Page 43 of Protecting his Heart

Owen tilted his head. “Are you sure?”

Evan’s stomach churned a little, but he didn’t feel the need to shy away from the place. “Yeah. Even if they’re there, we can get the drinks to go.”

Owen nodded slowly. “If you’re certain, yes. But there’s one thing I want to do first.”

“What’s that?”

He scrunched up his face. “Shower.”

Wrapping up warm, they left the house half an hour later and headed down the road to the cafe. Despite the sun shining down on them, the air was cold and brisk. The tourists were out in force, as they always were at all times of the year, but they ignored them and continued as if they weren’t there.

When they entered Book Drunk, the warmth bled into him immediately, and Evan rubbed his hands together. The cafe bookshop hadn’t been open on Sundays initially, but Oscar had made a sound business decision in doing so, and business had boomed. Christian hadn’t been so happy about the extra hours, from what Evan had heard, and Oscar had to share the work with his best friend and assistant manager, Hilary.

“God, I need warming again after that,” Evan said, shivering.

“I know just the thing,” a voice said, and Evan glanced over his shoulder.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” Owen said to Prince Christian.

Christian, the strong silent type, smiled. “I had nothing else to do, so I thought I’d keep my boy company.”

It was no surprise to anyone that knew them that Christian was a Daddy and Oscar was a little, but they didn’t advertise that outside of their friends and family for obvious reasons.

Christian frowned. “Wasn’t it your birthday yesterday?”

Owen’s cheeks flushed, and Evan winked at him. “It’s actually today, but the party was yesterday.”

“I heard on the grapevine that the karaoke bar is asking for a return performance,” Christian joked, and Evan blinked, having not expected it from him.

Owen palmed his face. “Please don’t agree on my behalf,” he murmured.

Evan and Christian shared an amused glance. “Well, I need to get something warm to drink before my insides freeze,” Evan said. “What do you want?” he asked Owen.

“Coffee?”

Evan shook his head. “I shouldn’t have asked.” He headed for the counter where Oscar stood, glancing around them, hoping not to see the people he saw those few days ago. When it was his turn, he ordered a hot chocolate and a latte, and added a slice of chocolate cake for Owen. He maybe should’ve checked how his stomach was before he did so, but he’d either eat it or not, depending on how he felt.

He carried them over to the table Owen had chosen and set them down. “One very strong coffee and a cake for the birthday boy,” he said.

“Ooh, chocolate cake. Yum.”

“I should’ve known your stomach would be better now.” He sipped his hot chocolate, groaning as the warmth heated his stomach. “I think I just need to drink hot drinks all day, every day, from now on,” he said. “I’m freezing. Anyway, what do you want to do for the rest of your birthday?”

Owen’s forehead creased as he slowly demolished the cake, but when he took the last mouthful, it cleared. “I want to go to see Amy.”

It wasn’t what he expected Owen to say, but it was something he was totally on board with. “Okay. We can stop by and grab some flowers on the way.”

“And a chocolate bar.”

Evan chuckled. “And a chocolate bar, yes.”

What that girl had gone through was unthinkable, and the tragedy had affected everyone close to them. It had changed everyone’s lives, some for the better, some for the worse.Families had split, friends had lost contact, communication had dried up, but the girl at the centre of it had never been forgotten.

Owen, Evan and Dominic had been seventeen when Amy had been taken, and the worst of it was that they hadn’t even realised it until three days after. Amy had argued with her parents and stormed off to her friend’s house to sleepover. Something she had done many times in the past. No one had thought anything of it. Her parents and her friend’s parents had an agreement that they would keep her there until she calmed down and let them know if there were any problems. More often than not, Amy returned a day or so later. Three days wasn’t unheard of, but it didn’t happen often. Amy was usually quick to anger, quick to calm.

Unfortunately, what no one had realised was that Amy had never arrived at her friend’s house in the first place. Her friend hadn’t been expecting her, and Amy’s parents hadn’t expected to hear from her friend’s parents. So both thought Amy was with the other. It was only when Sally decided to check in with Amy’s friend’s parents that they realised something was wrong.

Three days was a long time to be with a bad guy like that. It had taken a further two days before the police had found her, and by that point, she was dead. The man responsible chosen the coward’s way out and was killed by police. It was a bad time for them all, but Owen had taken it particularly harshly. From that moment, he’d begun training, wanting to protect other people from whatever came their way. Evan went the other direction and trained in first aid so he could help those who got hurt.

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