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“Is anyone you love hurt?” He shook his head. “Good. You grab that shower, and after you eat, maybe we can go to sleep early. If you don't mind your bed being a little more crowded tonight.”
She amazed him. He hardly deserved her. He wanted to scoop her up and carry her into the shower with him, but he simply leaned down and brushed his lips against hers once, twice, a third time.
“Are you sure you're okay with that?”
Delaney smiled. “I’m sure.”
She lingered a bit, and he thought she might finally ask him where the hell he’d been and what the hell he’d been doing, but eventually she stepped around him and padded barefoot down the hallway. He watched her go, and the tightness in his stomach spread up to his chest.
He wanted to be honest with her. He wanted to come home and tell her about his day and the bastards that had almost cost them more than a dozen lives and millions of dollars. He wanted to tell her everything about him. And he couldn’t.
For now she was content not to ask questions, but he knew it wouldn't always be that way. Every day he watched her claim a little bit more of her confidence. At some point, she’d be brave enough to demand answers, and when that day came, he’d have to let her go. He already knew it would be one of the hardest days of his life.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Delaney brushed a fingertip over the dangling gems on a silver charm bracelet and watched them sway and catch in the light. Addy and Clara had insisted on coming to this craft fair after lunch, and since they rode together, Delaney was a captive audience.
Stalls were packed into the empty convention space and created wide rows for people to wander and browse. It was a beautiful array of all types of creative art, but it was busy. While she wasn’t as uncomfortable with the crowd as she might have been a few months ago, this many people in an unfamiliar place made her nervous.
When a group of college girls approached the booth, she moved on to the next one with its brightly colored skeins of yarn stacked in boxes to look like a rainbow. Her grandmother tried to teach her to knit one summer, but Delaney had grown frustrated making lopsided dishcloths and uneven scarves, quickly giving up.
No matter how much her grandmother encouraged her to keep practicing, Delaney refused. At fifteen, she had far more interesting things to do with her time. Like flirting with the boy who lived three floors down from her grandmother’s apartment and spending too much time on the phone with her friends.
Now she wished she’d spent that time sitting with her grandmother to watch her soaps in the afternoon or learning how to make one more family recipe or listening to stories about how her grandparents met.
She sighed. At least she had those memories. The one thing no one would ever be able to take from her. She might have lost her home and the people who loved her thanks to her bad choices, but she would always have the memory of her mama’s laughter or her grandma’s sweet potato pie.
“Hey!” Addy said, popping up beside her and making her jump. “Do you crochet or whatever?” she asked, gesturing at the yarn.
“No. My grandmother tried to teach me once.” Delaney’s smile was sad. “I was very bad at it. What did you buy?” She eyed the bag in Addy’s hands.
Addy held it up with bright eyes.Minuit Noirwas printed in bold letters on a pale pink background next to the silhouette of a woman. “Come see. You have to buy something.”
Without waiting for a response, Addy gripped Delaney’s hand and dragged her through the crowd, around a cut-through, and down the next aisle, stopping in front of a booth the size of two normal spaces. Inside were racks of lace negligees and satin corsets and colorful bra and panty sets.
Delaney frowned. “I thought this was a craft fair. Where everything is handmade.”
A woman approached them, her black and gold braids piled high on her head in an elegant bun. “Everything here is handmade by me. I can also do custom sizing. Would you like a bra fitting?”
“She would,” Addy said, giving Delaney a nudge forward.
Delaney shot a look at her friend, who only smiled, and followed the woman behind a curtain. Stripping off her t-shirt, she suddenly felt very uncomfortable in her cheap cotton bra. The woman pulled a measuring tape out of nowhere and deftly wrapped the cold plastic around Delaney’s rib cage, noting the measurement and mumbling it to herself before repositioning the tape and taking a second, then a third measurement.
“You’d be a three-six in our sizing. But I would recommend something custom if you wanted a body suit or corset.” The woman smiled. “Well, corsets are always better bespoke. Did you want to try something on?”
“Ah. Maybe just a bra. Or two,” Delaney added.
“Do you care what color?” Delaney shook her head. “Perfect. I have a few I think would be beautiful with your skin tone. Be right back.”
The woman slipped out and left Delaney alone in the stall. She didn’t need a new bra. She had two that fit her just fine. Sure, they were nothing that would inspire sonnets, but they got the job done, and so far James hadn’t complained while taking them off her. Something he did often enough.
That thought made her smile—hemade her smile. The more she was with him, the more she wanted to be. He never pushed, never demanded, never asked for more than she was able to give. Even when she was ready to take the step to sleep in the same bed with him, he was patient. Always checking in to make sure she was comfortable or had what she needed.
Three nights ago, she’d woken from a nightmare to find him staring down at her, stroking her face, whispering that she was okay, that she was safe. Her normal instinct would have been to run, to not show any weakness that could be used against her later. Instead she curled into his side, breathed in the familiar scent of him, and let the heat of his body lull her back to sleep.
He was a gift, she was sure of it, and she’d started to let herself wonder what it would mean to stay in Philadelphia for the long term. She’d been on the run for so long that she never imagined she’d feel safe enough to settle anywhere. What would it look like to stay with him and maybe make a life together? Was it possible, knowing everything she’d run from? Would he even want that?
From the other side of the curtain, a soft knock dragged her out of her thoughts. “I have a few options for you in a few different styles.” A hand appeared with hangers dangling from a finger. “I’m running a buy one get one promotion today, so if you buy the bra, the matching panties are free. Let me know if you need any help!”
