“Absolutely,” I agreed and we ended the call.
I placed my phone on the kitchen table and turned to face Velvet. “My boss loves me,” I blurted out, still grinning. My body buzzed with excitement at not only his praise, but also at his permission for me to work from anywhere.
Velvet smiled. “I kinda got that impression. What was that all about? Are you thinking about leaving town?”
I took a deep breath. “I’m not sure, Vi, but I want to be with Havoc and his life is on the road. I figured I should work out what my options are.”
Her brows lifted. “Wow, I’m surprised.”
I shrugged. “Well, he might not even want me on the road with him, so it may never eventuate. And I wouldn’t even consider it if Jack wasn’t good with it. Work is my top priority.”
Her mouth spread out into a smile. “I didn’t mean I was surprised in a bad way. I’m happy for you that things are falling into place. And I’m really happy that you’re okay with your plans being altered. The way you’re rolling with the changes and making new plans without losing your cool is awesome. Even Nash mentioned it.”
“Really?” Nash and I hadn’t spent a lot of time together since Havoc left the hospital. All I knew was that he was still against our relationship.
She nodded. “Yeah, he watched you guys together at the clubhouse the other night and mentioned that you seemed really happy. Well, after I prodded him to admit it, that is.”
I sighed. “Of course he would need you to drag it out of him. I wish he would just get over himself and accept this for what it is.”
“Your brother is a stubborn man, you know that.” She paused and her gaze shifted to my hair. “I love the blonde on you. When did you do that?”
“I saw Roxie a few days ago, on your day off.” I twirled a few strands of my hair. “So you think it suits me? I’m still getting used to it.”
“It really does. When I saw you the other night, I did a double-take because I hardly recognised you.”
“Thanks, Vi. I’ve often thought of trying it and when Havoc’s sister told me he loved blondes, I figured it was a good time to do it.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You didn’t do this for him, did you?”
“I did it for me. I mean, the fact he loves blondes spurred me on, but I’d never change something about myself solely to keep him happy. I will admit that I was really nervous about his reaction, though.” I paused for a moment as my insecurities heated my face. “I hate feeling anxious about what my man thinks. It’s something I’ve struggled with whenever I’ve dated a guy I really liked and thought could be the one.”
Her face creased in a frown. “Does Havoc make you feel that way?”
“Not at all and that’s what I love about him. Honestly, up until this point I hadn’t felt any of my usual insecurities. His sister threw me off when she told me he had a type and I didn’t fit it. I know it’s stupid, but—”
She cut me off. “But it’s what us women do, right? We second-guess ourselves and we shouldn’t.”
“Well, I’m working on not doing it anymore.”
“So this whole idea to travel with him isn’t just to fit in with what he might want?”
I smiled. “I love how you worry about me. No, it’s about compromise. He doesn’t want me to change for him and I don’t want him to change for me. If he loves the nomad life, I’m willing to make some adjustments to my life for him. But like I said, who knows what he wants because we’ve yet to discuss it.”
She nodded. “Looks like that’s something you guys need to talk about.”
It was absolutely something we needed to talk about and it would be the topic of our conversation when he took me on a date that night.
* * *
I sat cross-legged on my bed and watched as Havoc lifted his T-shirt over his head. “Thank you for dinner,” I said, a little distracted by his muscles.
He dropped his shirt and reached for his belt buckle. With a frown, he said, “You didn’t eat much, darlin’. Are you not feeling well?”
His movements continued to distract me as he removed the rest of his clothes. I had to force myself to drag my gaze back to his. “I feel fine, I just wasn’t very hungry because I ate a huge lunch.”
A moment later, he positioned himself on the bed next to me and pulled me onto his lap so I straddled him. His gaze dipped and he trailed a finger along my collarbone. “Why are you wearing clothes?” When we’d arrived home after our date, I’d changed into my favourite piece of clothing to wear to bed—one of his shirts.
I grabbed his finger and halted his progress. “Do you have any idea what your voice does to me when it sounds like that?”
His eyes met mine. “Sounds like what?”