I sighed. I wished I could protect Amelia. I thought back to her worried face, the tears falling as she cried.
Again, I felt rage rising inside of me. I fought it down. Amelia had asked me to do nothing. If she had approved it, I would have gone to the restaurant, tracked this shit down, and cracked his skull open with my fists.
“Carter?” somebody called. I realized I’d shut the door, something I rarely did—at least during working hours. I got up and opened it. I found myself looking at my brother.
“Matthew,” I greeted him wearily. “What’s up?”
“Nothing… the guys wanted to know where you were. Your pizza’s cold,” he added, a soft smile on his face.
I shut my eyes. I had forgotten all about lunch! I realized now that I was hungry, my stomach twisting painfully to remind me to eat.
“Has Amelia eaten?” I asked, standing and pushing back my chair. It was only after I said it that I realized it was probably a strange thing to say.
Matthew frowned. “I don’t think so. We have extra food, though… Adam couldn’t finish all his. He’s allergic to chili-peppers.” He grinned.
“Why did he order it, then?” I asked, smiling in spite of myself. I put on my coat, surprised by how cold it was. I wanted to go outside for a bit before confronting the guys. “Let’s go around,” I motioned to Matthew. “I want to check the bikes.”
Matthew nodded. Our clients had parked their bikes in the fenced-off area of the parking lot as they waited for service. I followed him out, checking that everything was in order and nobody had stolen anything.
“Okay,” I said when we reached the door of the shop. “Let’s go in.”
I took a breath as Matthew opened the door. I felt foolish, thinking that everybody in the shop was probably laughing behind closed doors at my infatuation.
“Carter!” Mark greeted me. He came over and took my arm. “We saved your pizza. We thought about giving it to Adam, but then it looked like we’d have to call an ambulance for him.” He inclined his head in the direction of Adam, who was leaning on the wall, looking pale.
“Hey, Adam. You okay?” I asked. He nodded and cleared his throat.
“Yes, Carter,” he said. His voice sounded strained. I turned my head in Mark’s direction. “Did you get him a glass of water?” I asked.
“We did,” Mark confirmed. He jerked his head in the direction of the front work-desk, where Adam stood. A large cup of water stood there, clearly recently used. I nodded.
“Fine. What size pizza do I have again?” I asked. I always ordered the Four Seasons since it had four different toppings. It saved me from having to make unnecessary decisions.
“An extra-large,” Matthew confirmed. The pizza place we frequented did three sizes—regular, large, and extra-large. Even on a day when my hunger was tremendous, an extra-large would be enough for me.
“Thanks,” I grinned. I took the box, which Matthew had retrieved from the table near the microwave in the corner. It was going to be cold—I decided against heating some pieces in the microwave and instead turned towards the front office.
“Where are you going?” Mark asked as I headed back outside.
“To the office. I have to order those parts,” I reminded them. I got distracted from the task when I heard Amelia crying in the room next door, and I went to check on her.
“Great! I’m getting old waiting for those parts,” Mark called as I left the room.
“You can wait five minutes more, then,” I offered.
The other guys all laughed, and I heard Matthew about to launch into some war of wit with his brother. Smiling to myself, I carried the pizza box to my office. I took a few slices out and put them on a plate I kept in my office for emergency lunches. I carried the box to the office next door. Standing in the hallway, I knocked on the door, surprised to find it shut.
“Amelia?” I called through the wood. “You in there?”
“Yes,” a small voice called back. “Please, come in. I closed the door because of the noise from the workshop.”
“Sorry about that,” I said. “Here,” I added, producing my gift, “I thought you might be hungry.”
She looked at it and then up at me. She gave me a small smile. Her eyes shone. “Thanks,” she whispered.
I felt my heart melt. Grinning like a fool, I put the box of almost-warm pizza on the desk. “Here,” I said again.
“All for me?” she giggled. “There’s way too much!”
I shrugged. “You can figure out what to do with it,” I said gruffly. Damn it, why did I find it so hard to talk to her? Without fail, every time I was anywhere near her, I started talking in short sentences. My brain turned off or something. Something else in my anatomy turned on, though. I winced and hoped she wasn’t looking there.
“I will,” she said softly. “And thanks, Carter.”
“It was nothing,” I said, trying to soften my tone.
She looked up at me, and I felt my soul start to melt as I stared into those soft brown eyes. Damn it, but why did she have to be so beautiful?
I forced myself to look away and then walked back to my office. There, I sat and put my head in my hands and groaned softly.
Why did I have to fall for her?
I kept my eye on Amelia for the rest of the day. I ordered the parts, set up an appointment with my accountant, and did paperwork. But all the while, I thought of her and her safety.
Who was this guy? Was he dangerous? Would he continue to stalk her?
I tried not to think about it. As it started getting dark, though, those thoughts returned to my mind. I glanced outside. It was almost seven o’clock. It was Fall now, and it was starting to get dark earlier. By seven-thirty, it would certainly be pitch black out there.
When I stood to make the rounds and check on the day’s work to prepare for closing up for the night, I found myself peering around the corner at her office. The light was off, and it seemed as if it was locked up.
“Matthew?” I asked when I’d finished inspecting the clean-up of the shop. “Do you know if Amelia’s left yet?”
Matthew frowned. “I think so,” he said. “I heard her keys jangling as she went out. She’s free to go when the office shuts, no?”
“Sure she is,” I nodded swiftly. Hell, why did even he have to assume I was being too hard on Amelia? I was sure I hadn’t behaved that badly. “Am I that much of an asshole boss?”
He grinned. “You want the truth?”
I shook my head. “I can’t be such an ogre, surely.”
He laughed. “I guess we have all been pretty shocked about how hard you are on Amelia,” he said. “We shouldn’t have made jokes about you and her, but I think we were all just hoping we were right.”
“Was I mean to her?” I frowned.
Matthew regarded me steadily. He had gentle eyes and was slow to anger. Not that he was angry now, not exactly. But I could see disapproval there. I swallowed hard.
“I was mean, wasn’t I?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I guess. I understand, though… she’s new here. You just want to make sure she takes us all seriously.”
“I guess,” I said with some hesitation. I knew that wasn’t true. Mark had hit far closer to the truth when he said I had a crush on her. I did. I was embarrassed about it, and I didn’t want her to know or anybody else in the shop.