Page 46 of Bad Boy Crush

“Protest one more time.” His eyebrow lifted.

“I’m sorry,” she couldn’t help saying. “Your big moment and I turned into Chicken Little.”

“It’s all good. I’m going to grab a towel after all.” He helped himself to the hall closet, returning with towels for both of them. They dried off in silence.

Just as she was beginning to relax, the lights flickered, and thunder rattled the picture frames on the walls. Before she thought about it, she was in his arms, hanging on him like a spider monkey.

Pull it together, girl.

She muttered another apology as he folded her against his damp shirt. He was so big and warm…and safe. He rubbed her back and then rested his chin on top of her head. “Wanna sit?”

More than anything. The adrenaline was gone, and now fatigue settled in, filling her bones with wet cement. He tossed their towels onto the kitchen counter and led her to the couch. She sat next to him, but apparently not close enough for his taste.

He scooped her against his hip and then draped one thick arm over her shoulders. From the living room sofa, they watched the storm through the sunroom windows. Despite the ticking hail, lightning flashes, and growling thunder, she relaxed against him.

“Feel better?” he asked.

She couldn’t believe her own ears when she answered, “I actually do.”

“Why don’t you like storms?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” She gestured to the window at the Cove’s version of a typhoon. “Thanks for being so nice about it. Liam never was.”

“Explain.” The one-word command wasn’t up for debate. So, she explained.

“He thought I was overreacting. He also didn’t like to be inconvenienced, so making him leave wherever we were before he was ready chafed him. He’d tell me I was being ridiculous, and then I'd argue that I couldn’t help being afraid.” She shrugged, uncomfortable with the memory of the many arguments she and Liam had had on the topic.

“First, you’re not ridiculous. Second, Liam had no fucking room to talk. You want to tell me why you fear the very thing I look forward to?”

Outside, the flashes were more in the distance, her usually enviable view obscured by rain. She twisted her head to look up at him. “You like this?”

“Love it.” Of course he did. Chill, laid-back Ant was incapable of allowing even this mini natural disaster to ruffle his feathers. “You gonna tell me or what?”

“I had a bad experience once when I was little. I guess it stuck.” She sucked in a breath to steel herself, but realized she wasn’t nervous to share with Ant. He was her ultimate safe space. “When I was twelve, my parents went to the opera. They came downstairs in their tux and gown, ready to leave. It wasn’t even raining at the time. My babysitter, Tara, was watching television and talking on the phone. I went upstairs to my bedroom to play.”

She cleared her throat. Liam had known the truth behind her fear but had never been supportive. That had led her to keeping quiet more often than not. She reconsidered Ant’s reaction. Maybe he’d eat his words and accuse her of being ridiculous after all.

“Tara came upstairs a few hours later to tell me she was leaving. She said her boyfriend was picking her up and they had a party to go to.”

“The fuck? Did you tell her to do her damn job?”

She had to laugh. “Are you kidding? I was thrilled she was leaving. I was convinced I was old enough to be home by myself. Our house had a security system.”

“Mine didn’t. But I was still home alone a lot while my mom worked after my brothers went away to college. I loved every minute of it.”

“So did I. I was allowed to be home alone during the day, and I wasn’t scared of the dark. I figured, no big deal. Then, an hour later, I found out what the big deal was. The tornado sirens went off and I panicked. I tried calling our emergency contact, and a neighbor, but neither answered. Wind was pressing the windows so hard, I swore I heard one of the panes crack. It was like a monster wrapped its arms around the walls and squeezed.” She put her hand over her heart, the beats stumbling over each other.

He tightened his arm around her shoulders, tucking her closer than before. “Then what?”

“The, uh, the storm knocked the power out. I curled up under the bathroom sink downstairs. I was wrapped in a blanket, the cordless phone in my hand. An hour later, it’d blown over, but I was too scared to leave my hiding spot. Mom and Dad came home late, furious when they learned that Tara had left.”

“I bet.”

“Since then, anytime there is a serious storm, I panic. I try not to, but it’s automatic.” Her shoulders rolled forward. “I thought I’d be stronger than this by now.”

And that was what irked her the most. She’d weathered worse storms in her life, and she’d come out swinging. Liam had told her on many occasions to grow up. She felt like a failure, unsure how to overcome something so simple.

She checked Ant’s expression for signs of disappointment but saw none. His arm was still around her, his eyes resting on hers. Silently supportive. That was him. Was it any wonder she’d been secretly happy whenever she’d bumped into him at the Cove? He was a breath of fresh air. Then, and especially now.