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She scooted over and leaned her head on my arm. The sweetness of the gesture, the joy of having her here, having her turn to me for answers, for comfort, felt so amazing.
“The truth is, I’m more okay now than I’ve been in as long as I can remember,” she said, nestling against my shoulder. I slid my arm around her and gathered her to my side, reveling in how strong it made me feel when she turned her cheek to my chest and rested her hand over my heart.
“Good. We talked this morning before you were awake. We’re going to take turns getting you to and from work at the hospital until things die down with Eric. I’m exploring all possible legal avenues to block him from accessing that hospital at all. We’re going to see you to and from your shifts, and Darren’s offered to post up in the hospital or outside it while you work to make sure Eric doesn’t step foot on the property. If he finds himself in need of emergency medical attention for a third time in one week, we can redirect him to a facility closer to his address. Rory’s called in a welfare check on him because we have reason to suspect he’s harming himself. A social worker from the police department should be checking in on him today. That way we have eyes on him, and maybe the scrutiny makes him back off and be more cautious. If not, we’ve got your back.”
“I believe you. I’m so thankful for everything you’re doing, Jeremy,” she said.
I tipped my head so my forehead was against hers and took in her soft smile, the easy intimacy of sitting this way, all wrapped up in each other on the couch, her legs across my lap, her body tucked against my side. I leaned in, angled my head and tasted her lips again. The rush of lust was immediate. From the way her hand went to my hair and her lips parted, I could tell Julie still felt that attraction as strongly as I did. Just as I slipped my tongue in her mouth, my phone rang. I wanted to groan in frustration—we had the house to ourselves, Julie was in my arms. Of course the phone rang. I pulled away and reached for it, glanced at the screen and sighed.
“I need to take this, sorry,” I said. “It’s Eric’s parole officer calling me back.”
Julie nodded and withdrew the arms she’d wrapped around my neck. I went to my office to take the call, knowing that this was an important step in making her safer, but still wishing that the call had come maybe an hour later instead.
22
RORY
If I said that the last couple of weeks, having Julie living with us, had been the best two weeks of my adult life, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all. She completed everything, fit right in with us and made everything better. She was fun and hilarious and sexy as hell. Kendall hung out with us sometimes before she had to go out to an opening or a party, and the girls nearly kicked my ass at beer pong one night. Admittedly I was playing with Darren on my team, and since he went to the military instead of college or firefighter training academy, he didn’t have the intensive beer pong experience that Jeremy and the girls and I had.
“How is your aim this bad? You were a Marine!” I shook my head.
“I’m better with a sniper rifle,” Darren had grumbled.
Kendall dragged us out to a VIP soft open for a remodeled salsa club. It meant a sweaty dance floor, flashing lights, all of us dancing together, a little drunk, with Julie in a tight hot pink dress that Kendall coaxed her into wearing. She’d kicked off her painful, sky-high heels early in the night and danced barefoot. My hands on her hips and her arm slung carelessly around my neck, we’d burned up the floor long after the others tired of the crowded space.
Most nights we stayed in, had dinner, watched sports or a movie on TV, whoever was home piled on the sectional couch together. Sometimes Darren had a security detail at night or Jeremy had a late deposition, and other times I had the overnight at the station. Regardless, there was always someone there with Julie and we settled in easily. She didn’t feel like a guest, like we had to be ill-at-ease and vaguely miss the relaxed informality of when it was just us three guys living here.
Things had worked out with the four of us living together better than I could have hoped for. Eric hadn’t turned up anywhere near Julie since Jeremy got in touch with his parole officer and I had a social worker check up on him. It seemed like the threat had died down, but I didn’t like the idea of her going back to her apartment by herself. I liked having her around, and Jeremy and Darren did, too. But there would be no dissuading her from being independent and returning to her place when the time came. I was dreading that more than I cared to admit. Not only because I wanted her nearby where we could make sure there was no threat to her, but also because I’d miss the hell out of her.
