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AIDAN
Istand in the doorway, my half-drunk cup of coffee warming my hands, staring down at the beautiful woman sprawled across my bed. The morning sunlight streaks in through the windows, and Autumn is as naked as I got her last night, the sheets rumpled and spread over her, framing her gorgeous body.
It’s been two weeks since the living nightmare of Autumn’s attack, and we haven’t spent a single night apart since. I don’t give a fuck if it’stoo soon, there’s no way in hell I’m letting her go back to her apartment alone after what had happened. I refuse to ever take a chance on her safety again.
My buddies from the station helped us move her boxes out of her old place and into mine in the span of a couple of days. Still, there’s not enough storage space for all our combined things, and some of her stuff is still stuck in boxes. I hate that she doesn’t have all the space for her many plush pillows and knick-knacks—my girl should have as many shelves as she needs for whatever the hell she wants.
I’m going to remedy that.
Now that I’ve got her, well…I’ve never been happier, even if I hate the fact she was ever in danger in the first place. Knowing my girl’s at home waiting for me makes the long shifts far more pleasurable too. I make sure to keep the freezer stocked with ice cream for her, and if I get to spend the rest of my life doing it, I’ll be the happiest man alive.
Normally, I’d still be in bed with her, waking her up with my tongue, but today, I have somewhere important to be. I give my girl one last longing look before I force myself to turn away and get going. I’m probably already late. Still, I stop and scribble a note for her, leaving it next to the fresh pot of coffee I’ve brewed for her and the croissant I picked up from one of the new cafes we’re trying out to find our new favorite. Like fuck will either of us ever step foot into the last one ever again.
Satisfied that she’ll have what she needs before she leaves for work, I down the dregs of my own coffee, shove my feet into my shoes, and slip out.
First things first. I send athank youover to Isaac at the precinct for getting Autumn’s stalker dealt with so fast. The asshole will spend the next decade of his life behind bars, and even if he gets out, Autumn has an iron-clad restraining order in place—meaning that if I so much as get a glimpse of his face, I’ll have his ass right back in a concrete cell.
I absolutely plan to be by her side ten years from now, more than that actually. For the rest of our damn lives.
I order a chocolate pie from the diner to be delivered to Isaac and his coworkers as a gesture of the gratitude I’ll never properly be able to repay.
The next call I make is to Autumn’s boss. After she told me about her job, including her boss’ name, I realized that I knew him. Not only do I know him, but I was at the scene of the car crash he and his wife ended up in four years ago. It was no fault of their own, but they were lucky to get out of the collision with nothing more than whiplash and a broken arm. Had to cut them out of their seats because the car was so crumpled. After they recovered, he and his family came to the station to say thank you.
Since then, if I see him around, I always stop to say hi. This all makes it way less awkward when I call him to ask for a favor that includes one of his best employees.
Calls made, I work through my mental to-do list. The day passes quickly, and by four o’clock, I can barely contain my excitement as I step into the lobby of Autumn’s office building. I hope to God she’ll like the surprise I have for her, but I can’t deny there’s still a hint of nerves to my giddiness. I want her to know how much she means to me, how committed to her I am, and how I can’t picture my future without her in it.
I love this girl. She’s mine, and I’m hers. Plain and simple.
My girl looks up from her desk, her customer service smile quickly giving way to a bright grin as her eyes meet mine.
“Aidan!” she greets, standing up and rushing around her desk. She barrels into me and I wrap my arms around her immediately, savoring the way she fits against me so perfectly. Made for me in every way. “What are you doing here? I got your note. I thought you were busy, and I won't get off work for another hour.”
“Actually, today, you’re already done with work,” I tell her, leaning down to kiss the furrow of confusion between her brows.
“What? How?”
“I pulled some strings,” I say simply with a shrug. “Pays to know people, and your boss is a good guy. All you need to know is that I need you more than work does right now.”
Despite her obvious confusion, Autumn pulls away to collect her stuff and lifts her bag onto her shoulder. “What’s going on, Aidan?” she asks as I take her hand and lead her out of the building.
“It’s a surprise,” I tease, chuckling as she pouts. “Patience, sweetheart. I have something special to show you, okay? You’ll like it, promise.” God, I hope she likes it. I’m sure it’s perfect, but I won’t relax until I know she agrees.
The place isn’t far away, and we make a stop at a coffee shop to grab a snack when Autumn admits she didn’t eat much at lunch. I refuse to let that slide and watch her until she takes a bite out of the sandwich. She deserves to be taken care of completely, and I take that job very seriously.
Once she’s had her food and taken a sip from her water bottle, I pause outside the new apartment block that just got built. It’s a nice, modern building, filled with well-designed, spacious homes. Autumn’s head cocks to the side, looking between me and the building.
“I don’t understand,” she says as I lead her inside and into the elevator. I press the button for the fourth floor, inhaling deeply.
“Nearly there, sweetheart,” I soothe, her impatience rubbing off on me. Thankfully, neither of us has to wait any longer because the elevator stops with a ding, and we walk out into the clean, well-lit corridor. There are only two apartments on this floor, and I head straight for the one on the left, pulling the keys out of my pocket and quickly unlocking the door.
“Aidan, seriously, what are you doing?” Autumn asks at my side, peering around my body in curiosity to see inside the apartment.
I enter and step aside to let her through before closing the door behind us. The place is empty, smelling like cleaning products and floral room spray. The door opens directly into the living space with gleaming wooden floors and floor-to-ceiling windows letting in tons of natural light. I picture exactly how we would decorate it, explaining my thoughts to Autumn as she stares with her mouth open and brows drawn together—a beautiful mix of confusion and adoration.
“...a big sofa here,” I say, gesturing to the place I mean. “Fluffy rug, TV on that wall…”
I take her on a tour of the place, given that I’ve already come to view it twice and know my way around. The kitchen is equally as spacious and bright, with wooden cabinets and light gray countertops, classic but modern. A blank slate for us to do with what we wish. We walk through the two bathrooms and three bedrooms before returning to the living space.
