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“Sure, I’d love that,” I lie, suddenly wanting to return to Bo now that Holly’s seen me alive.
“So,” she starts in, as she places a tea bag in my mug and refires the kettle, “were you as surprised as us when you-know-who showed up?”
“Oh yeah…completely. I knew nothing about this…still know nothing. Do you have any idea what compelled him to drive all the way up here?” I ask, happy that she settled onto my next topic of interest.
“I don’t know! You mean he hasn’t explained that yet? What exactly did you two do up there all afternoon?” Holly asks with a grin.
“Okay okay, to be fair…I mostly slept.” She’s not buying it. “Mostly,” I reiterate with a knowing smile.
“Fiona, seriously, that’s the man you’ve been avoiding and putting off all year? Do you have any idea? I mean…I don’t even know where to start…”
“What?” I prod.
“Fiona, that’s one of the most attractive men I’ve ever met. Not just his looks…his voice, his conduct, his integrity. Levi called the police last night…as futile as you might imagine, and then went to that house to see if you and Quade were there. We’d suspected Quade’s purchase on it. Anyway, he couldn’t see into the garage so he gave up,” she tells me, and I’m riveted to be getting all the little details I’d started wondering about. “So guess who prompted him to break a window and go in looking for you.”
“Really? But—”
“But Levi didn’t find you. Right. So what we didn’t know was that Bo was already in his truck driving up here… must have been driving like a madman. A few hours later he comes pounding on our door, ringing the doorbell. Levi flies downstairs and opens the door to this gigantic man, and he’s like…are you with the police? Honestly, it scared Levi senseless. He thought they were here to notify us of something we wouldn’t want to hear. And then Bo goes ‘what’s the address of that house? I’m going over there to find Fiona’, and just like that…he disappeared and came back with you draped across his arms not a half hour later.”
My mouth gapes as I listen to Holly’s account of my actual rescue. No wonder she’s taken with Bo. The guy really is a superhero…and I just…slept with him. Again. What have I been thinking all these months? If only I weren’t so goal-oriented, so business forward. I just can’t wrap my brain around deprioritizing the store, and I really have no time for a relationship.
I change the subject for the duration of our teatime because I don’t know how to continue dodging Holly’s attempts to hook me up with Bo. But now that I’ve experienced him again, not to mention he’s probably saved my life as I know it, I’m not sure how to dodge my own mental bullets. I don’t want to deal with or even see Quade, ever again. There can no longer be any pretense of civility between me and a man who would commit unspeakable atrocities against me.
Perhaps his sense of shame will cause him to back down and allow me to keep my store, without any interference. But some part of me has dislodged from all of that. I can’t imagine even setting foot in the place again. I don’t want to see anything that reminds me of Quade, that feels like part of a joint effort between us. I need a long vacation.
“What’s Bo doing anyway? Is he still upstairs?” Holly finally asks, interrupting my endless dark tunnel of thoughts.
“I’m sure he is. He wanted to give us our space since I hadn’t seen you this morning. I remember drinking Alka-Seltzer, but I have no idea who gave it to me.”
“That would be me,” Holly says, raising her hand. “You were really far gone Fiona. It scared me. Bo told me you said you didn’t drink anything…must have been some seriously bad sushi. You should probably report that to the restaurant.”
“Quade ate all the same rolls I did,” I respond with a sober tone. “I’d better go check on Bo, let him know it’s okay to come out,” I say to break the tension, then walk away leaving Holly perplexed.
I find Bo lounging upstairs in a sitting area of the hallway, slouched back with phone in hand.
“Hey Big Bo,” I purr to him, already longing to drag him back to bed. “What are your plans?”
“Plans?” he asks. “No plans except bein here for you. As I said, I got my guys takin care of business on the farm. I was just now checkin in with them. I’ve already got a room booked so I can stay out of everyone’s hair.”
This news shatters me, though I refuse to show it.
“I hope you’ll consider joining me…maybe offer us a little more privacy than we have here,” Bo adds, to my relief.
“Yes! Yes,” I respond, checking my enthusiasm. “Let me pack an overnight bag and tell Holly quick.”
Half an hour later we’re in an outdated hotel, ignoring the gaudy smell of deodorizers sprayed over musty old carpeting. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come up with somethin better. Slim pickins on hotels around here.”
“That’s quite alright Bo. It’s about the best you can do in a town this size,” I respond, reaching out my arms to lure him into them.
Bo’s got that familiar apprehensive look, like he wants to talk before getting carried away, and I know we have a million things to cover. But I still don’t really know what to expect. I’ve tried to forget that he mentioned me going with him to Florida, but I have to admit I’ve been turning it over in my mind. Nonetheless, I won’t be the one to bring it back up.
“How you feelin?” he asks as he slips my shoes off my feet. “Do you think you could get any more sleep after a full day of it?”
“Yes, believe it or not. I feel like I could sleep for days on end. But I’m perfectly fine other than that,” I reply, stretching my toes and then relaxing them into Bo’s warm hands.
“Lay back and close your eyes,” he says.
I do so, and soon my awareness drains into a drip-line of pleasure from my feet to my head. Within minutes, I’m hazing in and out of sleep until the blackness wins over. The next time I awaken, the bedside clock reads ten a.m. I’m tucked under the blankets with my clothing still on, Big Bo breathing peacefully by my side.
