Page 40 of Hope and Country

We had yet to talk about this whole living-together situation. It was something we drifted into without asking ourselves questions—at least I didn’t. Devon’s presence brightened my days, and for some reason, I wasn’t in a rush for her to leave.

I loved having her here. In my house. In my life.

She somehow just fit in.

With my back leaning against the counter, I studied her from behind the mug in my hand.

Every time we stood close, my entire body vibrated. The air in the room caught on fire. I didn’t know if she sensed it too. How many times in the last year did I dream of kissing her? Now that Devon was kinda living with me and we were spending an awful lot of time together, those feelings had returned.

Just like the night we met, the conversation flew easily between us, the smiles we exchanged sincere. I didn’t have to try hard around her. It all came to me naturally.

The more of Devon I saw, the more I craved to know more about her. Discover everything she liked. And disliked. I wanted to be the one chasing the terror etched in her eyes away for good. To sprinkle happiness into her life. And to make her laugh all the time, the sound addictive.

But as I stood there, feet away from her, I had no idea what to do. The woman had lived three years in hell.

Would she ever let me near her heart—and body—or did her jerk of a stepbrother break her so bad she’d never trust a man again?

“Riley, are you okay?” she asked, watching me with a tipped brow. “You’re lost in your thoughts. Far away from here.”

I shook my head and snapped back to the present. “Sorry. Just thinking. I’m fine.”

“As I was saying, I’ll cook dinner tonight. To thank you for all the things you’ve done for me these past days. I know it isn’t much but—”

I raised a finger to silence her. “You don’t have to. If you wish to cook dinner, it’s okay, but don’t do it because you believe you have some debt to pay back. I’m the one who’s choosing to help you, and I’m happy to do it. It’s all on me. You asked nothing from me.”

I erased the gap between our bodies and touched her elbow.

My heart skipped a beat when Devon’s gaze met mine.

We looked at each other in silence for a long time.

The tightness in me returned. How could she be so close and so out of reach at the same time? I cursed at my body for not being able to stay indifferent to everything that was her. Her charm. Her energy. Her beauty. Her strength.

Wishing to regain my control back, I cleared my throat. “I should go now. I have a meeting. I’ll be back at the end of the afternoon. Are you gonna be okay by yourself? Lock all the doors, double bolt the main. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”

I exhaled in relief when Devon nodded, and I left her in the middle of the kitchen, not ready to assess what we could be.

* * *

An hour later, I met Carter in my office downtown. We had some paperwork to go over together. He walked into the room but halted halfway through, eyeing me.

“You okay?” he asked. “You look like shit? Did you forget to sleep since the last time we met? Or do you have a lady keeping you up all night?” He offered me a crooked smirk.

I huffed and joined my hands on the top of my desk, my shoulders slumping.

“I wish.”

Carter sprawled in the seat across from me, his pose relaxed, his mind attentive.

“What do you mean?”

I scratched my forehead, wondering how to confide in him without breaking the promise I made Devon about keeping our living situation a secret. Carter frowned, and I told him everything. We had shared so many secrets over the years, I wasn’t even worried he’d tell anyone. I really could use a friend right now. And Carter was the only one who knew about Devon.

“Whoa, didn’t see this one coming,” he said, leaning back in his chair when I was done. “Fuck. You were right that night, Ry. We should have searched the place for her. Listened to your gut. Why didn’t it occur to us the elevator could reach the basement parking? Damn. I’m sorry I didn’t push you to act on your instincts.”

I shook my head. “No. Blaming ourselves won’t change a thing. But now I can do something about it. And no way I’m missing out twice. I checked the guy out. Even the mayor is a fan of him. The entire precinct sees him as untouchable and top-of-the-line.”

“And she’s been living at your place for the last two weeks? How is she doing?”