I nod. “Coffee. Please and thank you.”
Luna gets up, and I can’t help but watch as she heads to her kitchen. The set she’s wearing has a little white lace trim along the shorts' hem. Her outfit says French maid in my mind, and I have to adjust myself on the couch, watching her bounce around in it. Last night, seeing her in the blue dress she was wearing, she looked drop-dead gorgeous, but seeing her like this makes my chest ache. Luna’s a natural beauty; seeing her at home in the morning light makes her look angelic —my own personal angel here on earth.
I get up from the couch once I’m under control, meeting her at the kitchen island. Luna smiles, handing me a steaming cup of black coffee. “I didn’t add anything to it. Figured you could do that yourself. Milk’s in the fridge, and sugar’s here.” She points to the prepackaged sugar packets she has on the counter.
“Thank you,” I say, picking up two sugar packets, ripping them open, and dumping them into my cup.
“I don’t have many options for breakfast, but I can make you some egg bites if you’re hungry.” Luna leans up against her counter, sipping on her Earl Grey tea that I know she has every morning. She’s surprisingly relaxed for someone whose house has just been broken into.
“Sure. I could eat,” I say, sitting at the island. Luna starts making the egg bites by cracking two eggs into the silicone mold and adding chopped peppers, ham, and bacon bits for added protein. She pops the mold in the microwave and turns to me, smiling. “I ordered a security camera from one of the companies I recently worked with for you. It’s a top-of-the-line camera, I assure you. Fully encrypted and secure.”
Luna’s smile falls slightly, and my heart skips a beat, and not in a good way. “You didn’t need to do that.”
I wave dismissively. “No, I know. I wanted to. It’s a gift.”
The microwave beeps, and she turns, taking out the egg bites and popping them onto a plate. Luna crosses to the small gap between the counter and the island, handing me the plate. “And because you bought them, would you have access to them?” Her face is serious, with a hint of fear.
My adrenaline spikes, but I play it cool, my face giving nothing away. “No, Luna. I promise I won’t have access to the camera. It comes with an app that only you will have control over.” It’s not a lie. I won’t have access to the oneshe has. I see relief wash over her, and my heart rate returns to normal.
Luna takes a deep breath before she speaks. “Sorry. I’m just not used to people doing nice things for me. Thank you for the camera.”
“I can cancel the order if you’d like? I didn’t mean to overstep.”
“No, don’t. You saved me the trouble of finding a good one. Thank you for being proactive in this situation. I feel like I’m a lost puppy right now.” She runs her hands through her hair, and I wish they were mine, easing her worries away.
“Speaking about the situation, I would like to take you to the hardware store to get some security items so I can install them for you. I have a short list I came up with last night before I fell asleep,” I say, taking a bite of my egg bite.
Luna stares at me. The hint of hesitation in her eye tells me she's unsure whether or not to trust me. I watch as her lips turn up at the corners slightly. “Okay. I’ll go and get dressed then.”
Luna leaves the room, quietly shutting herself in her bedroom. I shove the rest of the egg bites in my mouth and hurry to change back into my pants in the living room before she returns. I’ve just stood up from the couch when Luna’s bedroom door opens, and my pants are around my ankles.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry. I should have announced myself or something.” Luna covers her eyes and hides behind her door.
“It’s alright. I should have said something to let you know I was changing.” I fasten the button on my black denim jeans, chuckling. “You can look now.”
When her eyes meet mine, a tinge of pink on her cheeks lets me know she likes what she sees. Luna’s phone rings, breaking our trance, and she disappears into her bedroom to find it. I slink over just outside of her bedroom to eavesdrop on the phone call.
“Hey, Liv. What’s up? What? Slow down…no, there’s no way.” Luna sounds like she’s in disbelief. I step closer to the door to listen better. “Are you sure? —Yeah. Yeah, okay. Bye.” I quickly stepped back over to where I was standing, hearing her call had ended. Luna steps out of her room a moment later, her brows drawn together in what looks like confusion.
“Are you alright, Luna?” I ask, stepping closer to her. She looks as if she’s going to vomit or faint, maybe both.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I just—” Luna lets out a heavy breath, and I grab her hand. She looks up at me, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “That was my best friend, Olivia. She called to tell me that I’m in the running for Best Selling Author in the Boston Sunday Times. The quarterly results will be announced tomorrow, and my book is quickly climbing the ranks. Olivia thinks I'll reach number one, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. There are so many other books out there that are better than mine, but Olivia’s determined to prove me wrong.” Luna laughs nervously, rubbing her neck.
“If your book is climbing the ranks as your friend says, why not believe her?” I ask, still holding her hand. I’ll take any excuse just to touch her.
Luna doesn’t answer the question, but instead gives me a shy smile, shrugs, drops my hand, and moves to the kitchen to get her purse. “I’m ready to go if you are, " she says while digging around in her bag. I’ll let go of the question—for now. I nod, and she smiles. “Let’s go.”
I fall in line behind her as we make our way down to the parking lot. “Could we take your car? Idrove my bike here.”
“Yeah, of course.” Luna grabs her keys and hits the unlock button.
She reaches for the driver’s seat, but I stop her. My intuition is going off. “Hold on. I need to check something.” I walk around her car, checking each wheel well until I find what I’m looking for. I yank on the foreign object under the diver’s side, and lo and behold, it’s a tracking device.
“How did you know?” Luna asks, her voice barely a whisper.
“A hunch.” I turn to face her, and a single tear falls on her soft cheeks. Her eyes shut tightly to stop more from falling. “Hey,” I say, rushing to wrap my arms around her. “I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’m sorry, angel.” I stroke her hair and let her softly cry into my shirt.
“Thank you for thinking about it and finding it.” She wipes the last tears from her eyes. “Would you mind driving to the store? I don’t think I can.”
