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It was such a tempting offer for me to take a step back and let someone else take the lead for once. It was compelling but also terrifying. I had learned enough to know that, usually, when I let people in, they tended to betray me.
But I couldn’t deny the sincerity in his gaze or the sheer electricity that radiated between us, which even now had every nerve ending in my body alert. So, despite my internal warnings and common sense, I found myself nodding.
“Yeah,” I said. “Let’s do that.”
* * *
Montyand I spent the whole night packing up my meager belongings, and then we left town the next morning.
Before leaving, I said goodbye to Ella, who was still laden with guilt over the whole incident.
“Is it because of me?” she cried out when I gave her the news. “You’re leaving because of what I did, aren’t you?”
“No, it has nothing to do with you, Ella,” I assured her. “It’s just time for me to move on.”
After comforting the girl and then hugging her goodbye, we also stopped by Mrs. Wilson’s home to drop off the balance of the payment on the rental plus arrears. I had borrowed the money from Monty only on the express promise—on my end—that I would pay him back every dime once I could.
“Mmm,” he responded without interest, and I had a feeling he would not be holding his breath for the money.
Mrs. Wilson was a lot friendlier after she received her money, and she seemed sad to see us go. She cuddled Hunter for a few minutes, gave him a few of his favorite toys to remember her by, and set us off with a kiss on my cheek.
“Come visit soon with that new handsome fella of yours,” she said.
“He’s not my—” I started, then found no point in continuing. “Alright, I will.”
And with that, we set off for Gracetown.
Faith, on her part, was ecstatic about the move. She and her real estate tycoon husband, Vinny, had agreed to let me stay at one of their rentals rent-free. Of course, I had insisted on paying at least something, but Faith refused, stating, “You were there for me when I needed someone. Please let me be there for you too.”
We had gone back and forth a few more times before I finally agreed, only on the condition that I would pay rent once I started working, which I did just a few days after moving to town. I got a job as a waitress at a fancy French restaurant smackdab in the middle of town, and while Monty wasn’t super happy with the idea of me working, he was supportive in other ways, especially considering he moved in with me. I hadn’t wanted him to at first, but then he made his case.
“There’s more than enough space for the both of us,” he said. “Besides, I’ve already missed enough of Hunter’s childhood. I don’t want to miss anymore.”
I couldn’t deny him that, no matter how much his presence made me anxious, and awareness tickled over my skin knowing he slept so close to me. One morning, I had woken up to the sight of him coming out of the bathroom shirtless, which made me nearly swallow my tongue.
“Wha—what are you doing?” I asked as the temperature of the room suddenly rose several degrees. God, I had never seen a man so ripped in my life, every ab and pec seemingly cut and carved by the gods themselves.
Monty cleared his throat, and my eyes snapped up. I blushed at his knowing smirk as if he knew every dirty thought that had passed through my head.
“Going to shower,” he answered. “Is there a problem?”
“N—no problem,” I stammered, then shook my head in an attempt to clear it. “I mean, yes. There is a problem. I need to get ready for work first.”
“Today is your first day of work?”
“Yes, and I can’t get a hold of Faith for some reason. I think she might be too busy to watch Hunter today, but I thought maybe she could give me the names of a few babysitters.”
“I can watch him,” he said.
I was about to utter an automatic no until I saw the hopeful, hungry look in his eyes. I immediately pushed my doubt and suspicion away. This wasn’t a man trying to get one over on me. He was simply trying to spend more time with his kid.
Still, old habits died hard, so I said, “Alright. But you have to be within my line of sight the whole time.”
He nodded. “The two of us will park it in the car right outside the restaurant.”
I smiled. “Awesome, thanks.”
After that, Monty drove me to work, and the day went pretty smoothly for my first day. The menu, while slightly confusing, was easy enough to memorize, and the clientele wasn’t all snooty high rollers like I had initially imagined. A few were even down to earth.
In fact, I was just about ready to chalk today up to be a good day until I went out during my lunch break to check on Hunter and Monty.
And they were both gone.
