Ash stands in the doorway, leaning on the frame, looking freshly showered. "C'mon. I'm taking you to work."

I roll my eyes. "No. You aren't. Don't you think you've caused enough trouble?"

His jaw tics and he swallows hard. He speaks through gritted teeth. "I would really like to take you to work, Helena."

My arms lift to cross over my chest. "Why?"

Avoiding my eyes, he scratches his chin and utters a bored, "So I can apologize to your a.s.shole boss."

My eyes narrow at him. "Nat put you up to this, didn't she?"

He sighs in exasperation. "You want me to apologize to the douchebag or not?"

My head tilts slightly. I consider this. I walk over to the breakfast bar to grab my purse, work ID, and cell phone. I shove them in my pockets and walk past Ash through the open door. "Let's go."

"f.u.c.k," he mutters as he follows behind me.

Just as we enter the center, Ash opens his mouth. But I'm quicker than he is. I raise my hand, palm up, and shake my head slowly. "Nuh uh. Don't you say a d.a.m.n thing to me. I'm still p.i.s.sed at you. You save your words, buddy. You save 'em for James."

He follows me down to reception, where I make him sign in and wear a stupid-looking visitor's badge. He pulls at his shirt and grumbles, "Woman, if I didn't love you..."

I screech to a halt and spin to face him. "You love me?" He makes a face. One of torture. As though I'm pulling teeth. My feet still firmly attached to the ground, I put a hand to my chest as warmth fills me. "Nawww, Ash."

"You know what? f.u.c.k this. I'm leaving."

Poor Ash. I should let him leave. I mean, I won't. But I should.

He turns and takes a single step away from me before I snag the back of his shirt and pull him backwards. Smiling, I link my arm through his and drag him down the hall toward my office. "Don't be so dramatic. There's no shame in loving family. I love you too, by the way. I've just never heard you say it. It shocked me."

He lifts his head heavenward and mumbles, "Hold it together, man."

Grinning, I utter, "Drama queen."

As I reach my desk, I sit quickly to log into my computer, when Felicity approaches, quiet as a cat. I don't even look up when she says, "I thought you said you didn't have a boyfriend."

I just know she's got a firm eye on Asher. "I don't," I tell her distractedly, keying in my pa.s.swords and opening up the programs I need for the day.

Her tone changes immediately. It becomes deeper, smoother, and sultrier. "Well, hi there, friend of Helena. I'm Felicity."

Still not looking up, I snort. "Yeah, he's married. To my sister."

Exasperation lines her voice. She huffs out, "Well, s.h.i.t. Figures. All the hot ones are taken, stupid, or gay." That's when I look up.

Ash looks so uncomfortable it makes me chuckle. "Felicity, stop eyeing the man like a piece of meat. He's going to get hives any second now."

She pauses, looks him up and down, and then breaks out into a million dollar smile. "Sorry. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. I'm not getting any younger now."

A pffft noise leaves my mouth. "Oh, puh-leeze. How old are you? Twenty-nine or something."

Suddenly, I'm being wrapped in a warm hug with plenty of b.o.o.bage. Felicity states on a squeeze, "G.o.d, I love you." As she releases me, she asks Ash, "Don't you just love her?" Before he can answer, she tells me, "I'm thirty-five, sweetie."

I open my mouth to tell her I never would've guessed, when James walks towards us from down the hall. He looks to be in bad shape. Firstly, he hasn't shaved. Secondly, he has bags under his eyes. When he spots Ash, he stops in the middle of the hall. I look up at Felicity. "Mind if I catch up with you later?"

She smiles warmly. "Of course," she says, and then leaves the three of us to talk.

James approaches slowly, head lowered. When he reaches us, he utters quietly, "I'm resigning this morning. You don't need to file the complaint. I've put all the reasons in my resignation letter."

My mouth gapes a second before it snaps shut. My jaw sets. I nudge Ash with my shoulder. He steps forward. "You got an office?" James still won't look up. It's breaking my heart. But he nods. Ash asks, "You got a second? I gotta get to work."

James sighs, running a hand over his bald head. "I don't need a lecture-"

I see the moment when Ash has had enough of tiptoeing around. "f.u.c.k. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and take me to your f.u.c.kin' office, man."

James finally looks up. At me. "You okay?"

Oh man. I could totally fall in love with this man. Thinking his world is falling apart around him, thinking he is about to lose his job, he looks over at the cause of all of his problems and asks if she is okay. I could so totally fall in love with this man. My smile is small, but genuine. "I think you should talk to Asher."

Half-turning, he says, "If you say so."

He starts to walk to his office, Asher in tow, and I wonder if-and hope that-James and I will be friends again before the day is out.

Asher The guy looks ready to throw in the towel. I wish I felt bad about what I did and said yesterday, but I don't. I got my reasons. He walks me into his office and sits, throwing out a hand in invitation to also sit. I do. We stare at each other for a minute. My eyes narrow. His don't; he just blinks at me, looking like a man who's accepted the worst. I should tell him now that I'm not filing anything. Instead, I tell him a little about myself.

"My name is Asher Collins. Most people call me Ghost. The only people who call me Ash are my mom, my wife, and her sisters. Natalie, Helena's sister, is my wife, and that makes Helena one of my sisters. That makes her my responsibility." I have his attention. He gives me all of it.

I can sort of see why Lena likes this guy. Even though he thinks I'm about to f.u.c.k him over, he's showing me respect. I continue, "I have a mother, three brothers, and nine sisters." I pause to let that sink in before I reveal, "None of them are blood relatives."

He looks confused. I don't give him anymore about me. I'd rather tell him why I did what I did. "This isn't my story to tell, but I know my wife won't mind." Leaning back in my chair, I look him in the eye. "You got siblings?"

He nods. "Yeah."

I look to the ceiling. "Make you want to rip your f.u.c.kin' hair out sometimes, right?"

He huffs out a quiet laugh. "Yeah. Sometimes."

My eyes meet his. "But you'd do anything to keep 'em safe, yeah?"

He's quiet a moment before he reveals, "f.u.c.k yeah."

"You have no idea." I look at him and shrug. "Or maybe you do. I don't know you." I start again, "You have no idea what it's like to see the battered face of a loved one. More accurately, of the woman you love, knowing a man put his hands on her. I do. I saw bruises, a black eye, and handprints on my woman's body, put there by the guy she was dating at the time. True, if he didn't do what he did, I'd probably not have her right now, but I'd sacrifice everything to make sure she'd be safe from anything and anyone."

James nods in agreement, and I realize I'm warming up to him.

"I've got a lot of sisters, but Helena..." I look towards the open door, my voice quiet. "Helena is special. So when I thought some a.s.shole was taking advantage of her, I did what I needed to do. I will always do what I need to do to keep my girls safe. Understand?"

He utters, "Yeah, man. I get that. But I swear, it was nothing. She hugged me. I hugged her back. That was it."

I huff out a laugh. "Hard to say no to her, ain't it?"

A small smile tugs at his lips. "She's something else."

I smile at that. "She is, and that's why I need to protect her. She's got something good inside of her. Something trusting and pure. If I ever saw that broken, I'd f.u.c.kin' kill the person who stole that from her." Not allowing him to respond, I stand. "Listen, I know she's not a kid, but she's family. Time's gonna come when she meets a guy and falls in love." I tell him honestly, "I don't know if I'm ready for that to happen, but I know I have to trust her to make her own decisions."

I walk towards the door. He looks at me in confusion. "Wait. What does this mean?"

"It means your job is safe. And I'm sorry for calling you a jerkoff, even though you probably are a jerkoff. As long as you're good to Lena, we're okay." I turn the n.o.b, opening the door. I pause a moment and tell him seriously, "But if you hurt her, in any way, I will tie cement blocks to your legs and throw you in a river. Oh, and I'll make it look like an accident."

His face loses a bit of color. I smirk. "See ya around, boss."

As I leave, I jerk my chin to Helena with a small smile. She smiles back and waves enthusiastically, not caring who sees.

Just another reason to love the dips.h.i.t.

Helena The second Ash leaves, I make my way over to James's office and knock gently. "Come in," is called out, and I can hear relief sound out through his voice. That makes me happy. I smile and poke my head in. "Mind if I have a word?"

His eyes soften. "Sure, of course. Come on in."

As I sit in the visitor chair, I wring my hands together. "I'm hoping you're going to say you aren't going to hand in that resignation letter today."

He rubs at his naked scalp, looking sheepish. "No. Not today anyways."

My shoulders slump in relief. "Thank G.o.d. James, I am so sorry. So sorry."

He waves a hand out at me. "No, don't be. I caused this, not you. And I understand why Asher did what he did. If it were my sister, I would've done it too. Maybe worse."

I nod and bite my lip. "Does that mean...I mean...are we still friends?"

He looks into my eyes. "You couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

Dipping my chin to hide my smile, I breathe, "Cool."

When I raise my head, he looks like he wants to say something, but he's hesitating. I tell him honestly, "I would feel so much better if you'd just tell me what's on your mind."

He nods. "Okay, I just don't want you to get offended or anything." I raise my brows expectantly. He starts, "I don't think it's a good idea for us to hug or anything anymore."

Quite frankly, I am a little offended. Or is that embarra.s.sed? Maybe it's shame. But I don't let it show. "I agree. I'd hate for someone to cause problems like this again." I shoot him a smile and stand. "I'm so glad things are back to normal."

"Yeah, and you've only be here a week. I can only see good things for the future." He deadpans, "Yippee."

I laugh in relief more than anything. "Oh G.o.d, you're an a.s.s."

We laugh together and I feel peace ease into my bones. I stand to leave when he says, "You know, we can still hang out and do things. I'll be at The White Rabbit this Sat.u.r.day again, so if you're there, we can have drinks. I don't want things to turn awkward."

He didn't have to say that, but he did. Not out of obligation, just 'cause he wanted to. I smile. "I'd like that."

Decision made, I will definitely be at The White Rabbit this Sat.u.r.day.

Chapter Eighteen.

Helena My lunch break is an hour long. If I quicken my pace, I'll be back in forty-five. Thank G.o.d for sneakers. I breathe deeply, exhale slowly, and speed-walk down the sidewalk in the sunshine. The city doesn't smell too good, but I smile regardless, knowing I'll be there soon. Panting a little, I slow when I reach the entrance. It's busy, but I think I'll make it back in time.

Five minutes pa.s.s, and finally, I reach the front of the line.

Verna smiles. "Welcome to Icing on the Cake. What can I get you?"

All but beaming, I place my order. "I'll take a cupcake sampler box, please." Just as she moves to get me one, I ask, "Can I freeze them?"

Verna nods. "Sure are, hon."

I mentally squeal, jump, and clap, then adjust my order. "Make it two boxes, please."

She places the boxes on the counter. "That comes to forty-six even."

Yeesh! This habit is going to burn a hole in my pocket.

I mentally shrug. Meh. I'm so totally okay with that.

I hand over the money with a smile and reach for the boxes, when the other mature worker lady runs out of the kitchen and whispers something into Verna's ear. As I reach for the boxes, Verna pulls them away. Her eyes apologetic, she asks, "Are you Helena Kovac?"

My eyes widen. I respond a slow and drawn out, "Yes."

The other worker whispers loud enough for me to hear, "I told you so!"

Verna snaps at her. "How was I meant to know, Tammy? She looks different in the picture!"

Tammy argues quietly, "You old bat, wear your d.a.m.n gla.s.ses."

Verna squabbles some more. "You're older than me! You're the dinosaur!"

But I just want my cupcakes. "Excuse me," I cut in. "Can I have my cupcakes now? I have to get back to work."

Verna shakes her head, handing me back my money. "I'm sorry, dear. I can't serve you."

My heart speeds up and is soon racing. I'm confused. "What? Why?"

Tammy leans forward over the counter, and whispers loudly, "You're banned!"

My mouth gapes. I sputter, "B-but why? What did I do?"