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“Same here.” If I allowed others to share in the burden, would I be able to ease the knot in my belly? I didn’t have the answers.
I moved toward the crowd milling around the makeshift stage, looking for the familiar messy, blonde head. Seeing her head thrown back in laughter at something Hailey said had me moving quickly toward her. Not caring who was watching, I wrapped my arms around her from behind.
She wrapped a hand around my neck, pulling me down to her lips. “Hey.”
Keeping the kiss short and sweet, I straightened, loving the way she leaned her weight into me. “Everything okay?” She turned in my arms, looking up at me with concern.
I opened my mouth, then closed it. I needed to talk to her, to be with her, but she was with her friends. I didn’t want to begrudge her this time to enjoy her success.
She tugged me farther away from them. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she repeated.
“It’s just stress from the day,” I lied. It was a long day, but I should have felt relief to be off and spending the evening with her. I couldn’t get a hold of the panic swirling in my gut. Something was off. I wasn’t sure if it was just general anxiety or intuition of some sort.
Dismissing it as just my old fears creeping in when things were going well, I said, “I’m tired, and I want to get you alone. But I don’t want to take you away from this.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the band. “Can we stay a little longer to listen to the band? They’re almost finished, and then we can go.”
I nodded. A few more minutes wouldn’t make a difference.
The song was upbeat, and she started to sway in front of me. I couldn’t dance, couldn’t even find a beat, but I enjoyed watching her. She placed a palm on my chest and danced in front of me. It was sweet and seductive, and I wanted her to myself.
“Will you dance for me at home? When we’re alone?” I asked when she brushed against me.
She smiled seductively. “I’d love to.”
How could I be worried about anything when I had her in my arms, dancing just for me?
Remi Lennox was mine. Mine to care for. Mine to love.
We stayed until the band played the last note and started packing up. Remi made one last round, making sure no one needed anything.
On the way home, she said, “Alisha left earlier, but I said I’d meet with her on Monday to give her the check.”
“You didn’t want to make that a production of inviting the newspaper to hand over a blown-up check?”
She bit her lip. “Do you think I should? Mayor Madden announced the amount before the band went on, and it far surpassed anything I’d anticipated.”
“I think you should shout your success from the rooftops. The more attention brought to it, the more people will step up.”
She chewed her bottom lip. “I thought maybe it would be too much.”
“I think when you’re doing something good, you can’t attract enough attention to it.”
She reached over, interlacing my fingers with her. I’d never thought of myself as a hand-holding kind of guy. I didn’t recognize myself with her, and it was a good thing. The best.
Warmth settled in my chest. The knot of tension earlier was still present, but not as overwhelming as before. I hoped if I sank into Remi’s goodness, it might ease completely. I didn’t want to confess something to her that was probably nothing for her to worry about. Things were going well, but my subconscious raised buried anxieties.
When we pulled into my driveway, she headed to the front door to let out Scout.
I followed at a more sedate pace, watching while she used her key to open the door. I wanted her to live here with me. I wanted her forever, but it was too soon to tell her all the thoughts in my head.
I closed and locked the front door, following Remi onto the deck. She watched Scout bound around the yard, looking for squirrels or rabbits.
I wrapped my arms around her, kissing the soft spot on her neck that had her shivering against me. She closed her eyes. “That feels so good. I’m so tired.”
“Too tired for this?” My hand moved from her hip and up her flat stomach to palm one breast.
Her lips opened on a gasp. “I’m never too tired for that.”
