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Morgan gives her an uncomfortable smile before looking at me in confusion, which makes me chuckle. “This is Natalie, one of my team members. She only knew of you because of the hit before, which was on paper,” I explain. “She’s basically saying it’s nice to meet you in person.”
“Correct,” Natalie confirms with a nod.
“Oh.” Morgan giggles and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “Nice to meet you as well.”
Natalie turns her attention to me. “Ready to go up?”
“Sure.”
I lead Morgan to the elevators, Natalie walking a few steps ahead of us. None of us says anything as we make our way to the eighth floor. I can see all the questions in Morgan’s eyes when she saw Natalie punching in a code in order for the buttons on the panel to work, but she doesn’t voice any of them. When the doors open, we all step out. Morgan and I follow Natalie down the quiet hallway until we get to room 802. She hands me a key card and gestures to the door.
“I’ll let you do the honors,” she says with a grin.
I slide the key card along the card reader and push the handle when the light turns green. Morgan steps inside first, her eyes widening as she looks around.
“Wow,” she murmurs as she walks farther into the suite. “What is all this? Are we spending the day here or something?”
I shrug. “Today, tomorrow, and every day after that,” I answer.
She spins around and gawks at me. “What do you mean?”
I take a few steps toward her, stopping just shy of being able to touch her. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said,” I start, trying to figure out the best words to say as I make my way through this. “About how being with me should be your own choice and not one I make for you. I guess I’ve spent so much time trying to protect people who I care about that I end up pushing people away. But for some reason, I can’t seem to stay away from you.”
Her breath hitches as her eyes widen. “Trent…what are you saying?” she asks slowly, almost unsure of her own question.
“I’m saying that I took a job here instead of one that requires me to travel so I can stay here with you.” I close the space between us and take her hands into mine. “I want you to stay here with me at The Hotel. You’ll be safer here, and it’ll give me peace of mind knowing you’re protected.”
Confusion fills her pretty face at my words. “Like live here? But what about your house?”
I shake my head. “I had the house because I preferred to be alone,” I explain. “But that’s not home. My new home is wherever you are, and that home has to be safe. This is the safest place you can be so we can start new here. Together.”
“Wow…I don’t know what to say,” she murmurs.
“Think of this place as a new tree for the little bird in you to call home,” I say. “And you know that your old tree isn’t too far away to be able to visit from time to time.”
My words make her smile as tears glitter in her eyes. “You’re right,” she says with a nod.
“And to respond to what you said to me last night…” I blow out a breath. “I love you, too. I’ll do anything to keep you safe and happy for as long as you allow me to.”
She squeals in excitement and jumps into my arms, hugging me tight. For the first time in a long time, everything finally feels right. After spending so much of my adult life alone, I always thought I had to be by myself to not carry the burden of putting someone else in danger. But all that did was leave me miserable and sometimes resentful of my chosen path. I never thought a young woman full of life would be able to show me what I was missing, filling a void that I thought would remain empty forever. If this situation taught me anything, it’s to live in the present. It’s so easy to get caught up in the future and create scenarios in my head that may or may not happen. But I can’t worry about that now. All I can control is what’s happening now, and right now, I know I want to keep Morgan by my side. If that means I have to take a few more extra precautions here and there, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make time and time again.
“Yes,” she says with a bright smile.
“Yes?”
“I’ll stay here with you.”
She laughs as I spin her around in my arms before capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. I’d come into her life prepared to end it, yet she’s given me a renewed purpose in mine. Who would’ve thought that pretending to be a college student would’ve landed me where I am today?
Natalie approached us with a soft grin on her lips. “I’m glad things worked out for the two of you throughout this whole ordeal,” she says. “Trent here broke protocol a few times, but it’s good that it’s paid off.”
“Now I’m not so upset that you tricked me when we first met,” Morgan says with a smirk. “Anyway, I’m going to go check out the rest of the place. Come on.”
“I’ll be right behind you. I have to speak to Natalie for a second.”
Morgan nods and lets go of me, disappearing toward the kitchen. Natalie looks at me and grins.
“Think you made the right decision?” she asks.
