She sounds happy, so at least I can stop picturing her hiding in the closet in a ball.
“What’s that?”
“I’m finally leaving the house! And before you start telling me a million reasons why I shouldn’t leave, you don’t have to worry. Greg’s with me. We’re going to swing by and grab some take out before we come to you. Will you ask everyone if they want anything?”
I can’t help but smile when her tone hits my ears. There isn’t even a sliver of the sadness that I have been expecting. I know that the talk they had wasn’t easy, but I also know that Dee isn’t the same person she was a few months ago. She’s proven today just how far she’s come. My girl is strong and she did it all on her own.
“Yeah, Baby, give me a second.”
She hums her agreement and I place her on hold long enough to go ask Axel and Emmy what they want.
“You there?”
“Yup!”
My heart expands a little more with every word she speaks. Yeah, she’s got this.
“You’re going to have to call either Maddox or Chelcie. She’s been next door for about a couple of hours now with Maddox standing guard. Coop ran out to meet with a new client, but whatever you get him will be fine.” I finish up telling her what Axel and Emmy want before reminding her to grab her handgun and to keep it in her purse with her at all times. With her assurance and the knowledge that I know Greg will protect her, we hang up and I start my new stream of worries.
I wouldn’t be as calm as I am knowing that she’s left the safety of my house if I didn’t know she has protection. I might not be there, but Greg can handle anything that pops up, and the fact that she’s got her concealed doesn’t hurt.
That was one of the first things we did when we returned home from North Carolina. After she was well enough, I went out and bought her a Glock of her own, and then we went to get her permit to carry concealed. She hasn’t had the chance to fire it yet, but she knows how to use it, and just knowing that she’s got some way of protecting herself makes me breathe a little easier.
The thirty minutes it takes for her to walk into my office seems like forever. I have been close to pacing the room when she comes breezing in. I stand here next to my office window and take a moment to drink her in before I am able to move. She’s wearing a black tank top and a pair of white shorts that cover just enough to make her decent. Her long, bronzed legs seem to go on forever, and of course, she’s got on a pair of white and black, polka dot heels. The things those shoes of hers do to my body should be illegal.
“Snap out of it there, handsome. You’ll have to wait to act out all those dirty thoughts flying around in your head until we get home. Lunch is served.” She walks her sexy ass over to my desk and starts emptying the contents of her bag. I let out a painful groan when she bends over to pick up a pack of soy sauce that fell from the bag. Goddamn, that ass! She laughs and tosses my fork at me before sitting down and starting to eat without me.
It takes me a few seconds before I can will my dick to calm down, and then I walk over towards her. I bend down and kiss her deeply before pulling my chair closer to her. We eat in a comfortable silence, both of us just happy enough to be together right now. I know why I have been so anxious; I needed to see for myself that she was really okay. Even if she doesn’t speak the words, I know that she’s here because after that talk with Greg she needed me, and damn if that doesn’t feel fucking great.
It really brings it all home, just how far we’ve come. Before she would keep shutting me out and would never allow me to think that she needed me. Now . . . now she doesn’t even have to think about it. She needed me, so she came and got me.
“Where’s Greg?” It’s driving me nuts not knowing how things went, but I don’t want to push her to talk about it unless she wants to. Mainly, I just want to make sure that she really is okay.
“He’s eating in the conference room with Axel. I brought Maddox, Chelcie, and Sway their food before I took the little happy trail of joy to get in here. I swear, I don’t know why you guys let Sway leave that on the sidewalks.”
She laughs and I shake my head, remembering when Sway spent two whole days painting the sidewalk in front of the business strip gold . . . with glitter speckled all over the place. We all gave him a hard time about it, but he’s got a point. There isn’t anyone around that can walk on that ridiculous paint without a smile.
“Anyway, dropped Emmy’s off with her, but she was on the phone when I came in, so I’ll go catch up when we finish our little lunch date.” She turns back to her food, takes a few bites before closing up what’s left, and walking over to the fridge in my office to save the rest.
I toss the empty containers from my meal in the trashcan and pull her into my lap when she walks back over to take her chair. She giggles and wraps her arms around my neck.