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She detoured and gave me a hug. “I will.”
When she was gone, a heavy silence descended. I looked around the room. What did Lincoln see when he was in this space? What did he feel?
There was a coldness to the apartment, yet the more time we spent here, the more warmth it had. I swiped a dog bone off the floor.
It wasn’t quite so put together as it was the first time I’d been here. There was a hint of chaotic mess that made the apartment feel more lived in. Had he noticed that too? Did he hate it? Hate the chaos we’d brought into his life?
I sat on the sofa. In this very spot, Lincoln had given me the space to talk when I needed and to just be silent too.
He had people helping him solve his problems in ways I never could.
Maybe he needed to know someone was there to listen or just be, no matter what.
And I could do that.
Chapter Seventeen
Lexie
“Isit too early to call it a day?”
Lincoln stood in the doorway, back from walking the dogs about an hour later.
“Nope.” I stood. “Eric already did and went in your office a while ago. You don’t mind if he sleeps in there, do you? He seems most comfortable there.”
“I don’t mind.” He held out a hand to me.
I took it and he led me down the hall. Millie detoured into Lincoln’s study, where Eric was still out. Muffy looked torn between following his friend or Lincoln.
In the end, he decided Lincoln needed him more at the moment.
We approached a set of closed double doors at the end of the hallway. Lincoln opened one and Muffy darted inside. Dim lights illuminated when we entered the room.
It was massive and masculine and so much like Lincoln, from the rich wood tones to the dark leather fabrics. And the view from his wall of windows was more stunning than the one from the living room.
The bed loomed in front of us. I’d never spent the night with a man, and the realization that I was about to do it with Lincoln had nerves taking flight.
“Should we leave the door open? In case Eric needs us?”
I threw my arms around his neck. He was thoughtful and kind and even his stubborn streak wasn’t so bad.
He held me like he never wanted to let go, cradling me to his solid body. His hold was powerful and protective, yet tender at the same time. He smelled like Lincoln and a little bit dog . . . and it was perfect.
“I don’t know what we would’ve done without you,” I confessed into his chest.
“You don’t need me,” he said against my hair. “It is me who needs you.”
Down, down, down I went. How had I gone from despising this man to—I swallowed hard—to whatever this madness was I felt whenever he was near.
I kissed his jaw. “Scary, isn’t it?”
He bored into me with that intense gaze. “Terrifying.”
A smile threatened to break free. “At least we’re on the same page.”
“There is that.” He brushed his lips across my forehead. “Make yourself at home. I need a shower.”
I already had, hadn’t I?
