BWWM Interracial Romance 6: Her Protector by Elena Brown Page A

out.”
    Jacob laughed and looked at his wife, smiling contentedly. “Just as well, the way things turned out—I couldn’t be happier.” Jacob gave his wife’s hand a squeeze.
    “So how’s Adriana doing?” Sawyer shrugged again.
    “She’s doing all right, for the most part. Still misses her father, of course—but that’s something only time can really do anything about. The restaurant isn’t doing so well, and she’s been stressed about that.” Sawyer knew that as stressed as Adriana confessed herself to be, the truth was probably much more intense.
    “That’d be a huge blow,” Jacob agreed. “But you’re happy with her?”
    Sawyer considered the question. A part of his mind—a big part of it—insisted that yes, he was very happy; deliriously happy. There was a chemistry between them, they enjoyed each other’s company, and there was nothing that could possibly be going wrong between them. But another part of his mind insisted that he only had to wait a little while longer for the other shoe to drop. Adriana was every bit as attractive—if not more attractive than—his ex-wife. She might betray him just the same way that Lisa had. It was always a possibility; ever since he had been cheated on, he had been aware of the fact that if a woman he loved decided to run around on him there was ultimately nothing he could do about it.
    “I’m happy with her,” Sawyer said slowly.
    “But?” Jacob raised an eyebrow and Sawyer smiled at his perceptive brother, taking another long pull on his bottle of beer.
    “I just don’t know how much I can trust anyone anymore,” he admitted. “I should trust her—more than almost anyone in the world, I mean, I’ve known her a long time. But I keep thinking that as soon as I let myself really love her, as soon as I let my guard down, she’ll pull something to ruin it.”
    “Hey, you never know, bro,” Jacob said, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. “Maybe this time you’ll be the one to ruin it.”
    Sawyer rolled his eyes; it wasn’t that funny of a joke from where he stood. “I’ve been thinking I might end it,” Sawyer said quietly.
    “What? Why? I thought you said you were happy with her.” Rebecca was even more confused than Sawyer was.
    “I’m happy with her,” Sawyer repeated. “But I’m miserable with myself. I don’t know if it’s fair to ask Adriana to deal with a guy who’s always going to wonder if she wants something better, more exciting…different.”
    “First of all—she knows about your history, right?”
    Sawyer nodded and shrugged. Adriana knew about the reason for his divorce; she had expressed her regret at what had happened.
    “So she went into it knowing you were damaged goods.”
    “Yeah, but that doesn’t really excuse me not trusting her.”
    “Well no, of course it doesn’t,” Jacob said with a grin. “But she’s not some innocent who has no idea how damaged you are. Anyway, the second issue is that you apparently think that just because Lisa was a worm, everyone’s going to treat you like a worm.”
    “I know they won’t,” Sawyer said feebly. “I mean… I mean, it’s difficult to even imagine myself settling down and having kids and a wife.” Sawyer looked from his brother and Rebecca, over to where the twins were seated at some kind of toddler play station, murmuring between themselves as they became more and more absorbed in a game. The sight of the two boys, so close, poised like tightened springs to jump off and create mischief at the first possible opportunity, filled Sawyer with a lonely, aching kind of hunger. He wanted this—not the specific children and wife, but the quiet joys that he could see written all over his brother’s face, the comfort of a home and the love of a child that he was raising.
    “What’s so hard about it?” Jacob asked matter-of-factly.
    Sawyer shrugged. “Your kids are already three. You’ve already got your family started. It just seems like I might