“Hey, Sheriff.”
I explain what’s happened, and they take the man out of the house. London joins us, and I convince the police that we’re not going anywhere, so they take our statements sitting in the living room.
As soon as they’re gone, I carry London back to her room.
I lay her back in the bed and am about to raise up when she grabs on to the front of my shirt. “Stay with me. Please.”
I nod toward the chair. “Baby, I’ll be right there. I won’t move all night.”
She shakes her head side to side. “No, I want you to hold me.”
I hesitate, knowing the temptation is too much for me, but I know I can’t tell her no.
“Okay.”
I go to the window and shut and lock it.
As I walk back to the bed, I turn off the light and then lie down next to London.
She leans into me, wrapping her little body into mine.
“Thank you.”
I rest my chin on the top of her head. “Don’t thank me.”
“I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t here.”
I sigh because she’s putting words to my own thoughts. If anything had happened to her, I don’t know what I would do.
“Can I take you somewhere tomorrow?”
She lifts her head and looks at me. “You want to take me somewhere?”
I nod. There’s a lot of things I want, but she’s been through a lot today, and I’m not going to add to it. “Yeah, I would like to.”
She huffs out a breath as if she’s thinking about it. “Okay. I have that photoshoot tomorrow afternoon, but then after that, I have a few hours.”
I caress her back. “Go to sleep.”
She leans into me, and it isn’t long before she falls asleep.
This is new for us. She’s comfortable with me, but I’ve never let myself hold her like I am now. I’ve told myself that even though I’ve wanted her and dreamed of this, I couldn’t give in. I know London deserves better than me. I know she says she wants me, but she doesn’t really know me.
Nerves set in. I wonder what she’s going to think when she sees the real me. And I wonder if she’s still going to want me then.
CHAPTER 7
LONDON
I smile for the camera.
Lights flash, instructions for me to turn this way or that way are being shouted, and I follow all the commands.
“All right, turn around.”
I turn around, and without them telling me, I know what they want. I mean, it is a photo shoot for a brand of jeans. I shift my hips one way then the other.
I hear a slow rumble from the side, and I don’t have to look to know that it’s Dillon grumbling something.
