Her Lieutenant Protector. Lara Lacombe

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       Chapter 5

      Breakfast was going surprisingly well, all things considered.

      Mallory hadn’t known how her friends would react to Everest’s presence. She hadn’t had more than a minute to announce he would be joining them before he walked over to the table, which meant she hadn’t been able to explain her invitation to Olivia and Avery. The women had taken his presence in stride, though, and Logan and Grant had welcomed Everest with enthusiasm. They sat at one end of the table now, talking about football. Or maybe it was basketball. Some kind of sport or team, she thought, smiling a little as the men laughed in unison.

      Whatever the topic, it was clear the guys were getting along well. Which created a small degree of privacy for the conversation at Mallory’s end of the table.

      And Olivia and Avery weren’t wasting any time.

      “Spill,” Avery ordered, her voice low so as not to break the conversational spell the men were under.

      “I don’t know what you mean,” Mallory tried, but Olivia shook her head.

      “Nice try, but you know what she’s asking. Is there something going on between you and him?” Olivia nodded ever so slightly at Everest, who was currently telling Logan and Grant some kind of story that had the other two men listening quietly. Mallory wondered what he was saying, but she didn’t want to appear to be paying too much attention to the man. It would undermine what she was about to say to her friends.

      “We work together,” she said. “That’s all.”

      Avery leaned back in her chair. “Sure.” Her voice was heavy with doubt. “If you say so.”

      Olivia offered her a small smile. “This is the first time you’ve ever invited a man to join us,” she said. “You can see why we’re curious.”

      Her friend made a good point. Avery and Olivia both knew about the assault she’d suffered as a college senior, and in all the time they’d known each other, the two women had never pushed her when it came to men. They had respected her boundaries and supported her as she’d struggled to overcome the aftereffects of the trauma. She felt like she’d made good progress, but there was still work to be done, as evidenced by her recent nightmare.

      Given her past history, Mallory had known inviting Everest to breakfast would send a signal to her friends. But she had hoped to have a little more time to figure out how to explain her interest in him.

      The problem was, she couldn’t explain it to herself.

      She was definitely attracted to him. But it wasn’t just his looks that appealed to her, though they were nice enough to study. No, it was the glimmers of personality she’d seen that made her want to stay close, to get to know him better. She liked the way he carried himself and the way he responded when tensions were running high. He seemed like a dependable man, someone who would be good both in a crisis and in calm times. Exactly the kind of man she would want by her side, if she could handle being so close to him.

      Normally, just the idea of being in close physical proximity to a man was enough to make her break out into a sweat. But the thought of being around Everest didn’t bother her. In fact, she found it rather appealing.

      Which made her wonder—was she truly attracted to Everest, or did she just like the way he made her feel almost normal again?

      “It’s complicated,” she admitted to her friends. “I’m not quite sure what’s going on.”

      Avery leaned forward and laid her hand over Mallory’s. “That’s okay. Just take your time. We’re here if you need to talk things out.”

      Mallory smiled, tears pricking her eyes. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.”

      A sudden silence descended over the other end of the table, and Mallory, Avery and Olivia looked down to find the men watching them, the three of them wearing identical expressions of concern.

      “Everything all right?” Grant asked.

      Olivia nodded while Mallory dabbed at her eyes. “We’re fine,” she said.

      “Girl talk,” Avery said.

      Grant and Logan nodded and returned to their conversation, but Everest wasn’t so quick to look away. His gaze lingered on Mallory, concern shining in his bright blue eyes. Only after she gave him a nod of reassurance did he rejoin the men’s conversation.

      “Oh, my,” Olivia murmured. “Did you see that?”

      “I sure did,” Avery said quietly. “Mal, you might be confused, but I’d say your friend knows exactly how he feels.”

      “You might be right,” Mallory admitted. Everest’s obvious concern made her stomach flutter pleasantly, and for a second, she wished she was alone with Everest.

      She watched him talking with Grant and Logan, СКАЧАТЬ