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Paul.
He stood there in a tuxedo, and quietly opened his arms. No reprimand, no judgment. Just him waiting to hold me.
I rushed forward and hugged him tightly. He slowly let me go and lifted my chin to the light. “Dark circles. Have you lost weight?” He frowned.
I lifted a shoulder. “I haven’t been hungry.”
He sighed heavily and hugged me tighter. As we moved to his car and Laurence, he kept me tucked to his side.
We settled inside, and I noticed we were heading downtown. “Where are we going?”
“My place. Then a place to relax.” He kissed the top of my head.
“But I only just finished my dress.” I lifted my head and from his terse expression now, I knew he found out about my recreating my winning dress.
“I wanted to wait to see if Professor Elan needs me to make any changes—”
“Three days. She’s not going to work on her weekend, and you can call her on Monday if you’re stressed.”
He was right.
“I spoke with my mother. She told me about your dress…amongst other things. Forget her. But why didn’t you tell me about the students organizing against you and destroying your work?”
I stared down at my shoes. “Because you’d try to interfere and solve it all. I can handle it.”
But from his silence, I could already see he was comparing my situation to Aubrey’s.
“I remade the dress better than ever. I didn’t give up, Paul. Even when your mom came to hurt me, I stayed strong.”
He scoffed. “You shouldn’t have to. I told her not to interfere again.”
Laurence drove into the underground parking lot and rode to the top. “What do you think about soup and a smoothie?” Paul asked as we got out of the car.
I laughed. “What’s that supposed to do?”
Paul shrugged and opened the door of his home. “Isn’t that what you take when you’re sick? I’m never sick. We’ll visit my dad, Lily, and JD in the Virgin Islands.” He took out his phone.
I touched his arm. “Wait. I’m trying to de-stress, and seeing your family is stressful. Besides, I have no clothes.”
“I have a stock of our clothes and supplies on every plane. You only need to pull out the suitcase. You’ll be resting anyway, in a swimsuit or sundress or in nothing at all. It’ll be hot there. You’ll eat, rest, and swim. I’ll be there to look after you.”
I smiled and stared around the spacious loft because my heart felt so full. Paul Crane left an elite, social dinner with the mayor and changed all of his plans instantly for me.It’s surreal.
“Why did we come here?”
“Because I’m still living here.”
I looked around the empty room. “There’s nothing here.”
“Even empty there are too many ghosts here.” He sighed. “But I don’t want all our time at your place anymore.” He wrapped his arms around me from behind.
“I’d rather not have sex while on my period. At least not tonight.”
“I can go a night without sex,” he said, though I could feel his erection thickening against my ass, but he made no other moves on me. “You think sex is all I want? I enjoy you, Nadia.”
“Because I’m fun,” I snarked. “Your mom called me fun.” I tried to play it off, but Paul hugged me tightly to him and kissed my face and whispered soothingly. “You don’t have to be strong all the time with me. You only need to let me in, and I’m here for you.”
I couldn’t answer, just snuggled into his strong arms.
