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CHAPTER 16
I dig through my chaotic closet and pull on a black mock turtleneck, black leggings, and find my black baseball cap in my messy hat drawer. With a black coat, I’ll be ready to blend in with the night. I slip into some black Doc Martens and start to feel the power of an all-black outfit.
“Laina!” I hear Ainsley shout from somewhere down the hall.
“Just a minute!” I yell back.
I’m about to leave my closet when Everett comes in and immediately closes the door behind him, trapping us inside the small, dark space. I stand still, waiting for his next move. He must have been to his room and refreshed his cologne because warm tones of citrus are swirling in the air.
“Hi,” I whisper for some reason, my heart rate jumping through the roof as he slowly walks towards me. “Have you seen it?”
The statement to the board should have gone out by now and I agreed with Mr. Delancey that it was okay to leak it to the press. I hope I’ve said the right thing.
“I have,” he whispers back. He pulls out his phone and the light of the screen illuminates his face. I can’t tell what sort of expression he has. “Want me to read it?”
“Yes, please.”
He clears his throat and reads in a voice that would make the top newscasters tremble for their jobs.
“The news of my marriage to Everett Park has been made public against our wishes. We always intended for our relationship to remain private, in the hopes that it would not detract from the greater goals and purposes we have as individuals.
Everett Park is independently wealthy and received an additional inheritance as a result of our marriage, nullifying any motive to take advantage of my financial situation. To those questioning my judgment, I would say that the consideration and maturity I put into the decisions regarding The Milenna Company follow me into my private life. If choices made in private preclude one from leadership, then most of the board would be disqualified as well.
As to the state my husband and I were in when news broke of our marriage, we were victims of a home invasion. Thanks to Everett’s training and intuition, I was kept safe. However, Everett sustained an injury to his shoulder which required surgery. The police are actively involved in the case and my husband is healing without complication.
You can expect to see me back in the office soon, there is work to be done.”
I hold my breath, waiting to see what Everett says next. Hearing it read back, does it sound a little preachy, a little stuffy, a little like a speech made by a royal palace in England or something?
“Is it too…I don’t know…bossy?” I ask.
“It’s you, it’s your voice,” says Everett. If I’m not mistaken, I think he’s a little proud of me and that thought makes me thrilled beyond belief.
“I just wanted it to be as true as possible. I hope it works in our favor. Mr. Delancey said it would help.”
Everett nods, scrolling down his screen with a grin.
“What?”
“‘Our wishes’, ‘my husband.’”
He shakes his head, locking his phone and sliding it into his pocket, plunging us into darkness before I can read his expression. He puts his good arm around my waist and pulls me towards him, holding me like I’m precious, of value. I have no objections, I melt into him. He rests his forehead on mine.
“Listen to me, I love you and I want you to be safe, understand? It’s okay to be scared, all that matters is that you stay safe. Come back to me.”
I nod against his head, closing my eyes to better hear the way our breaths match each other in frequency.
“It’ll be okay,” he promises.
He moves his hand to swoop around the back of my neck and into my hair, pressing into me, his cheek next to mine. My heart falls for him a million times over. I move my hands to either side of his face and as much as I want to devour him and kiss him senseless, I whisper to him instead. “I love you so much. For days on end, I’ve had my heart broken by wanting you and believing you could never be mine. You are the most incredible man in the world. I want you, only you, always.”
He shivers and my knees go weak as I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him as gentle-tight as I can.
Everett’s arm is back around my waist and my hands settle on his broad chest. I can feel his heart pounding away. I don’t know who’s more scared, but I know we need the press of our bodies together for reassurance.
I lift my chin and this is it, the moment where all it would take is him bending his neck a few degrees and I could kiss him. Everything in me is begging to kiss him, for him to kiss me, for us to fully dive in.
I hear Ainsley call for me again. Everett backs away from me and I already miss the warmth and power of his body. The absence of his pulse under my hands and the loss of his breath in my ear is awful. I don’t know how to move on from this when I want to live in this moment for so much longer.
