Say You Love Me

Book 3: The Heart's Way

by Elizabeth Castle

Genres: Contemporary Romance; Romantic Suspense; Workplace Romance; Romantic Suspense; contemporary romance; office romance; workplace romance; steamy romance; police romance; protecdtor

Synopsis

An outwardly cold woman with hidden passions. An ex-cop forced to protect her. The heart finds a way.

Selena Powell doesn't let many people get close to her. Running a billion-dollar art and antiquities import business taught her to be careful who she lets inside her defenses, and she goes to great lengths to protect herself. But when she hires a friend of her nephew, she finds herself drawn to him. For Selena, the feelings she has for Carter Sullivan is uncharted territory.

Ex-cop Carter Sullivan isn't thrilled to take the job at Powell Trading, but his finances dictate he can't be picky. He doesn't know Ms. Powell, nor does he really care to. He knows enough of her reputation from the press to know she is one person to avoid. She's cold as ice, but the more he's around her, the more he wonders if there isn't more to her.

When Selena's security is breached, and her personal bodyguard is almost killed, she has no choice but to rely on Carter Sullivan to keep her safe. Though their personalities mix as well as oil and water, both find themselves drawn to the other. And if they are to find true love, both will have to let their guards down and see one another for who they really are.

Note from author: “This is the third book in The Heart's Way series, approximately 55,000 words. Selena and Carter's story came together almost in tandem with the second book. I fell in love with Jack from Book 2 Ask Me To, but when Selena popped on the scene toward the end, she intrigued me. I hope you find her story as enjoyable to read as I found writing it.

All The Heart's Way books can be read separately, but like most series, it's more fun in order. All books in the series are available now. Please note this is an open-door romance. I hope you enjoy.” – Lizzy Castle.

Release date: April 16, 2018

Publisher: In The Air Publishing

Print pages: 212

Content advisory: Open door romance.

Sample

Chapter One

“Please, Selena.  I need you to do me this favor.”

Selena Powell looked at her nephew, Daniel, and sighed.  He was almost six feet tall, so he towered over her quite a bit.  He was also so skinny he looked like he never ate, though she knew otherwise.  His dark brown hair brushed his shoulders, and this month he was sporting a goatee.  Right now his big brown eyes were pleading with her.  She hated it when he gave her that puppy dog look.  And she really hated it when she knew she was going to cave in.  Again.  Still, she had to try.  “Why don’t you hire him?”

“I was going to.  I sort of promised him a job.”  Daniel sent his aunt a pleading look.

“So, again, why don’t you hire him?”  Selena shoved her strawberry-blonde hair out of her face.  She never should have let her stylist talk her into bangs.

“I can’t.  I sort of got myself into a bit of a financial bind.”  Daniel quickly held up his hand when he saw his aunt was about to lay into him.  “I don’t need money.  I just need you to give him a job.  And I promise he won’t be anything like my friend Brian.  Carter Sullivan is a man you can rely on.”

Selena shuddered.  She should refuse to hire the man simply because his name was Carter.  Carter was the name of her deceased husband, and she was pretty sure he was one of the lowest forms of life that ever walked the earth.  She wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with another one.

“Why is he so desperate to work for you?”  Selena asked.  Daniel had branched out on his own and had started a talent agency.  He employed actors, singers, writers, models, and any other type of entertainment people he could find.  He even had clowns, ventriloquists, and mimes on his payroll.  Recently he had branched out into catering.  He claimed to be able to provide for all of your entertaining needs.  He had even sold her his services this past year, though she had other people she usually went with when she took the time to entertain clients.  She had to admit he did a good job.

“He was going to head up my new security division.  Sometimes the actors and models need a little protection.  But I sort of overextended myself on the catering division.”

Selena glanced over at Wallace.  He had been her bodyguard for the past six years.  He also happened to be an excellent hacker.  His brain was amazing, not to mention he intimidated anyone who overstepped the clearly marked boundary lines she kept around herself.  “All right.  Goodness knows I can always use more security around here.  What exactly are his job skills?”

Daniel gave her a huge grin.  “I’m not completely sure.  I do know that once upon a time he was a cop.  That was all the recommendation I needed.”

Selena shuddered again.  Great.  His name was not only Carter, but he was an ex-cop.  She had had some seriously unpleasant experiences with the local police.  But he wouldn’t be the first ex-cop on her payroll, and he wouldn’t be the last.  And it wasn’t as if she had to deal with him personally.  He’d just be another cog in the wheel of her antiquities business.

“All right.  I’ll have the paperwork drawn up at human resources.  He’ll need to come in and fill out an application and all the other necessary documentation.  If he’s qualified, he’s hired.”

Daniel stood and bent to kiss his aunt’s cheek.  “He’ll pass all your background checks and will have no problem signing your non-competition clauses, and whatever paperwork you’ve got lined up to cover your butt.”

Selena simply kissed her nephew’s cheek back and watched as he waltzed out of her office.  She sighed again and dropped down into her seat.  She didn’t even have to look at Wallace again.  He left for the adjoining room where he kept his office, and she knew without asking that he would be running a complete background check on one Carter Sullivan.

An hour later, Wallace came back through the door.

“What’s the verdict?”  Selena set aside the tablet she’d been reading.

“He passes.  He was a cop.  Twelve years.  He only worked here in the city for the last two years of his career before he quit.  He joined the local PD as a detective with the major crime unit.  His last assignment involved a sting gone wrong.  He quit after being shot multiple times.  Permanent damage to his left shoulder, his dominant hand, by the way, and he reportedly walks with a limp.  Reports say a punctured lung and damage to his liver.  Almost bled to death.”

Selena couldn’t help but feel a moment of sympathy for him, but first and foremost, she was worried about her company.  “Given his injuries, why a security position?   Do you think he’ll pass our physical?”

“Given what little I can tell from pictures?  Yes, he’ll pass.  And I don’t see a limp in the surveillance videos I was able to locate on him.  He looks like one tough SOB.”  Wallace wasn’t one to mince words.

“All right.  If he passes the physical and is willing to sign all of our contracts, I guess he has a job.  Please pass it along.”

Wallace nodded and left the room.

Selena picked up her tablet and checked her email.  Wallace would have already sent his full report to her.  Once she got a good look at the accompanying pictures and videos, she saw what Wallace had seen.  It was hard to tell in the pictures, but he had to be six feet at least.  He looked to be all lean muscle.  His jaw was square, and though it was a tired cliché, he looked like he ate nails for breakfast.  There was a small scar on his hairline that went a couple of inches toward his temple on the right side.  The best picture Wallace found of him was black and white, but she guessed he had dark brown hair and brown eyes.  The five o’clock shadow he sported in the picture gave him a dangerous look.  Definitely not a man to mess with.

Selena glanced at the open door.  Wallace was tough-looking but in a much more polished way.  He had dark hair and dark eyes, but he looked like he belonged on the cover of a men’s magazine, or perhaps that was the pages of a women’s magazine.  He used his looks to attract women and scare off potential threats.  She relied on his intimidating looks to counter her softer, more feminine ones.  Her greatest wish was to be six inches taller and to not look like she could be a stand-in for a farm girl on Little House on The Prairie.  The two-thousand-dollar crisp, perfectly tailored suit couldn’t mask the freckles sprinkled across her cheeks or the full softness of her mouth.  She wanted to look like she was all hard angles and unbendable.  Instead, she was only a few inches over five feet, had a lush mouth that her nephew told her men found sexy, and pale blonde hair with a hint of red.  If she weren’t so vain, she’d have dyed it black.  But with her pale, milky skin, the black hair would just make her look washed out.  She blew at her bangs.  She was going to get even with her stylist.  The new bangs made her look vulnerable instead of edgy.

Selena sat back in her chair, her eyes still on the photo of Carter Sullivan.  She had to admit he was pretty sexy.  The scars didn’t detract from what looked like a very healthy male animal.  He wasn’t handsome, she had to admit.  Certainly not in a classical sense.  He certainly didn’t look like the men she dated.  He was hard and lean, whereas the men she dated were usually soft.  Her current escort was about twenty pounds overweight and was almost old enough to be her father.  But he was soft, and most importantly, harmless.  From what she could see, Sullivan was anything but harmless.  He looked to be the type of man who took charge and played by his own rules.  Definitely not her type.

But as the day progressed, and the rest of the week passed, she found herself thinking about Carter Sullivan at odd times.  She’d read the full report Wallace had sent.  He was six-one, close to two hundred pounds, and had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.  He had finished high school early and went straight to college.  He worked and went to school until he was old enough to enter the police academy.  He had a degree in criminal justice.  He made detective quickly.  He was thirty-five when he voluntarily quit the police department, only two years earlier.  Since then he’d worked a few different jobs.  He’d worked as a mechanic for six months.  He’d worked as a security guard at a bank for three.  He worked as a janitor for another three after the bank.  Since then there was a gap in his work records.  Looked like the ex-detective hadn’t worked in a good eight months.

Selena picked up the phone and dialed her nephew.  She hadn’t asked Daniel how he knew Sullivan, and she was suddenly curious.  Unfortunately, Daniel’s phone went to voicemail, so her curiosity wouldn’t be satisfied yet.

*  *  *

Carter Sullivan tugged uncomfortably at his tie.  When he’d been a detective, he’d worn one often.  He just never got used to it.  He smoothed back his hair and looked himself over one last time in the mirror.  He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into.  He’d committed himself to work for Daniel Powell’s aunt.  Daniel was a nice enough kid, but he was still mostly a kid.  Daniel was only twenty-two.  Doing security for rich guys’ parties or playing bodyguard to an actress or a model once in a while didn’t seem like such a bad gig.  And he wouldn’t have minded going home for a night with said model or actress.  The women he used to date had stopped returning his calls once he was no longer a cop.  It just proved what he always believed: most women were fickle, and their words of love were not to be believed.  He supposed having been a cop made him a bit cynical about the human race, and women in particular.  They were quick to play the damsel in distress, and just as quick to stab a man in the back.

Carter had met Daniel when Daniel was working as a waiter at Carter’s favorite dive.  He’d gotten Daniel out of some hot water when a couple of doped-up teens had come into the restaurant late one night waving knives and threatening the patrons.  After Carter had kept Daniel from getting attacked when Daniel had tried to play hero, they’d somehow become friends despite their age difference.

Daniel felt he owed Carter for saving his hide, and Daniel had come up with the brilliant idea of paying him back by promising him a job at his fledgling business.  Given the state of his bank account, Carter needed the work and agreed.  And because he needed the work, he’d let Daniel pass him off to his aunt.  He didn’t know Selena Powell, what she looked like, or what she was like, and he didn’t much care.  But he did know her reputation.  There probably weren’t too many people who didn’t know who she was.  She ran one of the largest antiquities businesses in the country, Powell Trading, started by her grandfather years ago.  She was a major player in the city he now called home.  She was reported to be cold as ice, unscrupulous at the bargaining table, and quite the business shark.  She also reportedly went through men like tissues, tossing them out when she was through with them.

Mostly none of that bothered him.  He didn’t care what she did or who she did it with.  His real problem was he didn’t want to be stuck in another job where he had no control or say over how things were done.  He’d been in charge more often than not while on the force, and he was the one people went to.  He had superiors, but they trusted his judgment in the field.  And in the field, you didn’t have anyone constantly looking over your shoulder.  He’d quit his last few jobs because he was sick of taking orders from people who thought they were somebody because they got to boss an ex-cop around.  He also quit because he was tired of taking orders from people more than ten years younger than he was.  As soon as he had enough money saved, he was thinking about opening up his own security company.  He’d have Daniel be his first client.  He knew criminals, and he knew the law.  And he knew how to stop people who were determined to wreak havoc on the lives of normal citizens.

Carter pulled on his new uniform jacket and left the house.  It still felt odd walking out without his weapon, even after two years.  He had a license to carry, but he didn’t need it to watch television monitors and escort people in and out of a building.  And if he had to guess, Ms. Powell would frown on her staff carrying weapons into her swanky building.

He walked into the headquarters of Powell Trading, once again amazed at how light and bright the building was.  The first time he had stepped foot into the building, it had been to sign employment paperwork.  The carpet was a deep steel gray, instead of the ugly patterns he saw on the floors of most office buildings.  The artwork was tasteful but reproduced.  He found the reproductions amusing, considering the business he was now working for had the real thing in storage.  The furniture in the waiting areas looked plush and comfortable.  This was a classy operation, he had to admit.  He wouldn’t mind creating something similar on a smaller scale for his own company one day.

The job he was assigned was pretty straightforward.  Some of the couriers who came and went needed to be escorted in and out of the building.  He spent the morning following one of the other guards around so he could get the layout of the building and who was where.  Not surprisingly, Ms. Powell occupied the top floor of the three-story building.  Only people with special clearance were allowed behind those elevator doors.  When he wasn’t escorting couriers, he was watching security cameras that were placed discreetly behind the reception area.  Security in this building was tight, and it ran smoothly.  Whoever set it up did a great job.  No one came in or went out without getting flagged on the screens.

“How is your first day going?”  Daniel opened the door to the security room and saw Carter dutifully monitoring the screens.

“Fine.  This is a really cushy gig.”  Carter couldn’t think of anything else to say.  He’d been bored for the past hour watching and logging people come and go.  He’d rather be back escorting the couriers.  Most of them were average men and were nice to chat with.

Daniel leaned casually against the door frame.  “Could be worse.  You could be my aunt’s bodyguard slash assistant.  I love her, but she can be a royal pain.  I thought I’d come and treat you to lunch.  I still feel bad about what happened.”

Carter looked at his watch.  “My relief should be here any moment.  I wouldn’t mind going out for lunch and getting some fresh air.”

When his relief arrived, Carter followed Daniel out of the building.  He did like the kid.  Something about him reminded him of himself when he’d been young and not yet jaded.  Daniel had an unspoiled easiness about him that spoke to his confidence in his place in the world.  Carter knew one day that confidence would be shaken; it was inevitable, but Carter had a feeling Daniel would be stronger for it.

They chatted about sports and world events while they ate.  Daniel invited him to a poker game on Friday, which Carter surprised himself by accepting.  Carter hated to admit it, but he’d become somewhat of a hermit over the past few months.  Besides missing female company, he hadn’t gotten together with his buddies at the department because he no longer felt like one of the guys.  Turning them down with one lame excuse after another wasn’t hard.  And since they accepted his lame excuses and finally quit calling, he supposed they felt much the same way.  But saying no to the earnestness in Daniel’s gaze was more difficult.

They walked back to the office and were about to part company when Daniel’s eyes went to the elevator.  “Well, well.  Coming down to hang out with us regular folk, are you?”

Selena felt an uncharacteristic urge to stick her tongue out at her nephew.  Something about him brought out some latent tendencies to behave like a child.  Probably because, at twenty-two, he was ten years younger than her.  Instead, she gave him a smile, which faded when she saw who he was standing with.  She hadn’t expected to run into Carter Sullivan, at least not so soon.  She went months without seeing the various members of her staff.  The company had a few hundred employees, and she only knew a handful of them well.

Carter gave Selena Powell a once over.  The first thing he noticed was that she had on ridiculously high heels that, despite their height, couldn’t bring them eye to eye.  She was probably only five-two to his six-one.  The second thing he noticed about her was her incredibly kissable mouth.  That mouth could arouse some serious fantasies.  She had an almost pixie-like quality to her, but the mouth was that of a siren.  The third thing he noticed was her bright blue eyes framed by reddish-blonde bangs and wavy tresses that went just past her shoulders.  The overall effect was one of softness and quiet beauty.  Her suit was cream-colored, as was the blouse underneath.  Nothing about her was flamboyant or over the top.  She wore small diamonds in her ears but no other jewelry.  She looked delicate.  Classy.  That was probably the word he was looking for.

Pulling every ounce of professionalism she could muster, Selena held out her freshly manicured hand to Carter.  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Sullivan.  My nephew highly recommended you for this job.”

Sullivan looked down at the small, delicate hand.  He noticed she only wore clear lacquer on her fingers.  He took it firmly in his, just barely resisting the urge to squeeze it.  “Nice to meet you as well.  But we both know he didn’t exactly recommend me for the job.”

Selena’s blue eyes went icy cold.  “I guess we both do know that.  But most people would keep that comment to themselves and be happy they have a job.”

The ice in her voice gave Carter the sudden urge to take her down a notch.  But he bit his tongue and dropped her hand.  He glanced over to the very tall, very intimidating man standing slightly behind her, who had taken a step closer at Selena’s tone.  This would be the hired muscle Daniel mentioned.  He almost sneered.  “Well, then, I’ll just graciously thank you and let you get on your way.”

The man gave Carter a warning look.  Carter just gave him a bland one back.

“Hey, Wallace, nice to see you.”  Daniel gave Wallace a wave and watched the pair leave, the other man not saying a word.

“She looked pretty mad.”  Daniel couldn’t help but comment.

“I don’t know how to suck up.  I’m better at the opposite.”  Carter clipped his security badge back to his breast pocket.

“She’s good at the queen to the peasant routine.  But don’t let that fool you.  She just acts tough.  She’s really sweet.  It only took me five minutes to convince her to hire you.  You should practice being cute if you want to get on her good side.”

Carter gave him a disbelieving look.  “Cute?  I don’t think I’ve been able to pull off cute since I was a toddler.  Probably not even then.”

Daniel chucked him on the shoulder.  “No, I suppose not.  You probably intimidated all the other children on the playground.  But Selena’s not easily intimidated.  She’ll give back as good as she gets.”

Carter nodded at that.  He’d never been one to keep his mouth shut or keep his feelings to himself.  At least not when they included disgust, disbelief, or disapproval.  Selena Powell was the antithesis of everything he stood for.  He became a cop because he wanted to help people who couldn’t help themselves.  People like Selena Powell stepped on those same people he swore to protect.  Carter went back to work, praying he could keep this job long enough to save up a nice nest egg before he told her where she could stick her job.

“See you on Friday,” Daniel said to Carter; then he winked at the receptionist on his way out.

Carter got back to work.

*  *  *

The brief confrontation with Carter Sullivan stuck in Selena’s mind over the next couple of weeks.  She had been able to keep her cool in his presence, but she had felt anything but.  She wasn’t sure what it was about Sullivan that made her so edgy.  Or what it was about him that had her dormant hormones wide awake.  She found herself watching for him in the mornings on the security screens she had in her office.  She liked to see who was coming and going, and she had been watching for Sullivan more than she wanted to admit.

Even Wallace, who was usually quiet on the subject of her personal life and habits, had made a couple of comments about her sudden interest in her security guard.  And when her latest escort called her to make a date, she turned him down.  That in itself should have had warning bells going off in her head.  She needed to be seen around town, and having a rich, mostly handsome man escort her was a key component.  Her dates eventually broke things off with her, not the other way around.  Because it didn’t matter who she was going out with, she didn’t become attached to any of them.  Eventually, they would notice her disinterest, realize they weren’t going to talk her into bed, and they would give up and move on.  Unfortunately, she was starting to run out of wealthy, influential men to date, so turning the latest one down was a dumb move on her part.

And really, it wasn’t as if she could ask Sullivan out.  First, he was her employee.  Second, he was a nobody.  He wasn’t a member of the city’s movers and shakers.  In her business, who you were seen with was important, and she’d spent the last six years devoting herself to her company.  Her father might still own half of it in absentia, but he wasn’t here to make any of the decisions, and he never would be.  And third, Sullivan didn’t like her.

And if she were honest with herself, she couldn’t fault Sullivan for his immediate dislike of her.  She had purposefully cultivated the image of ice queen.  She was in a tough business, and it didn’t pay to display even the smallest hint of weakness.  And rumors were that she used men and tossed them aside.  That didn’t normally bother her, but having Sullivan look at her with such disdain had been a bit hurtful, though puzzling.  But it was the price she had to pay for the life she’d chosen.

Selena opened her laptop and got back to work.  She had a line on some artifacts that had been stolen from a local collector.  However, since that collector had stolen the artifacts from a Lebanese museum, she felt no remorse in sending what she’d learned about this collector to the proper authorities.  She tapped a few more keys, then hit the intercom on her phone.  “Wallace.”

She released the button and waited.  They had been working together for so long that she didn’t need to say anything else.  She didn’t even look up at him when he entered her office.  “I need you to take the file I just sent you and forward it anonymously to the proper authorities.  Looks like our friend figured out who stole the artifacts from him.  He should have them back in his possession in the next day or so.  I want them removed from his care before he stashes them away.”

Wallace opened the file on the tablet he carried.  “Good job.  At the rate you’re going, you’ll be a better hacker than I am.”

Selena tried to hide her pleased grin but failed.  One of the main reasons she hired Wallace over some of the other applicants was because of his computer skills.  Large, intimidating men were easy to come by.  She needed a large, intimidating man with investigative and computer skills.  Six years ago, she could have prevented what happened had she known how to digitally dig into her husband’s life.  “I learned from the best.  And these artifacts deserve to go home.”

Wallace nodded and left.

Selena sighed and leaned back in her seat.  She had realized quickly that her antiquities business provided a great opportunity to help governments, including her own, reclaim what was lost.  She didn’t mind buying and selling antiquities and artifacts, but she strictly followed the laws governing what could and could not be sold.  She took pride in following those rules to the letter, and her clients were carefully screened to ensure they held the same beliefs.  And it disgusted her that so many artifacts and antiquities were lost to the black market.  She knew most of the major players, and she knew, thanks to Wallace’s help and teaching, who was honest and who was not.  She kept her eyes and ears open and spent a lot of time digging into her client’s lives.  She had no desire to see priceless artifacts stolen from their rightful owners, stealing the heritage of people who treasured them for their real value, not their monetary one.