“It’s a very kind offer…” She hesitated, and I hoped she’d just give in and say yes. What better way to win her heart than to be this close to her? It worked for Dad and Julia, after all. Like father, like son…I hoped.
I leaned forward, lowering my chin to catch her eyes.
“I really couldn’t,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “It’s too much.”
“It’s not. It’s totally not. Alex and Ava will be so thrilled to have you. Look, I could call them and ask if you want. You’ll see that they’ll be totally on board with this.” I brandished my phone from my pocket.
She studied me, those dark eyes seeming to bore into my soul. “If you think it would be all right…”
“It’ll be totally fine,” I said, my heart thudding so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest. “We should get your stuff.”
She pressed her lips together before she nodded, twisting to lead me into the U-shaped motel complex.
I stumbled behind her, hardly able to believe this was happening. Had I finally found my person? I’d expected to get another polite declination or possibly a slap, but Nattie had agreed to come back to the house with me.
Maybe she was telling the truth when she said she felt a connection with me.
She headed for a door tucked in a corner and fished her key from her purse. We pushed inside the dinghy space, and she flicked on a light before she bolted the door with every lock available. Classic symptom of an abuse victim.
I noted the tightly drawn shades, too. She didn’t want to be seen.
“I won’t be long. I haven’t much to gather.”
I smiled, though my eyebrows squashed together a little. The way she’d said that seemed so…odd, and I detected that hint of an accent again. I brushed it aside. It didn’t matter. What mattered was this woman had actually not found me creepy, crazy, or downright weird. And she was willing to accept my help.
“Take your time,” I said as I crossed my arms, pacing the tiny space near the door.
She disappeared into the bathroom and emerged with an armful of things that she dumped into a nondescript black bag. After emptying one of the drawers of a few clothing items, she zipped it shut.
Crossing the room, she pulled the phone charger from the plug and stuffed it into her purse.
“That’s everything.”
I hurried to grab the bag before she could lift it onto her shoulder. “I’ve got it.”
She’d probably left with only the bare necessities. I was pretty sure Ava could loan her a few things—or maybe I’d just buy her new ones.
That definitely sounded like something my dad would do. Wasn’t that the kind of thing women loved in billionaire romances?
“Thank you,” she said with a slight smile as I heaved the bag up.
“Of course,” I said as I reached for her hand, sliding mine around hers.
We left the hotel room behind, stopping at the front desk to check out before we headed back to Alex and Ava’s.
With every step, I felt more and more like I’d won the lottery. This beautiful woman had actually felt a connection with me. And I could handle her jerk of an ex.
In fact, my dad had enough connections that we could probably get him destroyed in one way or another. We’d almost done it to my stepmother’s ex–until she’d caught wind of the plan and put a stop to it.
Plans spun in my mind for ways to keep Nattie safe as we finished our walk, arriving at the beach house.
I pushed inside, pulling her with me. She stepped over the threshold tentatively, glancing around.
Ava’s footsteps sounded from the living room. “Doc, are you finally back? How did–“
Her voice cut off as she stepped into the foyer, her jaw dropping open. “Uh, hi.”
“Hello again,” Nattie said.
