Page 30 of Sheltered
“You’ve outdone yourself, Blaze. I’m having a great time,” I told him.
“Well, once you’ve finished your dinner and the movie starts, I’ve got something else in store for you,” he teased.
“Oh?” I lifted a curious brow. There was no doubt I had a few things in mind as to what I’d like for him to be referring to, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
His lips twitched as he leaned forward and reached for the bag he’d brought that had been carrying our dinner. Lifting it up, he moved it toward me and allowed me to peek inside as he revealed, “I’ve got movie snacks.”
A smile spread across my face as I took in all the sweet treats he’d brought along. When I lifted my gaze to his, I said, “You really went out of your way to make this the perfect movie date, didn’t you?”
He shrugged, offering indifference. “I wanted it to be memorable for you.”
The more I learned about him and saw his sweet gestures in action, I was beginning to wonder if Blaze was even real. He felt like a dream come true.
It was that realization, though, that had my body going rigid. Blaze, proving just how good he was at being a private investigator, noticed and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Fear consumed me, and I blurted, “What about you?”
His brows pulled together. “What about me?”
I swallowed hard, belatedly realizing I was clutching my poor sandwich in my hands like I feared someone would take it from me. But it wasn’t about the sandwich. It was about Blaze, this moment, and the way he made me feel. “I’m not sure I’ve done anything to make this, or anything else, memorable for you.”
Surprise washed over him. That look lasted just a few seconds before it was replaced by amusement. Through a bit of laughter, he asked, “Are you serious?”
I nodded slowly, unsure I understood what he found to be so funny.
Blaze shook his head in disbelief. “Harlow, you can’t honestly believe you don’t bring anything to the table. Do you know what you did for me this week?”
I could feel the crease form between my brows. “No. What did I do?”
He stared at me in silence for several moments. There were numerous instances in which he looked like he was going to say something, and for some reason, he stopped himself.
My curiosity got the best of me. “Blaze, what is it?”
“Your text messages got me through this week,” he finally revealed. I found this news to be surprising and would have responded, but I had a feeling Blaze wasn’t finished. He’d hesitated a beat before he shared, “After I talked to you on the phone Monday morning, I got a call from the Harper Security Ops office asking me to meet one of my coworkers, Leo, at Short and Sweet, the tiny home resort here in Steel Ridge. It’s not uncommon for me to receive a call like that, where I’m asked to go somewhere to investigate something that has happened. In this situation, it was different, because Short and Sweet is owned by Hanna, who is Leo’s fiancée. A couple of individuals intentionally set fire to the place.”
“Oh my God, that’s horrible,” I gasped.
He nodded. “Yeah. It was devastating. Hanna was a mess. Leo’s been doing his best to help get her through it, but it’s not been easy.”
“Do they know who did it?” I questioned him after popping a potato chip into my mouth. “Have the individuals responsible been caught, or is that why you were there? Have you needed to investigate this?”
Shaking his head, he explained, “Not exactly, but we do believe that the people responsible for this were the same individuals that trashed The Steel Pub the week before. Harper Security wasn’t officially investigating at that point or anything, but with Sawyer working there the night it happened, we were made aware of it.”
Feeling horrified, my eyes searched his face. “Last week? You mean, days after we met each other there?”
Sensing my uneasiness, Blaze placed his hand on my thigh and offered a gentle squeeze. It was the first he’d touched me in a more intimate spot than just my arms or hands—or my ass when we’d kissed in the rain—and I was surprised at how wonderful it felt. Instead of tensing more than I already was, I found myself being able to relax with his reassuring touch. “Yes. It was on the Tuesday after we met. Fortunately, nobody was physically injured in either situation. At this point, we’re certainly keeping our eyes and ears open, but it seems like these are just a couple of menaces as there doesn’t seem to be any direct correlation between the two incidences.”
“Well, I’m just glad everyone you know in both scenarios is okay. Let’s hope these guys are caught,” I said. “Wait. How did my text messages help?”
With his hand still lingering on my thigh, Blaze’s eyes roamed over my face again. “Any communication I had with you helped,” he shared. “Sometimes, things in my line of work can become challenging, not just in the sense that I’m trying to solve something, but there are cases that can take a toll on us. This was the latter, even though we’re not technically investigating what happened at the pub. I don’t know. It was hard enough to see Hanna struggling, but witnessing how it’s affecting Leo has been tough. He keeps it together for her, but I know it’s eating at him.”
Nodding my understanding, I said, “I can imagine.”
“You took me out of it for a while whenever you sent a text. I loved that you took the time not only to send messages simply to check in throughout the week, but also that you found a way to be playful and make it fun. My mind was distracted just enough with all of your riddles to keep me on solid ground.”
Just before I popped the last bite of my sandwich in my mouth, I mumbled, “Yeah, but I’m still struggling to come up with something that’s going to stump you.”
Blaze laughed as he put his garbage into the bag and pulled out all the movie snacks. “I’ll happily play along until then.”