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I nodded. “What can I do for you?”
He pointed at the chair. “Can I sit?”
I smirked, sitting down in my chair. “Sure. You own it.”
He chuckled. “No, I just wanted to come and check on you. I’ve been out of town for the last week and I didn’t have a chance to check back in with you when the office opened back up.”
I took a deep breath, about burnt out with the concern but trying to be thankful for it. “I’m okay. Busy, which is always good. I am glad we had a few days off before coming back. It helped. Have they had any breaks in the case?”
He tapped the arms of the chair. “Not that I know of. There’s no suspicious people coming or going, no unusual recent hires. It’s weird. And they think it was a message to me, but I don’t know anyone that would even come close to being a suspect for that kind of thing.”
Suddenly, I was overly concerned for him. “Are you being careful?”
He looked at me for a second and then smiled. “Yeah. They have patrols around my place, and I have a guard that the board forced me to have that kind of lurks around whenever I go somewhere. But nothing out of the normal on my home front. Everything good with you?”
“Oh, I mean nothing out of the ordinary,” I replied, surprised by the question. “Should I be concerned?”
He immediately shook his head. “Oh, no, no. I didn’t mean like that. I meant…I guess just how are things going? Finding all the fun places?”
I let out a breath. “Um, yeah I guess. We have been around Imperial Beach, but not much further than that recently.”
He nodded, glancing away and then back at me. “You should let me take you and Harper out to see the sights one day. We can go to the aquarium, and to the piers, and there are some cool boat tours you can take too.”
Nerves flashed in my stomach. The thought of being out with Harper and Daniel was both terrifying and played into the little self indulgent fantasy I played out once in a while in my head. A dream of what it would have been like if Daniel had been part of our lives. Only, I had no idea what it would have been like because I had learned more about Daniel in the last two weeks then I ever knew about him before.
As if he could sense my nervousness he spoke up. “Or I could set you up with a tour guide or something. It’s a beautiful place to live. Theres a lot to see and take in.”
I smiled at him. “Thanks. Maybe after I get everything figured out with work and finally unpack the boxes still stacked in my living room.”
He chuckled, looking at his watch. “I guess I’ll get out of your hair before Clint chases me off. I just wanted to stop by and check on you. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks,” I replied, smiling as he left my office.
As soon as he was gone, I got up and closed my door, leaning my back to it. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. I wished that every time he came around I didn’t clam up like that. I wished that those fluttering girl crush feelings didn’t burst wide open inside of me. It was crazy annoying and made it really hard not to giggle and act like an idiot around him.
Thinking back to when I first decided not to tell him about the pregnancy, I had fought with myself on how to get him out of my mind. My first instinct was to make myself hate him. Come up with some reason that he was the enemy, but that was stupid. He hadn’t done a single thing to me to make me hate him. But now, sitting in the office he owned, being completely exasperated by my own inability to keep it together, I wish I had gone that route.
It was too late now, though. I would just have to keep randomly having fits of teenage angst once every couple weeks until he stopped checking in on me. I plopped down behind my desk and forced myself back into my routine, going through my daily emails, readying for my meetings, and trying my best to keep him off my mind. By the time work was over, I was definitely ready for the weekend.
On my way home I stopped at the grocery store and picked up ice cream sundae supplies and figured Harper and I could have a movie night. We had been so on edge with the move, and everything that happened, I wanted her to know that everything was okay and normal. Of course she had no idea what happened to me, she was far too young, but she could tell when I was off. And when I was off, so was she.
My plans were big, and they lasted about twenty minutes into the movie when the sugar rush wore off and Harper was passed out, curled up in her bean bag chair with her stuffed bunny and her fuzzy blanket. I left the movie playing, but laid on the couch, staring up at the ceiling fan as it whirled around and around. I wasn’t really thinking about anything, just enjoying the warm breeze as it spiraled around the room.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I pulled it out, holding up as I read the text from Amber.
So, I have a date tonight.
I smiled. The new Mr. Right?
Ha! Yeah right. More like the next Mr. Right Now. I never get that lucky.
Shaking my head, I sat up, curling into the corner of the couch. Mr. Wrong came to my office today to check on me and I acted like a teenager.
Cause you love him.
I rolled my eyes. Please. I don’t even know him. Besides, I don’t want to get to know him. That will only bring big trouble.
Mhmm. Well, you need to do something because girl, your dry spell has been like a nuclear winter. Get some lovin’ in the palm trees.
