“No, and yes,” I sniffle. My tears are getting his bare chest wet, but I like being pressed against it. “The way you said ‘you didn’t want anyone to see my goodies’ sounded kinda possessive; it made me think of Weston.”
Beau’s warm hand continues to rub my back as he plants a few kisses on the top of my head. “I would never…”
I nod against his chest. “I know. I started to think about how many ways you aren’t like him, yet he’s the guy I can’t seem to shake.”
“Follow the advice I gave you last night, and your divorce will be final, pronto.”
I pull away from him, grab a tissue, and blot my face as I speak.
“I trust and believe you, Beau. I know your plan will work.”
“But…”
Ignoring my nudity, I drop onto the side of the bed. I’ve come to grips with the reality of my situation and must explain to Beau why he has to pretend we never met.
“Wes will never stop. I may get my freedom legally, and his dad will keep him under his thumb for a few months, but he will appear one day to try to finish what he started. If I’m not mistaken, there was a sense of calm…relief in his expression and body language when I was sinking. He never said it, but it was like I could hear him saying ‘If I can’t have you…’”
I can’t finish the sentence. Beau knows the phrase.
“So, stay with me.”
His offer breaks my heart. I shake my head.
“I can’t. Once he finds out I’m alive, he’ll terrorize me and anyone associated with me. When I disappeared, he used his dad’s position as mayor and tried to take my parent’s home because they weren’t sharing my whereabouts. I told them where I was the first time and refused to tell them after each move, they honestly didn’t know. It didn’t stop them from throwing every legal threat their way. Eventually, my parents sold their house and moved two towns over, out of his jurisdiction.”
“I can handle it.”
“No. I need you to remain anonymous.”
“Why? It might curb some of his motivation to bully you if you have a guy in your life that doesn’t fear him.”
“He’s crazy. You’re not. I don’t want you or anyone you love to get hurt because he’s a doctor at the only hospital in a thirty-mile radius.”
I can see the frustration radiating in Beau’s green eyes; he wants to argue but not upset me. With a defeated sigh, he changes the subject.
“What do you want for breakfast?”
“Breakfast?”
“Yes. It’s Sunday morning; we made a deal to handle the bullshit on Monday. Let’s stick with that.”
I nod slowly, allowing my mind and body to follow the shift. “Um…”
Beau smiles gently. “Think about it. Let me get ready.”
Exhausted, I lie back down and pull the cover over my head. I deeply inhale Beau’s scent. This is too much. Tomorrow, I’ll be all alone again, fighting for a life without Weston. I say a silent prayer that Beau’s plan works to get me a quick divorce and makes Wes leave me alone for good.
Beau
I wantto hunt down Weston, beat his ass, and throw every legal device I have at him to keep him away from Celeste. I also know that I can’t. An idea is forming in that freckled head of hers and I want to support her. I want to end her suffering so bad that I’m shocked I feel so much passion toward finding a solution to a near stranger’s issues.
It wouldn’t be fair if I omit that part of my reasoning is purely selfish. I want her in my life and bed. I don’t know what we have but I want to explore it. I cannot do it with an asshole fucking with her every chance he gets. Hell, he’s fucking with her right now and he doesn’t even know she’s alive.
Celeste is asleep again. The cover is pulled up to her ears, only displaying her two-toned ringlets and forehead. I refrain from kissing her, opting to let her rest. She needs shoes and clothes, and I need to pick up breakfast. We’d successfully eaten the hurricane food; I’m not in the mood to grocery shop but I can order to-go. Whipping out my phone, I put in a to-go order at my favorite breakfast spot. I take another look at her sleeping form. I’ll be back before she wakes up.
It only took ten minutes to get the food and come back home. The hurricane didn’t damage as much stuff in town as predicted. I’m grateful that there were no casualties. I am. I just also wish the power went out, the main road got blocked, or anything that would have kept Celeste with me longer. I know I need to return back to work in a few days. It would have been nice to pretend a little longer.
Thanks a lot, Emma.
