To that, I blinked. This was because I knew Brock was not the still unknown (even though he was Gwen’s man) Hawk Delgado’s favorite person. This was also because Brock had told me Hawk was not his favorite person either, mainly because he screwed the pooch on the Darla deal. Both of them were not over that situation, as in way not over it, and now knowing the details, I got why on both sides.

“Really?” I whispered.

He crossed his arms on his chest and stated, “Babe, you think I found the woman of my dreams at forty-five years old and I’m gonna let anything happen to her, think again. That’s a long fuckin’ time to wait for what you want. I waited. I found it. I’m pullin’ out all the stops to take care of it. I know you feel the same for me so I’m doin’ the same to keep me safe for you. So yeah, really, I called Delgado. I made peace and asked a favor. His woman is in your posse so she wouldn’t be doin’ cartwheels, he said no and something went down with you or, for you, me. And he isn’t dumb. He’s a man who knows to collect favors and he’s a man whose business means he often has the need to call markers. So his ear’s to the ground and his eyes are open. So if a cop isn’t cruisin’ by your house or bakery, one of Lee’s boys or one of Hawk’s commandos are. Smart people pay attention to who’s cruisin’ around people they want to fuck with and smart people will see cops, Nightingale’s men, and Delgado’s crazy motherfuckers, and my hope is, they’ll steer clear. So, there you go. Now you got a full explanation of what I mean when I say you’re on radar.”

I heard all he said. I really did.

But I was stuck at the beginning part where he told me I was the woman of his dreams.

And that made me feel so warm and gushy, I was mostly incapacitated.

So the best I could do was force out an “Okay.”

“Okay,” he replied.

Then I forced out, “I’ll be down in a minute.”

He jerked his chin up.

Then he walked out.

I stared at the door. Then I did it a little while longer as I heard him moving around in the bedroom changing out of wet clothes. I did it for even longer after he’d left the bedroom. Then I toweled off, got dressed in loose-fitting drawstring lounge pants, a camisole, and a light hoodie and I went downstairs.

Brock fed me grilled cheese and oven-baked tater tots. It was really good. Brock grilled a mean cheese sandwich and the tater tots were baked perfectly, crispy on the outside, soft in the middle.