-consciously. “Not that it’s not already.”

“You can’t leave yet,” he said, panic stealing his breath. “We need to talk… in private. Please.” He was pleading, but he didn’t care. He’d be damned if he let his pride get in the way. She
was too important to him.

“I don’t have a lot of time,” she said, glancing at her watch.

Lee made his way around the bar. “I don’t need a lot of time.” He could sum up what he was feeling in a few simple words. He only hoped they were the words she wanted to hear. “Let’s go into my office.”

Indie followed him, loosely holding his hand until they were behind closed doors. “So how are things going?” she asked. “Are you happy with your decision to buy this place?”

“Honestly?” He chuckled. “Sometimes I feel like I’m in over my head. I’m hopelessly disorganized. I need someone with a head for business, who works well under pressure, who can meet deadlines—”

“Sounds like you need a good assistant,” she cut in. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find someone. Place an ad.”

He closed his arms around her from behind. When she didn’t pull away, he whispered, “What I need is a partner. Someone to share the highs and lows with me, not just here but everywhere.”

She tensed. “Lee, I…”

“Just listen, please,” he said, brushing his lips across her cheek. “When we made love, it was… incredible. I was blown away by the depth of my feelings for you. I kept trying to convince myself it wasn’t real, but it was, baby. What I feel for you is the real deal, and I’ll feel the same way a year or a decade from now.”

“You can’t know that,” she whispered. “There are no guarantees in life. You can’t promise your feelings for me won’t change.”

“Have your feelings for me changed?” he asked, loosening his grip. “Is that what you’re trying to tell me, that you don’t want to be with me anymore?”

Instead of answering his question, she said, “You’ve been divorced once, Lee. I’m sure you thought your feelings for Katie would survive the test of time.”

He turned her into his arms, forcing her to look him in the eye. He saw her tears, her internal struggle. She obviously cared about him, but he had to convince her to give him a chance. Leading her to the leather couch, he sat down and pulled her down with him. “I never felt this way about Katie. My time with Katie was about two people helping each other through the tough times. It was about making a beautiful baby and learning how to take care of her, how to be the parents and people we wanted to be. We’ve both figured out who we are now, which is why we’ve both been able to find love.” He waited for his words to register.

When they finally did, she looked up and swallowed. “Love?”

Lee tried to project a sense of calm and ease, but he was tied up in knots. “That’s the only word I can think of to describe my desire to protect you.” He glided his fingers over the raised scars on her wrist.

“I don’t need anyone to protect me,” she said, trying to withdraw her wrist. “I can take care of myself.”

His heart ached. She’d had to survive on her own so long she assumed it would always be that way. “A partnership means you take care of each other. Through good times and bad.” He gave her a lop-sided grin. “Through sickness and health and all that.”

Biting her lip, she refused to meet his eyes.

“Isn’t that what you want? ‘Cause I know that’s what I want to give you someday.” He cradled her cheek, brushing his thumb across the soft skin. “I know it’ll take us a while to get there, but I want you to know that’s where I want to end up.” He brushed his lips across hers. “Say you want the same thing, sweetheart. Tell me you believe in me, in us.”

“I want to,” she said as a shiver moved through her. “But I’m scared. You have the power to hurt me, Lee. You did once already. How do I know you won’t do it again?”

He pulled her close, cradling her in his arms. “You said there are no guarantees in life, but I can guarantee you I’d lay down my life to protect my daughter.” He brushed his lips across her temple. “I never thought I’d say that about a woman, but if I could, she’d be the one I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. That’s how I feel about you, sweetheart. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”

She looked at him, her expression unreadable. “I don’t want you to think I’m fragile or I need to be taken care of. I’m not. I’m strong, stronger than I even realized.” She sat up straight, releasing his hand. “I testified against him. I stared him down and repeated every vile moment of that night without shedding a tear. My sister’s lawyer said my testimony helped put him away for seventeen years.”

Lee closed his eyes. He wished he could erase that night from her memory, that he could love her enough to heal her scars. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I needed that closure,” she said. “I needed him to know he couldn’t hurt me anymore.”

He expected her tears, but she surprised him with a smile that made his heart swell.

“I lost a huge part of myself that night. It took meeting you to help me find it.” She brushed her hand over the dark stubble he hadn’t bothered to shave that morning. “I’ll always be grateful to you for that. You made me realize I’m ready to find the love of my life and start a family of my own. I’m not afraid anymore.”

Part of Lee was thrilled she’d found what she’d been looking for, but if she told him she couldn’t see a future with him, she’d be taking his heart with her when she left.

She rested her hand on his arm. “I fell in love with you long before you realized how you felt about me. I came here today to say good-bye, not because I was ready to let you go, but because I was ready to find the happiness that I deserve.”

“Don’t go,” he pleaded, touching his forehead to hers. “You can’t leave me.” Lee had never felt weaker or more vulnerable.

“I’m not going to leave you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. “Now that I know how you feel, I’m never leaving you. Ever.”

“Promise me,” he whispered, kissing her neck. “I need you to promise me.”

“I promise.” She kissed him deeply while framing his face with her hands.

He grasped her shoulders when they finally broke apart. “I want you with me. Say you’ll come to work here.”

“If you’re sure you won’t get sick of me,” she teased, nipping his lower lip.

“Impossible.” He breathed deeply as she gripped the back of his neck. “There’s one more thing I need you to do for me.”

“What’s that?”

“Take the apartment above the bar. I don’t want you staying in that hellhole one more night.”

“Oh… uh… sure.”

He could tell she was disappointed. “There are so many changes going on in Hannah’s life right now with her mama gettin’ married. I don’t want to spring this on her until she’s ready.”

“Of course,” she said, pulling back. “That makes perfect sense.”

Lee knew she was trying to support his decision even if she didn’t agree with it. “I’m working on buying a little house. I held off making an offer though because I hoped you’d come back.”

Her face lit up, making him smile. “Really? You want me to go with you to look at houses?”

“Of course I do. Since you’ll be living with me soon enough, I want you to feel at home there too.”

She threw her arms around him, giggling. “I can’t wait to start a life with you.”

Closing his eyes, Lee basked in her declaration. Her words went straight to his heart, filling him with a sense of security and contentment he’d never felt. “Neither can I, baby. But there’s one other thing I wanted to talk to you about: Donato.”

“What about him?”

“Obviously he’s working for me now. Are you okay with that?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I just thought after what happened—”

Indie pressed a finger against his lips. “Your commitment to Donato only makes me love you and respect you more. You don’t ever have to apologize for that.”

She was the only woman who’d ever understood what made him tick, why he did the things he did, and supported him unconditionally. Her love was a priceless gift, and he intended to spend every day of the rest of his life expressing his gratitude the only way he knew how… by worshipping her.

“I see so much potential in him. I just want him to have the life he deserves.”

“I want that too.”

He kissed her, almost losing his train of thought when she drew the kiss out long enough to make him wish they were at home, in his bed, where they could spend hours rediscovering each other. He pulled back enough to speak again. “When the time is right for you to move in with me, I want Donato to move into the apartment, rent free. What do you think?”

Her eyes clouded with tears. “I think you’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and I’m so glad I decided to come home.”

“This is your home,” he said, wrapping her face in his hands. “Here, with me, and don’t you ever forget it.”

With a smug smile, she said, “If I ever question it, I’m counting on you to remind me.”

“Consider it done.” He eased her back on the couch and covered her body with his as he freed her buttons. The lunch rush could wait.
His
woman couldn’t.

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