One positive to come out of the last couple of weeks is finding the perfect house to rent. I’ve decided to stay in Braebeach long term and finally settled on a beautiful gated Victorian home down a private road just a mile away from Angie’s. It has six bedrooms, all ensuite, a large kitchen/living area, and study, plus an enormous garden and pool for Ozzie. It offers the privacy I need and it’s empty, meaning I could arrange to move in straight away. As much as I love the beachside homes here, I need something away from the other guys, so I can escape and take Angie with me when I need to.
At five a.m., there’s just a handful of reporters hanging around, so it’s a good time to leave for the new house. Angie helped me choose a lot of the furniture online, and Dani had two girls from our management company arrange the furniture once it was delivered. It means we don’t have any moving vans to arouse more press attention.
The paps don’t have it together when our car speeds out of the gates and, by the looks of it, they don’t care too much. We assume it’s because they don’t recognise Ray, who is driving his own car, and I’m under a blanket in the back seat.
Thankfully, we arrive at the new place unseen, but now I’m pacing around my beautiful new home as I wait for Angie and the kids to arrive. Angie and Josh are staying for a few days so they can help me and Oz settle in.
Connie had the boys in their car seats with Angie stowed between them in the back. Andrew is part of our new security team and was sitting in the front seat, dressedcasually, so he and Connie could easily be mistaken for a couple. The car I bought for Connie already has blacked-out windows, meaning those bastards can’t see inside the back. I had them installed initially for Ozzie’s protection. Now it means I can keep Angie and Josh safe from prying eyes too.
When they finally arrive, and after helping them bring in fuck knows how many bags of food, I spend a couple of minutes talking to Andrew while Connie and Angie unpack it.
“I’m sorry we’re late, Tommy. We had to take a detour because of a suspicious car following behind us.”
The journey here is five minutes, but it took them twenty.
“It could have been a coincidence, but I wanted to make sure,” Andrew says.
“Jesus, will this ever stop?” I ask.
“In my experience, they’ll soon get bored. We don’t give them an inch.” He smirks.
“I don’t doubt that.” I smile back at Andrew. “I only hire the best.”
When I return to the kitchen, Angie is by the double doors leading out into the garden. She’s watching the boys play but turns around when I enter the room and her lips break into a smile. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I reply, desperate to touch her. Closing the distance between us, my arms wrap around her waist. “I’m sorry if the journey here stressed you out.”
“It’s okay. I knew what I was taking on. It’s not as if we didn’t talk about it. I want to be with you, no matter what it takes.”
Relief flushes through me. “Thank fuck,” I huff. No matter how many times she reassures me that she can handle this life, I still worry. It took so long to get to this point, but inthe blink of an eye, Fraser’s five minutes of fame has put a strain on our relationship.
“You know I’ve got you.” I hold her closer still and run my hand up and down her back.
Finally, she looks up at me. “I do.”
I place a kiss on her forehead, leaving my lips to linger there for a while.
“So, what do you want to do today?” I ask, feathering kisses across her cheek until I reach her mouth.
“You say that like we have a choice.” She grins.
“We do. We’ve just got to be smart about it.” I wink.
She breaks our connection, turns around, and looks out the window. “The boys are enjoying the fresh air, and I don’t want to disturb them while they’re happy.” She smiles up at me sideways. “Why don’t we just relax?”
“I’m good with that.”
Her focus goes back to the boys. “Did you buy that swing set? I don’t remember it listed in the house details.”
“A swing set was top of Ozzie’s list, so the girls from the office arranged it.”
“I can tell. Poor Connie must be knackered after all that pushing.”
Connie runs through the back door, huffing and puffing. “Those boys are full on today.” She laughs.
“Do you need a hand?” Angie asks, breaking away from me.
“Oh, no. I’m fine, thank you, but they’d like a picnic for lunch if that’s okay?”
