Erica woke to sounds of male voices coming from the kitchen. Opening one bleary eye, she took note she was tucked all safe and snug in her own bed. Zack must have carried her back to her room before Jacob woke up. She smiled in remembrance of being held in his arms and the words he spoke to indicate he wanted more than a quick lay.
She could hardly fathom it. Zack Sharp wanted a relationship with her. The idea of it was enough to have her jumping up in a good mood for a change. After a quick wash of her face and brush of her teeth, she sauntered out to join the guys.
Seeing them sitting on the island and eating cereal made her heart lurch. Zack glanced up and caught her watching them. His welcoming grin had her own blooming across her face.
“Look at you. No coffee and yet not scowling. Has something miraculous happened or are we just special?” he teased.
“Something miraculous did happen. I met a wonderful boy by the name of Jacob yesterday. He doesn’t deserve my surly attitude. As such, I’ve decided to be on my best behavior,” she said, chin in the air. “However, when he leaves for school, all bets are off until I’ve had coffee.”
Zack jumped off the counter and retrieved the bowls for him and Jacob. “Teeth.”
“I already brushed them,” Erica said.
His laugh had her wanting to smack her head. He’d been talking to Jacob.
When she would have turned to flee back to her room, he snagged her around the waist and pulled her in for a soft, lingering kiss.
“Aww, Dad!” Jacob protested the mushy stuff.
“Go finish getting ready for school. I have to wish Erica a good morning.”
“Don’t I get to say good morning?” Jacob asked.
Both adults sputtered in disbelief and amusement, certain he didn’t mean what Zack had meant.
“Of course you do,” Erica said when she could tamp down her giggles. She opened her arms wide as invitation for the boy. He rushed to her and wrapped his skinny arms around her. Bending, she dropped a kiss on the crown of his head. “Good morning, Jacob.”
“Good morning, Erica. Can you take me to school?”
“How do you normally get to school?”
“Dad or Grandpa drives me. But you can today. They won’t mind.”
Over his head, she met Zack’s warm, blue gaze. One lifted brow asked a question, to which he nodded in return.
“I’ll tell you what. You go finish getting ready, and I’ll throw on something other than my pjs. We’ll meet back here in about five minutes, and I’ll ride along with you while your dad drives. Fair enough?”
The happy shout could be heard a mile away. Jacob ran to do his father’s bidding.
“You’ve made him ecstatic.”
“He’s a great kid, Zack. You’ve done so well.”
Erica wasn’t prepared when he hauled her back in his arms for a second deeper kiss. Her head was spinning when he finally released her. “Thank you.”
“If I get rewarded for compliments like that, you can be sure I’ll be coming up with them more often,” she said.
He chuckled and hugged her to him. “And you can be sure it’s no hardship doling out those rewards.”
“That’s what I’d hoped you’d say.”
“Go get dressed. We have just enough time to hit the drive-thru for your morning coffee.”
“You keep this up and I will be falling in love with you.”
“You’ve figured out my plan.”
“Don’t let your mouth write a check your butt can’t cash, my friend.”
“Oh, Erica,” he purred. “I have much better things to do with my mouth.” Her gulp caused another chuckle from him. He gave her a quick tap on the butt to get her in motion. “Go.”
Two days later, Erica’s sedan was sporting a fresh paint job and four new tires. While she had fun driving a rental car around, having her own vehicle back put her in a better frame of mind. She’d been in contact with her home owner’s insurance agent, and they assured her all damages to her home, minus her deductible, would be covered.
She’d spent the better part of the morning picking through what was left of her belongings. Stopping the tears had been near impossible. Her home had been cozy. Perfect for her in every way. Now it was a blackened shell of a structure.
Placing the last of the boxes in the trunk of her car, she’d moved to shut the garage door when a hard shove drove her to her knees. Thank God the overhead doors now had a sensor to stop if motion was detected or she’d have been decapitated.
She struggled to her feet. A quick scan of the area showed her assailant booking it down the sidewalk. There was no way Erica was in shape enough to catch up. With a quick internal debate whether to inform the police or not, she rejected the idea. What was there to go on but a medium sized person in a gray hoodie? Determining the sex of the person was out of the question. Instinct said female, but she couldn’t be sure.
In that moment, she decided to get serious about her future training. Had she been in even a smidgen of better shape, she could have been able to run her assailant down. And she definitely would’ve. These personal attacks were pissing her off.
A glance down showed her new jeans were torn at both knees. The burn of the air as it hit the open scrapes strengthened her resolve. Zack would love that she was about to become a machine. She’d have to talk to him about self-defense classes. He would be able to direct her toward an excellent teacher.
As she once again closed the garage door, a pain in her side made itself known. She looked down to find blood soaking her sweater. What the hell? Lifting the hem, she saw the wound. Christ! She’d been stabbed! How had she not felt it go in? Erica applied pressure to her side and hollered for help. She’d managed to get to her car and sit down as a few of her neighbors came running up.
“Erica! Ohmygod, honey! You’re bleeding!”
Leave it to Mrs. Wilson to state the obvious. She was a kindly older woman, but she loved her gossip and drama.
“Yes, Mrs. Wilson. Could you please dial 911 for me?”
“I’ve got it covered, Erica,” stated John, her neighbor from across the street. He proceeded to whip out his cell and make the call.
Why Erica didn’t think to use her own cell, she’d never know. She was feeling a bit lightheaded so maybe she could blame it on the blood loss.
“They’re on their way. Is there anyone else you want me to call?” John asked.
As she gazed up into his concerned brown eyes, she was reminded of Zack and his many kindnesses to her to date. Each man had that something special which reassured whomever they were with.
“Thank you, John. Do you mind calling Workout World and asking for Zack Sharp? I don’t have the number so you’ll need to look it up. Ask him if he’ll meet me at the hospital,” she said, before thinking better of it. “On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t call him. I don’t want to bother him at work.”
His bushy brows shot up in surprise. His expression was the last thing Erica registered before the lights went out for her.
She came back to for a few moments in the ambulance, and then again in the emergency room. The hospital nurses asked the standard questions of name, date of birth, and allergies all the while wheeling her toward the operating unit.
An angry male voice was arguing with the staff about having access to a patient.
“I’m her fiancé,” he shouted. “I need to see her.”
Poor guy. Erica could tell he was having an emotional crisis.
“Erica Sutton.”
Her name got her attention. Trying hard to concentrate, she came to the conclusion the overwrought man was Zack.
“Zack,” she whispered. Against all odds, over the noise of the hospital, machines, and people milling about, he appeared next to her and rushed to keep up with the gurney.
“Hey, babe,” he greeted her gruffly.
“I told them not to bother you.”
“Are you serious right now? Why in the world would you say such a thing? Do you really think I wouldn’t come after hearing you were stabbed?” he demanded, incredulous.
“Just a knick.”
“Not so much,” said another voice. “While I believe the knife missed all major organs, it’s no small cut. We’re taking you to the O.R. That wound needs to be opened, explored and irrigated. Then you are going to need quite a few stitches and a whole lot of rest until it heals completely.”
“You must be the doctor,” Erica said, bestowing on him a pained smile.
“Yes, ma’am. Doctor Evans at your service,” said the cute thirty-something physician.
“Are you single?”
“Erica,” Zack growled.
“She’s had blood loss. Don’t hold it against her.” Erica heard Doc Evans’ soft chuckle. “I get it a lot.”
“Arrogant much?” Zack asked.
The chuckle turned into an all out laugh.
“I wasn’t asking for me,” Erica clarified. “My friend, Shonda, is single.”
“Good, because you aren’t available.”
“Okay, fake fiancé,” she giggled.
She heard Zack groan when she unintentionally blew apart his lie.
“Sorry, this is as far as you go. A nurse will come tell you when she’s out of surgery. I’ll make sure they know you can be with her during recovery,” Dr. Evans said.
“I’ll be here when you wake up, okay,” Zack told her softly.
“Okay.”
The kiss he gave her was light and comforting. Reluctance to let her go was written all over him.
“I’ll be fine, Zack. Promise,” she said. He needed the reassurance more than she did. “You should see about Jacob.”
“Charlie’s got him. I’m staying,” his voice was firm and brooked no argument.
And right then Erica knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she loved him. He was the type of man every woman dreamed about having in her life; strong, compassionate, loving, and protective all rolled into one. She poured all the emotion she was experiencing into the smile she shot in his direction. And in her delirium, she believed his return smile mirrored hers.
Dr. Evans cleared his throat. “We have to go.”
Zack paced the small waiting room outside the surgical operatory, praying to a God he wasn’t sure he even believed in. Hoping with every fiber of his being the stab wound was as minor as the good doctor believed.
He was pissed at himself for letting his guard down. Pissed because Erica didn’t tell him she planned to go off on her own again today. Pissed he couldn’t seem to protect the lone woman he’d come to have feelings for over the last few weeks.
Perhaps he should have been surprised how fast he’d come to care for her. But she’d taken his life by storm, and he had no regrets. Okay, maybe one—they hadn’t made love yet. Now they would be forced to wait at least a few more weeks while she healed. It didn’t matter. He intended for her to sleep in his bed from here on out, if only to reassure himself she was safe. He needed to be able to wake up and have her beside him, breathing and well.
Whipping out his phone, he dialed Bucky and provided the details of the attack. Of course, his friend had already heard about the incident and was amping up the patrol around Zack’s residence along with Charlie’s, which was three doors down from his own.
Feeling marginally better, Zack placed a call to Mason, who had been MIA since his scheduled return from the Caribbean three days ago. “Mason, I really need you to call me back. Erica’s been stabbed and is in surgery. Call me!”
After disconnecting, he dialed Dane and filled him in on everything that had happened to date. He left it up to his brother to inform their mother or not. The fifth degree he’d receive if he told Connie Sharp about this situation would be too much to handle right then. She’d be a pitbull with a bone.
Dane did feel the need to chew him out for not telling them everything before now. Family could be overprotective that way. It was the primary reason Zack hadn’t said anything. He didn’t want the drama of it all.
Within twenty minutes, both brothers were charging into the waiting room, followed by a blonde woman who looked vaguely familiar.
“What happened to Erica? Is she all right?” the woman asked, anxious and on the verge of tears.
“I’m sorry. Who are you?” he asked.
“Shonda. Erica’s best friend. I—”
“How the hell did you even hear about this? Did the hospital call you?”
“Yes. I’m Erica’s emergency contact since her parents moved to Florida.”
Without warning she burst into tears. Because Zack was at a loss as to how to deal with his own emotions, panic set in. His hand shook as he raised it to comfort her. When he would have touched her shoulder, he found himself shoved to one side by Mason.
“Don’t cry, love. She’s going to be fine. Promise.”
Shock sent his eyebrows skyward. He shot a glance toward Dane in time to see the stunned disbelief on his youngest brother’s handsome face. Their astonishment was warranted. In the past, Mason would have been the first man to abandon ship if there was a crying female. The only constant he wanted in his life was the business. Women were interchangeable and meant to be discarded after he’d achieved his personal goal of getting them between the sheets. Emotions of any kind terrified him. To see him comforting this stranger threw his two brothers for a loop.
“How is it that you’re here? I didn’t expect to see you again.”
Zack decided her question, directed toward Mason, needed privacy. He didn’t want to bear witness to histrionics when his brother crushed her heart, as he was bound to do. Searching his brain for an excuse, he hit upon caffeine.
“Anyone need coffee? I was about to hit the kiosk in the lobby.”
“I’ll go with you,” offered Dane.
The words were rushed. Zack suspected his younger sibling desired to be gone from the scene about to unfold, just as he himself wanted to.
“We’ll take coffee. One black, one with two creams, no sugar,” Mason said.
“You know how she takes her coffee?” Dane blurted, taken aback. As a result, the question held little tact.
The dark look Mason was developing had Zack dragging Dane from the room to save him from a beat down.
“What?” Dane asked. “It was legit.”
“Yeah, maybe. But his expression said this one is different. I wouldn’t tease him about it until all this has died down.”
All he received for his warning was a shrug. Oh well, Dane had to make his own mistakes. It might be the diversion he needed to see the two of them square off.
“So you’re pretty serious about this chick in surgery? Wait! She’s not the Erica from high school is she? The one who turned you down for prom?”
“Shut up.”
“She is!” Dane crowed.
“Keep your voice down, idiot. In case you forgot, we’re in a freaking hospital.”
“Ha! I wonder if Mason remembers.”
“No, because I never told him. I wouldn’t have heard the end of it,” Zack groused. “I didn’t tell you either. You just happened to hear me pouring my heart out to Mom.”
“That’s right. You were moping around the house for a long time after she said no.”
“I really liked her,” Zack said quietly.
All teasing left Dane’s face as he flung an arm around his brother’s neck. “She’s going to be fine, bro. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat and gave Dane a tight smile. “Let’s go get our coffee.”
It was another hour before Dr. Evans appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. The doctor zeroed in on Zack as he popped out of his chair.
“How is she? When can I see her?”
“Ms. Sutton was very lucky to find help so fast. The surgery went well. She’s in recovery for the next half hour, then they will be moving her to a private room. You’ll be able to see her after they get her settled.”
“How soon before she’s able to go home?” Shonda asked.
“I’d like to keep her for the next day or two. I want to be sure she doesn’t experience a fever or infection. If everything looks good in a few days, she’ll be discharged,” Dr. Evans explained. “She’s going to need to rest for the next ten days or so. We’ll go over everything when we discharge her. But I expect Ms. Sutton will make a full recovery.”
Overcome, Zack could only nod and pump the doctor’s hand in gratitude.
“She’s going to be fine, Mr. Sharp.”
“Thanks.”
“You all should try to eat something. The cafeteria food isn’t too terrible.”
“Are there donuts?” Zack asked.
“Excuse me?”
“Erica’s going to be wanting donuts when she wakes. It’s her go-to food for stress.”
The doctor laughed and shook his head as he exited the room.
“I can make a donut run,” Dane offered. “Text me what everyone wants.”
“You guys don’t have to stay.”
“Three musketeers, remember?” was Mason’s low-voiced reply.
Zack studied his two brothers. Mason, only a year older than him, and Dane, a little over a year younger, could have been mistaken for twins. Their dark hair, pale eyes, and tall, lanky bodies, set hearts aflutter their entire lives. While his hair was blacker, eyes a darker, more aqua blue, and height about four inches shorter, he’d never been excluded by them, which sometimes happened with the middle child.
“The three musketeers,” he concurred. “In that case, you can pick up a dozen, four need to be the powdered lemon-filled. The rest is whatever you all want.”
“You know Erica’s favorite flavor?” Shonda asked. Amazement warred with delight on her pretty face. Her green eyes were lit from within from some thought he wasn’t party to.
“It’s not like she’s kept her donut addiction a secret,” he hedged.
“Uh, yeah, she normally does.”
“Right. The woman is all about the carbs; cake, pie, pizza. I hardly think that’s something she’s able to hide for long.”
“You don’t understand. Not even her last boyfriend knew what she liked. She’s actually a very private person,” Shonda explained. “She never even speaks up for herself.”
“Are we talking about the same Erica here? She swears like a sailor and grumbles every time she has to go to the gym. One morning she threatened my life because I couldn’t produce coffee fast enough.”
“She only gets testy about coffee when she first wakes up…Oh!”
“Oh, what?”
“You’re sleeping together,” she stated. “It’s the only way you would know.”
“She’s been living in my house since hers burned down two weeks ago.”
“What?! Her house… ohmygod! She loved that house. How did it happen?”
“A screwball firestarter who seems to have a hard-on for hurting Erica,” Zack said, anger heavy in his voice. “It’s why she’s here.”
“How—”
“Look, I’m sure she would have explained it if you’d bothered to return her calls. As it is, you’ll have to wait to talk to her. I don’t care to go into it.”
“Zack!” Mason barked. “Don’t speak to her like that. She’s not done anything wrong.”
“No, nothing you didn’t do, right? You’ve avoided me for the last three days. If you’d have returned a damn text or call, this might have been prevented. I could have been with her today while you ran the office.”
The rage which had come upon him suddenly, left just as abruptly.
“I’m sorry. I…”
“No, man. You’re right. There’s no excuse to avoid responsibility. It won’t happen again.”
That Mason was so consolatory and understanding made Zack feel worse about his outburst. They all sat in silence after Dane had left to get burgers and pastries. Each lost in their own thoughts.
“Mr. Sharp?” Both men’s head shot up when the recovery room nurse spoke. She directed the next words toward Zack, since he go to his feet and stepped forward. “Ms. Sutton is being wheeled to her room, two-twenty-three. You can head there now. We ask you keep it to only two visitors at one time.”
“Thank you.” He turned to Erica’s friend. “Do you mind if I see her alone first?”
Shonda’s agreement was a soft smile. In the part of his mind where puzzles were worked out, it became apparent why his brother was so attentive to her. Mason was in deep trouble. Suddenly, he grinned and surged forward to give her a tight hug. Bending to speak directly in her ear, he said in a low voice, “Play hard to get. He won’t be able to resist you.” Zack followed with a hard and fast kiss on the lips. His grin widened when Mason stood to object, a frown forming between his dark, slashing brows.
With a wink in the direction of his brother’s new obsession, Zack exited the room and took off at a run toward the elevators. He wanted to be there when Erica woke up.