Page 129 of The Truth of Us

The first time it happened, Theo appeared with coffee and pastries.

"I come bearing emotional support treats."

Everyone in the office laughed, even my father. Theo stayed twenty minutes, talked absolute nonsense, made three employees blush, and then disappeared.

Two days later, Rowan showed up. He spent an hour with our security director, quietly discussing crowd management for upcoming public events. Before leaving, he found me in the hallway.

"Are you doing okay?"

I nodded. "I'm surviving."

He smiled, which I don’t think I had ever seen before. "I figured."

That was all. No questions or mention of Elliot.

Then Caleb. He arrived for what appeared to be a meeting with my father. When he left, he passed me outside his office. We stopped, and neither of us spoke for a moment.

Finally, I smiled, saying, "You've been avoiding me."

His mouth twitched. "I've been respecting you."

Those words stayed with me for the rest of the day.

And somehow they managed to be photographed outside ‌the foundation offices, and when they weren’t showing up for me here, they were making noise somewhere else, almost as if they were showing support and drawing attention elsewhere all at the same time.

A week later, I left the foundation just after lunch. The crowd outside had become closer to normal; that was perhaps the strangest part. You could get used to almost anything.

The doors opened, and security formed around me.

Questions started immediately.

"Miss Montgomery!"

"Harper!"

"Any comment on Mr. Vale?"

"Are you back together?"

"What does your father think of the relationship?"

"Do you think your mom would approve of you dating a playboy?"

I kept walking. One foot, then another. Don't look. Don't stop. One guard opened a path toward the waiting SUV. Almost there. Someone pushed forward. A cameraman, trying to get around another reporter. He stepped backward without looking, straight into my path. I instinctively moved sideways, and my heel caught the edge of the curb. For one second, there was nothing beneath my foot. The world tilted. Then…

A hand closed around my wrist, another around my waist. Strong and certain. I collided with a solid chest, and everything stopped. For one impossible heartbeat, I forgot where I was. Forgot the shouting and flashing lights. All I could hear was the steady rhythm beneath my cheek.

His heartbeat.

"Elliot..." The name escaped before I could stop it.

His grip tightened just enough to steady me.

"I have you." His voice was low and calm. Nothing like the surrounding noise.

Then, almost immediately, he let me go. Just enough to make sure I was standing on my own feet, and he stepped in front of me instead. Between me and the cameras. His body became a wall.

"Back up."