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“Well, no. I wasn’t ready to admit it even to myself.” Champ rubbed the back of his neck, making his biceps bulge against his shirt. “I, ah… I had to break in to this place the first time, with the soup, because you were too sick to answer when I knocked. And then I had to change the locks, obviously, which I realized after the fact was kind of… a lot.” He cleared his throat, more adorably flustered than I’d ever seen him. “As in, stalker level a lot. And I realized you might have opinions about that, or maybe make assumptions. So I replaced your key to the old lock with your key to the new lock without saying anything and then kept the spare in case you needed something else.”
I was too stunned to speak. All I could do was shake my head wordlessly, overwhelmed and… really turned on.
“I know.” Champ’s throat worked. “I know it’s an invasion of privacy and whatnot. I never used the key again after you recovered, I swear. And knowing what I know now, I think it was probably beneficial, given that you’d had a nasty breakup with fucking Scott not too long before. But, ah… I can’t claim that had any bearing on what I was doing at the time, so.”
Holy shit. I had no idea what I was supposed to feel, hearing this. Weirded out, maybe? Angry that he’d been so overbearing and high-handed and, yes, secretive?
But I wasn’t.
I simply couldn’t work up a single iota of righteous indignation. And since on any given day half my body weight was comprised of righteous indignation, this was a big deal.
Instead, all I felt was… wanted. Protected. Sunshine-warmed, all the way down to my toes.
I was an independent person, and most of the time, I didn’t need to be cared for. But that didn’t mean that I didn’t want to be sometimes.
And the knowledge that Champ wanted to care for me so much that he was willing to step in and do it even when he thought it might make me angry? That made me feel special and precious.
It wasn’t logical at all. Aunt Cherry would probably tell me…
Actually, I had no idea what Aunt Cherry would tell me anymore, because maybe I hadn’t understood Cherry as well as I thought either.
“You’re not saying anything,” Champ pointed out a little nervously. “Go ahead and rant at me. I can take it.”
“Scott wouldn’t bother stalking me,” I said softly. “Especially not with Onyx to entertain him.”
“Scott is a fucking idiot,” he said dismissively. “We’ve established this. Not only did he cheat on you, he took out half a million dollars in loans against the business so he could finance a big-ass car, a fancy vacation, and the down payment on a new condo. Really, the way his clients are deserting him is his own fault.”
I blinked up at him, my mind replaying something I’d overheard Bunny say during the SnoBall, and even something I’d overheard when Champ and I had been in the pantry earlier.
“Oh my God. Did you ruin Scott’s business?” I demanded.
“No! Scott ruined Scott’s business.” Champ hesitated. “I just might have encouraged some society contacts I had to spread the word, that’s all. As a public service.”
The idea of that should not have made me as gleeful as it did.
“Scott would never have done something like that. Just like he’d never have broken my locks to bring me soup.”
Champ’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, well. I guess it’s pretty obvious why I haven’t tried a long-term relationship since Vince, then, huh? My boundaries are kind of all or nothing.” He firmed his jaw. “But I’m not sorry. Asshole had it coming.”
“No. Champ, listen.” I cupped his cheek and tilted his gaze up to mine because it was important that he understood. “Scott wouldn’t have broken my locks to bring me soup… because he never cared about me that way. That’s how I know he wouldn’t bother stalking me. And back when he and I were together, I thought that was good. Smart. Because relationships were for suckers, and I never wanted to become dependent. But the truth is, I just never wanted to depend on someone like Scott. But you… you took care of me, and I…”
I couldn’t make myself continue. There was vulnerable, and then there was vulnerable, and there were so many things left unsaid between us.
“Let’s take Herc back inside, Quinn.” Champ’s voice was deep and sure. “Let me show you how well I can take care of you, baby.”
I swallowed. “Aren’t we going back to the farm?”
He shook his head. “We’re staying here tonight.” His hand landed on my lower back, and his lips brushed against my hair. “So I can fuck you until you scream. And this time, I won’t have to stop you.”
