“You went to my dad.” It sounded like a question, but then again, it didn’t. “That couldn’t have been easy.”
“I wanted to know if I needed help that I could turn to him. But I also knew as another person that loves you, I would have hoped he’d do the same.”
When she looked up from the space where she had been focusing, her hands nervously twisting in her lap, I noticed her eyes shined with tears.
“He’s rallying for you. I just thought you should know that.” A small trace of a smile tugged at her lips. “Never thought I would see the day that my father was rooting for any one man when it came to me.”
I was afraid to speak; I still felt like the ball was about to drop. I was waiting for the “but,” the “I think we are over,” the end of something I didn’t want to let go of.
“Do you have feelings for her? Even the slightest—” I moved, my body shifting to the side and crossing to the center of the bench seat. One arm wrapped around her over the back of the seat and the other against her cheek, nudging her to look at me. When our stares collided, her lower lip trembled.
“The only woman I have feelings for is you. Even if you and I had never happened, I still wouldn’t be with Holly. I wasn’t looking for anything permanent; that’s one of the reasons why I was so hesitant with you from the start. You are the kind of woman that is forever, and I wasn’t ready for forever.”
Chloe tried to look away, only I held her a little tighter, not giving her that chance. “You knocked me on my ass after just one kiss, and nothing has been the same since. I adore you, Chloe Rigdon. I am so in love with you, and never, not even for one second, have I ever strayed from that. You’re all I see, all I want, and that’s not gonna change.”
Her fallen tears pooled against her cheek and where my hand lay.
“I know you want space, but I’m gonna be honest with you.” God, my heart felt so achy from the tightness in my chest. “I don’t think I can give you that, because I’m going crazy after less than a day. I’m a mess, Chloe. I need you, baby.”
“I need you, too.” Relief, such an extreme rush of it hit me, making me feel lightheaded. Leaning in, I rested my forehead to her temple and simply breathed her in. “I just don’t know where to go from here.”
“We’ll figure it out, but whatever it is, we do it together.”
***
“You will get your job back.” I looked up from the papers I held in my hand just as Landon sat on the couch next to me. He’d gone and gotten a restraining order against Holly shortly after I’d last left him. The order protected both him and me from Holly’s further harassment. Having friends at the station helped, and Holly was served immediately. “We’ll go to a lawyer, and in the end, all of those assholes will be apologizing for their actions.”
“I can’t go back there.” Landon’s brows creased as he wrinkled his forehead. “It’s not from embarrassment, because I have nothing to be embarrassed about. I did nothing wrong. Well, besides take too much shit from the wrong people.”
I immediately saw the uncomfortable look take over Landon’s features. “I can’t work for a doctor that operates like that or people that automatically assume the worst about me.” I knew he’d been focused on the part about me taking too much shit, but when I explained further, his worried brow softened. “That office is not the only dentistry in town. I could even go to Statesboro if I wanted to. It’s not that far of a drive.”
“I should have stepped in sooner.”
“How could you have known if I didn’t tell you what was going on?” I hid my discomfort and worry from everyone, not just him. From the outside, I was still the same happy Chloe, but on the inside, I was falling apart piece by piece, unraveling at the seams.
“About the pictures.” I pressed my finger to his lips before he had the chance to say anything more.
“I trust you.” And I did. The day I went to the fire station, everything had fallen into place. First, I lost my job, then I found Holly there when I didn’t expect to see her. That, mixed with the self-doubt, was the perfect recipe for me thinking the worst when I knew without a doubt Landon wouldn’t hurt me like that.
Not only would he lose a man that was like his brother, but he would suffer the wrath of one hell of a group of men in the end. It would have been so much easier just to end things rather than run around behind my back. Besides, his heart was too kind.
“I need that trust.” I could literally see his chest rise high and fall as he took in a deep breath. “I need you to not doubt for a second the way I feel about you.”
Pushing up off the couch, I started to crawl over his lap and position myself over him with one leg on each side. Instantly, his hands rested upon my hips, and I placed one hand over each of his cheeks. The stubble beneath tickled my palms.
“I love—” My lips pressed to his before he could finish the sentence. For now I wanted to forget all about the bitch who had cost me my job and almost cost me the man I dreamt of.
