Love Loyal and True Read online

  “Me neither,” she agreed with a reluctant smile as she noticed he held papers in his hand at his side. She hadn’t had a chance to check in with him since they’d come back from lunch. She was kind of afraid to ask, but did anyway. “How’s it going back there?”

  His grin morphed into a grimace as he lifted the papers. “I have questions.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ve come across a number of withdrawals and a few deposits I don’t see any paperwork for.”

  “I might not have any, but let’s see if I can figure them out.”

  He gave her a funny look as he stepped up to the counter to spread the papers out. Most of them she was able to tell him right off the top of her head what they were. He made notes, but his frown deepened with each figure they reviewed.

  “How come you have invoices for some of these but not others?” He indicated a supplier she’d been using for the past four years, who sent regular shipments every month.

  “I should have them all. They’re probably filed already.”

  “And receipts for stuff like this?” This time he pointed to a number of small withdrawals from local gas stations, restaurants, and her favorite grocery store.

  “I told you, those are all personal.”

  “Then they shouldn’t be on your business credit card.”

  “I only have the one credit card. I mean, other than a few store cards, but I only use them at those stores.”

  “You don’t have a separate card for your shop?”

  The note of censure in his tone sparked her defenses. “No. I’ve never needed to. It’s not that big a deal.”

  “It is when you can’t balance your accounts.”

  “I’ve told you what everything is for,” she countered. “My other accountant never had an issue with it.”

  “What about this? You’ve got a twelve-hundred dollar deposit, but again, no invoice to go with it. Where’d that come from? What’s it for? You need a paper trail to back this stuff up or you’ll be screwed if you ever get audited.”

  Roxanna leaned down to look at the bank statement as the dollar amount tripped her memory. She’d forgotten all about that, and hadn’t even known it had been deposited.

  “That one I’m not sure on,” she admitted reluctantly. “It was a personal check that came in, and Darcy was supposed to follow up on it.”

  “It’s your business. You should follow up on it.”

  She straightened, shifting back on her heels as annoyance surged forward. When the door chimes rang for incoming customers, she shot a glance at a hipster guy and two girls who entered, and lowered her voice. “Normally I would, but the past few weeks have been a little crazier than usual. I forgot about it because I was dealing with the fire—replacing my driver’s license and social security card, and credit cards and clothes. Then there was the election—and then you.”

  His expression seemed to say none of those were a good enough excuse. Heat rose in her face, leaving her feeling inadequate and irresponsible.

  “Just like your mother,” Gram’s voice echoed.

  Roxanna set her jaw as she scraped the papers together in an uneven stack and thrust them against Loyal’s chest. He grabbed for them as she said, “I’ll ask Darcy about the check again tomorrow, and I’ve answered you about the rest, so is everything set back there now?”

  “Not even close.”

  “What?” His somber tone dropped her stomach straight down to her feet. “Why not?”

  “Because there’s a reason things haven’t been adding up for you, but I haven’t figured it out yet. I want to go through your profit and loss statements from the past few years. Maybe even from the time you opened.”

  “Why? My old accountant did all those.”

  “Exactly why I want to go through them.” His gaze narrowed as he tilted his head. “You never noticed anything weird on them?”

  “No—not that I really understand them. Besides, I’ve known Mirela for years. We worked together at a previous job, so as long as the numbers balanced out the way they should, I trusted it was right.”

  “You’re too trusting, then. And if you’re going to run a business, you should know how to read your own P&Ls.”

  His judgmental tone was starting to piss her off. “Not all of us like numbers, Loyal. I thought that’s what accountants are for.”

  “And clients like you are the reason some accountants are richer than they should be.”

  His criticism struck a deep nerve. “Speaking from experience are you?”

  “Don’t turn this around on me. You know where my money comes from. I’m just trying to figure out where yours is coming from—and going to.”

  She got stuck on the first part of his last sentence. There it was. He still didn’t trust what she did.

  Noticing the hipster guy was heading their way, she pushed Loyal toward the back, along with her hurt and disappointment. “It’s coming from customers and clients. How about you do your job, and I’ll do mine.”

  Chapter 25

  Loyal’s heart thumped heavy in his chest as he made his way up to the second floor. The only thing Roxanna had said to him between their financial discussion and closing time had been a terse, “Good night,” before turning away from him to head up to the apartment alone.

  That had been almost two hours ago. First he’d been pissed off she wouldn’t even listen to his sound advice. Then he replayed the conversation in his head a few times—or a dozen—and realized he could’ve been more tactful. And he should’ve backed off the moment her defenses shot up.

  Now he’d be lucky if she opened the door.

  After a deep breath, he knocked and waited, and when he saw a flicker of movement in the peep hole, he stood a little straighter while lifting a large bouquet of red, orange, and yellow roses from his side. It was an additional agonizing twenty-seven seconds before the door swung open.

  Her flinty gaze went straight to the flowers. He swept his over her pinned up hair that was slightly damp at her nape, the plush white bath robe from his mom, and the rainbow-striped, fuzzy socks on her feet. When he looked up again, he saw her expression had softened some and the tightness in his chest eased—a little bit anyway.

  “I’m sorry.” He got right to the point. “I get tunnel vision when I’m working, and obsessed with fixing the problem to the point where I’m so focused on the end goal I miss everything else. I didn’t mean to be a jerk, I was only thinking of the people I’ve seen go out of business for stuff like that, and I don’t want to see that happen to you.”

  She’d gone back to staring at the roses as he spoke, absorbing his words before releasing a soft sigh. “I’m sorry, too. I got defensive because it made me feel stupid for not knowing more about business stuff. The possibility that my previous accountant who is also a friend I trust may have taken advantage of me makes me feel like even more of an idiot.”

  “Anyone can get taken advantage of. It doesn’t make you an idiot, it means you maybe trusted a little too much.”

  “Great. I’m a gullible idiot.”

  “You have a good heart.”

  “I still feel like an idiot. I feel like people will look at me and think, ‘If you’re really psychic, shouldn’t you be able to spot something like this a mile away?’”

  “Sounds like that’s what you think I think.”

  “Don’t you?” she challenged. When he shook his head, she retorted, “Well, I do. Kind of. I mean, I should be able to sense a person’s intentions. And a lot of times I can, but sometimes…”

  “Sometimes you can’t. And that’s okay. No one is perfect.”

  “I should be able to tell these things when it matters,” she insisted a bit morosely.

  Seeing as he was still standing in the hallway holding the roses, he extended them toward her. “Can you sense my intentions right now?”

  She rolled her eyes and reached for the flowers. “Anyone could guess your intentions right now, Loyal.”

  “But I’
m not asking to stay.”

  “You’re not?”

  He liked being able to surprise her. “No. I just wanted to let you know I’m sorry, and I’ll see you in the morning. That is, if you still want me to work on your stuff?”

  “I do.”

  Relief flowed through him. He smiled and stepped back before the desire to find out what she was or wasn’t wearing under her robe ruined all his noble intentions. He’d bet a million dollars it was nothing. “Then I’ll be here by nine. Good night.”

  He made it down the stairs, outside, and was opening the door of his Land Rover when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to read the text.

  Roxanna: Did you ask Asher what my favorite flowers were?

  He slid into the driver’s seat as he replied: Yes. He immediately asked what I did to screw up already and wouldn’t answer me until I told him. I didn’t think that one through.

  Roxanna: Of course he did, and no, you didn’t.

  He closed his door as another one came through.

  Roxanna: I didn’t say thank you. They’re beautiful.

  He typed his reply, hesitated over the corny, cliché line, then hit send anyway: Not as beautiful as you.

  Cliché it may be, but it was also true.

  Roxanna: Would you like a proper thank you for the flowers?

  His heart rate sped up as he recalled their kiss in her back room after she brought him coffee that morning.

  Loyal: I would not presume to ask for one, but if you’re offering…

  Roxanna: How long will it take to get your number-loving ass back up here?

  He was out of his vehicle and back at her door in record time—and discovered he’d have won his bet about what she wasn’t wearing under her robe.

  Saturday night, Loyal pulled into his brother’s driveway as big, fat snowflakes drifted down to dot the windshield. They were supposed to get up to three inches, though it was sure to all melt by the next day.

  “Asher seemed better about everything today,” Roxanna said as he turned off the engine and reached for the bottle of wine down at her feet. “Less...protective.”

  He understood the hope in her voice. She wanted this to go as smoothly as he did. “Maybe me asking about the flowers helped.”

  “Or he’s going to use it against you.”

  “Against me, or us?”

  She grinned as he hurried around to open her door. “You,” she confirmed. “I’m like a sister to him, so he’s gonna stand up for me.”

  He shuddered, his hand at the small of her back on their way to the door. “Don’t ever say that again.”

  “What?”

  “That you’re like a sister. I am his brother, and the last thing I want to do is think of you like a sister. That’s just…” He gave an emphatic shake of his head on their way to the door. “Ew.”

  She laughed as the front door opened to reveal Honor slipping on her winter coat. The cake baker stepped out onto the porch and took hold of Roxanna’s arm to steer her back down to the sidewalk. “You have to come across the street with me.”

  Roxanna frowned back at Loyal as she asked, “Now? Why?”

  “My wedding dress came in, and I’m dying to show someone. Asher is on the back patio grilling steaks, Loyal.”

  “It’s snowing.”

  “Relax. We’re not going to eat outside,” she said.

  He glanced at the door, then back at Honor urging Roxanna toward the driveway.

  His future sister-in-law caught his look. “We won’t be long. Promise.”

  “Divide and conquer,” Roxanna warned him. “Be prepared.”

  Honor jerked her hand away from her. “Damn it. I always forget you can do that.”

  She smiled before arching her eyebrows at Loyal.

  “Oh, go ahead.” He forced a laugh past the tightness in his gut. “I can handle my own brother.”

  He watched them cross the street through the falling snow, short and tall, redhead and brunette, then turned back to make a face at the door. Blowing out a heavy sigh, he went inside, but kept his jacket on as he set the wine on the counter, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and made his way out to the back patio.

  “Hey,” he greeted when his younger brother turned at the sound of the sliding glass door.

  Asher shot him a quick glance from the grill. “I wasn’t sure you guys would show.”

  “We said we would.” He twisted his cap off the bottle and tucked it into his pants pocket. After a long pull, he asked, “What’s for dinner?”

  “Steak.”

  He waited a few moments. “Just steak?”

  “Of course not just steak,” Asher groused. “Honor’s got potatoes and some vegetable in the oven.”

  Silence fell again, and after Loyal downed about half his beer in a couple swallows, he lowered his hand and said, “Can we just get this the fuck over with?”

  His brother looked up from the grill, his dark hair dotted with snowflakes and drops of water from what had already melted. “You better not just be screwing around with her.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You sure about that?”

  Loyal narrowed his gaze as annoyance surged through him. “You sure you’re not jealous?”

  “I’m sure,” Asher replied calmly. “Maybe you’re not nearly as bad as Merit, but I also know you’re not looking for anything serious.”

  “Wasn’t looking.”

  His brother’s head jerked up, surprise evident on his face. “And now you are?”

  He shrugged. He and his brothers were close, but they didn’t usually talk about feelings. And while he thought he could be falling for Roxanna, he wasn’t about to spill his guts to Asher two seconds before they all sat down to dinner.

  “Rox has been through an awful lot with her family. I don’t want you to hurt her if you suddenly decide this isn’t for you.”

  “What if she hurts me?” he asked indignantly. “I take it you got no problem with that side of it?”

  “She wouldn’t hurt you intentionally.”

  “Neither would I her. Give me some fucking credit, man.”

  “You used to.”

  Sonofabitch, he had him there. He downed the rest of his beer. “I didn’t understand I was hurting her at the time.”

  Asher gave a soft snort of disbelief.

  “You know what, she and I have talked about all that already.” Loyal blew out a silent sigh. On the one hand, he was pissed Asher was making such a big deal about him and Roxanna together. On the other, he had to admit he liked knowing someone had her back. Someone like his brother, who he knew was a hell of a good guy, and a good friend to her. And his family, who he did not doubt would be there for her no matter what.

  “Listen, I know she’s been through a lot. She told me all about her mother and family issues.”

  Asher’s surprise was evident once again. “She did?”

  “Yes. And I know we’ve done an about face these past few weeks, but I never really let myself see her these past six years. The situation with Lisa tainted everything.”

  “But suddenly you’re just over it?”

  “Basically, yeah.” He reached up to rub the back of his neck, then brushed the snow from his hair. “I swear to you, Ash, I’m not just messing around with her. First of all, I wouldn’t do that knowing she’s your best friend, and second…well, now that I know her better, I can see she’s pretty great, and I think I might be—”

  The sound of the sliding glass door cut him off, and they both jerked around to see the women in the doorway.

  “How are the steaks coming?” Honor asked in a cheerful voice.

  “Almost done.” Asher gave him an assessing look before turning back to the grill.

  Loyal breathed a silent sigh of relief. He’d almost spilled his guts anyway. When his future sister-in-law stepped outside, he quickly traded places with her to join Roxanna inside.

  “How’d you fare?” he asked in a low voice as he set his empty on the ta
ble and shrugged out of his jacket. When he went to hang it on the hooks by the front door, she trailed after him.

  “Not too bad. She wanted to know if it was just fun or more serious.”

  That seemed to be the question of the week. Odd how they’d had the exact conversation the previous morning, and yet he still found himself nervous as to her answer. “What’d you say?”

  Roxanna shrugged when he faced her. “That we were seeing where things went.”

  He frowned slightly. In his mind they’d moved past that.

  “What about you?”

  He swiped his hand through his hair to disperse the melted snow, then shot a glance toward the kitchen where he could hear hushed voices. “Asher is worried I’m going to hurt you.”

  Her head tilted toward the right. “Are you?”

  He hadn’t expected that question. Although he didn’t know why. It was a perfectly logical follow-up. “I will do everything in my power not to,” he vowed quietly.

  She smiled and stepped close to flatten her hand on his chest. “Then we’re good. I don’t care what Asher, or Honor, or anyone else thinks right now. We’ve been upfront with each other, so that’s all that matters.”

  He caught her around the waist to tug her against him. “You’re not only beautiful, you’re pretty damn smart, too.”

  She smiled as he bent his head to capture her lips with his.

  “Dinner’s done,” Asher bellowed.

  Their mouths smiled against each other before they separated, and Loyal rested his hand at her back on their way to the table. He loved touching her any chance he got.

  The meal was delicious, and after a couple of awkward moments when they first sat down, the tension eased. They didn’t lack for lively conversation, and there was a lot of laughter to go along with a fair amount of ribbing. Honor particularly seemed to enjoy any embarrassing story he or Roxanna offered of Asher, even though his brother promised he’d make her pay for egging them on later.

  When they were done, Loyal helped to clear the empty dinner plates, and then they all sipped on a second glass of wine while Honor dished up slices of her triple layer salted caramel chocolate cake.