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“Okay, baby,” he replied.
She gave him a squeeze and walked away.
He located his phone and texted Paul and Hudson they were almost ready.
He then went to the closet, put on his own shoes, back to the bedroom, shrugged on his jacket, sorted his cuffs, then to his nightstand for his wallet and phone.
Elsa joined him and they walked down the stairs together.
At the top and bottom of the staircase, he’d had baby gates erected. Cheddar wasn’t big enough to attempt the stairs. Not yet. At night when they went to bed, they brought the cats up and pinned them in with the upper gate. Now they were downstairs, corralled by the lower gate.
This didn’t mean Cheddar couldn’t get into trouble. He could and did.
But in the time they had him, they kitten-safed the house so now the breakable stuff was out of reach.
Thinking this thought, Hale felt a tightness he had become accustomed to ignoring of late line the right side of his neck while he secured the lower gate when he and Elsa got through it.
Elsa cooed at both the cats and bent to stroke Frosty, while Hale walked carefully because Cheddar was attacking his shoes as he moved.
They both engaged in the usual efforts to keep both cats off the elevator when they got into it, but finally the doors closed successfully on them, and they went down.
Through the lobby.
They met Hudson at the door who walked them to the car through vastly smaller numbers of clicking paps.
They got in the back of the car, Hudson got in the front, and they were off to attend a charity event Nora was involved with.
When Paul had glided them into traffic, he turned to Elsa.
“You look beautiful tonight, baby.”
She leaned into him and kissed him with her very red lips.
She pulled away and said, “You too, handsome.”
She smiled at him, lifted a hand to his jaw, swept her thumb across it, then sat back in her seat and looked out her window.
Hale looked out his.
Another night with his girl.
He wasn’t looking forward to the event.
But he was looking forward to being home with her when it was over.
He searched for and found her hand, her fingers curling instantly around his when he did, and he did this having no idea that would be the last night they’d have together.
And it wouldn’t be because he was leaving town, then later, coming back to her.
It would be because he would leave, and not come back.
Not to her.
CHAPTER25
THAT GUY
Elsa
