Forrester didn’t answer. He knew he had a big, stupid grin on his face, but all he could think about was having a future with Elle. The world was suddenly very full of opportunities. He thought about Lacey and Faith, and how happy they’d been during their pregnancies, how excited they’d been about having a baby, and how in love they’d been with their men. He wanted to see Elle like that, if that was what she wanted.
He reached across the table to her and she gave him her hand.
“You really are something, Elle. You know that?”
She shook her head. “If you knew me better, you might not say that.”
“Yes I would.”
“I don’t know, Forrester. You seem awfully sure of me.”
“I know what I like, Elle.”
“But you don’t know half of the baggage I carry.”
“You’re talking about that jerk from the diner this morning, aren’t you?”
“How do you know about him?” Elle said, her eyes widening.
“I saw him walking out. We had a little chat in the parking lot. Charming guy.”
“Yeah, real charming,” Elle said.
“He’s your ex, isn’t he?”
Elle nodded slowly. “I don’t know how he followed me here. I tried to leave him behind. Somehow he found me.”
“Guys like that, if they’re intent on finding you, they’ll find a way. I have a friend, a good friend, practically a brother, and it took him ten years to get rid of some guys who wanted to harm his woman and his baby.”
“Ten years?” Elle said, startled.
“Ten years or even more. Twelve maybe. It wasn’t quite like your situation. He had trouble with a criminal gang down in Nevada. But he knew that he couldn’t come home until he neutralized the threat. He knew that guys like that, they’d find him, even if he did everything in his power not to be found.”
“So what did he do?”
“He took care of them.”
“Took care of them?”
“Let’s not get into the details,” Forrester said.
“All right,” Elle said, “but you do know that sounds pretty mysterious, don’t you?”
“My brothers are mysterious guys, Elle. That’s something I’ll have to explain to you some day soon, if you want to stick with me.”
“If I want to stick with you?” Elle said.
“Well, I’m not the one who’s sneaking out, first thing in the morning.”
Elle laughed. She was about to explain herself, and Forrester was curious about what she had to say, but Harry came over just then with the champagne.
“This is the finest bottle in the house,” he said to Forrester. “I assure you.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“It’s not cheap.”
Forrester nodded. “Harry, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
As he poured, the doors opened and a gust of snow blew into the bar. Along with the snow came five guys. Elle had her back to them and didn’t turn, but Forrester was facing them and he noticed every single detail. Along with the four jerks he’d had the altercation with the night before, was the new jerk in town, Elle’s ex.
“You better pour us a couple of glasses fast, Harry,” Forrester said. “Something tells me I’m about to get interrupted.”
Harry saw the guys enter, but didn’t seem as afraid of them as he had before. Now that Forrester was in town, things didn’t seem to be quite so hopeless. He continued pouring the champagne as if nothing was out of the ordinary, and Forrester clinked glasses with Elle and enjoyed a sip of the crisp, ice-cold vintage.
Gris was already walking toward him. Forrester sighed. He’d have liked to avoid another fight, and he’d have liked to keep the atmosphere romantic with Elle. Everything was going so well and she seemed so happy and relaxed. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation with her ex.
“Hey, dip shit,” Gris said. “Do you know you’re drinking wine with another man’s girl?”
Forrester stood up. “Please excuse me for a few minutes,” he said to Elle. “There’s some trash I have to take care of.”
To his surprise, Elle winked at him before he left. She wasn’t as helpless and afraid as he’d have thought. She was actually quite courageous. This guy was definitely big enough that he could do some serious damage to a girl like Elle, and Forrester had no doubt that he’d hurt her badly in the past, and yet, she was playing this cool, or at least as cool as she could. As well as winking, he noticed that her hands were trembling.
“Look, buddy,” Forrester said. “Your little friends here will be able to tell you that I’m a fighter. Fuck. I love to fight. Feeling your face crush beneath my fist would be a special treat for me. But I’m on a date right now. So if you’d rather save yourself a whole world of pain, I’d be happy to watch you leave.”
“I ain’t leaving, fucko.”
“Fucko?” Forrester said.
“That’s what I called you, fucko. You got a problem with that?”
“I don’t have a problem with anything,” Forrester said. “You fellas just play nice and leave me and my girl alone, and we’ll all get on just fine.”
“Your girl. Oh, hell no. Elle’s a little slut, I’ll give you that much, but she’s my slut, fucko. Always has been. Always will be.”
Forrester was willing to do quite a lot to avoid a fight with this guy, he had no desire to put him in hospital, but one thing he wasn’t going to do was stand by and let him insult Elle.