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Diego returned seconds later. “Do you remember his number?”
She told him the number and waited for it. He handed her the phone as soon as he pressed call. Taking the phone from him, she pressed it to her ear and waited.
She didn’t have to wait long.
“Hello?”
“Dad, it’s Belle.”
“Belle, what the fuck, sweetheart? I’ve been worried sick. I’ve just landed. I’m waiting for a cab to take me to your place.”
This made her sit up.
“Wait? What?”
“I didn’t get an answer from you or from Melanie. You’ve not been at work, and the kids you teach were told you were sick. I got worried. I’m your father. I took the first plane this morning. I told you if I didn’t hear from you for a short length of time, I was coming to check on you.”
“Dad, you really don’t need to worry.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. You’ve got a man in your life, and now you’re not calling your father. See what the problem is here?”
She nibbled her lip. “Okay, fine. Fine. It’s no problem.”
“I know it’s no problem. I’ll see you soon, sweetie. We can catch up.” He hung up.
“What is it?”
“My dad is heading to my place. I need to get home.”
“What do you mean he’s heading to your place?” Diego asked.
“I haven’t called him, and he started to get worried. Shit. I’m so sorry.”
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. We’ll head out now.” He stood up, and she lifted. His hands on her hips stopped her.
“No. You sit. You’ve already destroyed another lamp yesterday. Let’s keep the damage to a minimum.”
“What about my face? The bruises. He’s going to call the cops on you and think you’re beating me up.”
Diego cupped her face. “You need to stop panicking.”
“I can’t.”
“We’ll deal with everything when we get there. Just sit, stop stressing about something that may never happen, and let me take care of the rest.”
She sat back down again, listening to Diego as he began to make some calls. This was good. She’d not hugged her dad in a long time, or been able to take him out to dinner. Also, he would get to see Diego.
Was it too soon for her boyfriend and father to meet?
This was the first time she had ever taken a boy home.
This was crazy.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before Diego came back. He took her hand and led her out of the house. He eased her into the car and strapped her in.
“You know I can do that?”
“Yep, but I don’t care. I like doing it.” The back of his hand brushed across her breasts. “For that very reason.”
“How far are we away from my place?” she asked.
“Not too far.”
She didn’t press for more information. She knew she probably should but right now, she was really trying not to freak out. Her father was coming to see her. This was the first time he’d flown out to her. She’d have to explain what happened with Melanie and for him to stop contacting her. Nothing good would ever come of it.
“What do we tell him about my bruises?” she asked.
“The truth. You had an argument with Melanie, and she left you there.”
“She didn’t really leave me there. I didn’t want her help.” Why would she want anyone’s help after what she did? She didn’t make a habit of forcing people to be around her.
“Come on, stop worrying. You still had an argument, and rather than see you to safety, Melanie left you high and dry. You were taken. I saved you. The end.”
“He’s going to want to talk to the cops. This is such a mess.”
“I’ll handle everything. You have nothing to worry about.”
“It’s easy for you to say. Your dad isn’t like a war machine when he thinks his little girl is in danger.”
“I’ll prove to him that I’ve got everything under control, and believe me, I do.”
She did believe him. If anyone had it all together it was Diego.
Forcing herself to relax, which was next to impossible, she listened to the world going by. Before her accident that claimed her sight, she had loved watching the world pass in a blur. There was something about driving, where everything sped up that always caught her attention. She remembered sitting in the back of the car, going nearly dizzy as she moved her head with each passing tree.
She did miss those moments.
Still, she remembered them so vividly.
The car came to a stop.
“Are we here?”
“Yeah, we’re here.”
“Oh, that really wasn’t far at all.”
“Richard is the kind of guy that likes his protection no matter what.” Diego unclipped his seatbelt before doing hers. She didn’t open the car door. She had done that once many months ago and hit someone who was walking past.
Diego opened the door, and they made their way up to her apartment together.
