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She felt Kyle tense and dug her fingers into his arm. “Don’t.”
The muscles beneath her hand didn’t uncoil as Kyle urged her toward the front door. When they got outside, Melody sucked in a lungful of night air.
“Come on,” Kyle led her toward his car.
“What about the police?”
“The security team is handling that call. We’ll wait for them out here.”
Once she was tucked into the passenger seat of Kyle’s car, the little bit of calm she’d achieved vanished and she began to shake in earnest. Kyle got behind the wheel and pulled her into his arms. Safe with him, she gave in to the overwhelming anxiety and fear that she’d bottled up these last terrifying hours.
By the time the police arrived, her trembling had subsided and she felt her strength coming back. Kyle handed her a packet of tissues for her to blow her nose. Smiling her gratitude, she dabbed away tears.
With her breathing finally under control, she said, “I must look a mess.”
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Not only had the cops shown up, but also the paramedics. They checked her over and pronounced her okay except for elevated blood pressure, but because of the baby, they wanted her to go to the emergency room and be checked out. Before she left, the police took her statement and she got to hear how Kyle had found her with the help of Wolfe Security.
At the hospital, they photographed the bruise on her face and then checked out her and the baby. Both received a clean bill of health and Kyle took Melody back to his house. On the way, they swung through a drive-through and she wolfed down a hamburger and large fries in record time.
She was half-asleep by the time he tucked her into bed, but she seized his hand before he could move away.
“Please don’t leave me,” she said, tugging at him. “I need you.”
To her relief, Kyle lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms. The steady beat of his heart beneath her cheek should’ve been enough to ease her into sleep, especially because the adrenaline of her misadventure had long ago worn off.
“I had a lot of time to think today,” she told him. “I have made so many mistakes in the last few months. I don’t want to make another one.”
“We’ve both made our share.”
Melody silenced him with a finger to his lips. “This last fiasco is on me. If I hadn’t been so blind to Hunter’s motives for spending time with me, and then not believed you’ve loved me all along, I wouldn’t have run away from you in LA and ended up with Craig.”
He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers before pulling them away so he could speak. “I shouldn’t have overreacted when I saw you with Hunter.”
“I’m glad you did. I don’t know why I’ve been so blind. I wanted you to say that you loved me, but I was too blind to see that if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have been bothered that Hunter wanted me back.” She paused. “And I set him straight, by the way. I told him you’re my future.”
“I love hearing that.” Kyle sealed his vow with a reverent kiss.
“And I want that future to be in LA. I’ve had enough of Las Vegas.” She gave a small shudder and snuggled closer.
“Oh.” He sounded surprised.
“Oh?” She echoed, looking up into his face. “What?”
“When you seemed conflicted about where you wanted to live, I started looking for a house here.”
“You don’t want to move.”
“No, but I thought we could go back and forth. With your family living here, I know you want to be close.”
“Did you find a house?”
“I found three. I intended to get your opinion on them before I bought anything.”
“Before we bought,” she corrected him. “I think it’s time I stopped renting and mooching and become a homeowner. I want this to be our home.”
It was important to her that she’d realized it, but now that she’d said the words out loud, she wanted nothing more than to buy their home.
