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‘You’re going now? But I can’t get dressed that fast.’
‘Relax. You don’t have to get dressed.’ He holds out a keyring with a few keys on it. ‘The big key is the front door and the small one is the back.’ He checks her phone screen to make sure the message went through okay. ‘I’ve sent you a text with the gate and alarm code on it. Best to memorise them and delete the message just in case.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘I’m saying stay here. Use the house like it’s your own while I’m gone.’
‘But I can’t do that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Well... because I can’t.’
He smiles and holds up a key fob. ‘Yeah – great argument. This is the key for the truck. I sorted out the insurance so you’re good to go.’
‘Hold on. I can’t drive that.’
‘Of course you can. Just don’t go under any low barriers. It’s too high for most of them.’
‘Tate—’
‘You’d prefer the bike?’
He laughs at the horrified look on her face. ‘I can’t— You can’t—’
‘You can and I am so quit arguing. I’m leaving the keys in the house so you might as well take them. Please.’
Chloe slowly reaches out and takes the keys from his hand. ‘You really trust me that much?’
‘Yes. Besides, I kind of like the idea of you being here and driving my truck.’ He holds out a small box. ‘Going away present.’
She opens the box and smiles widely. He pulls the griffin pendent from under his shirt and holds it out. ‘It’s the exact same. This means a lot to me and I just thought... well it might keep you safe or something. I don’t know. You don’t have to wear it. You can stick it on your keyring.’
‘Aww. You’ve gone all cute again.’
‘I’ve gone what?’
‘Like you did when you were asking me out. You’re adorable.’
‘Yeah, well you can knock that off right now.’
She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him. ‘I love it.’ Chloe fastens the pendent around her neck and holds the griffin in her hand. ‘Thank you, Tate.’
‘I suppose I better go. Don’t want them leaving without me.’
He kisses her, holding her tight until he feels his phone vibrating again.
‘Damn it. I really have to go. I’ll call you when I get there.’
Before he makes a complete eejit of himself, he stands up, grabs his jacket from the chair and picks up his bag. ‘I love you, Chloe.’
‘I love you too.’
Tate turns and pulls out his phone as he walks down the stairs. He sends a quick message to Bria then locks the front door behind him. The driver opens the back door of the Land Rover and he climbs inside. As the car pulls out of the driveway, Bria replies to his message.
She’s on her way to his place to spend some time with Chloe.
Tate stares out the window as the car takes him to the airport. It’s going to be a long six weeks.
