I laughed softly.
“But really, Sadie…” he said, his expression growing serious as he stroked my cheek with the crook of his finger. “I can’t be without you.”
“I don’t think I can be without you,” I said with a small shake of my head. I didn’t think it. I knew it.
“Move back in with me,” he said. “Please.”
I searched his face, and saw how sincere he was. How much he meant it.
“I want to do this right,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss my forehead.
I nodded. “Okay.”
“And come back to work.”
I was taken aback. After everything, he wanted me to come back after he insisted it was better if I left. I knitted my brows in confusion.
“I know, I know.” He sighed. “I just miss having you there. And you’re good at what you do.”
His words filled me with pride, but I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. We still had so much to figure out, and maybe he had been right. Work and relationships rarely mixed.
“Or not,” he said quickly. “I know I pushed you away…”
“It’s not that,” I replied. “I just actually had an interview for a job I really liked today.”
“That’s great!” he said enthusiastically.
“Yeah.” I sighed. “But I don’t think I’m going to get it.”
I thought back to the trainwreck of interviews I had that day. It was a longshot. And maybe I didn’t want to work for someone who judged me so quickly.
“Well, if they call me, I promise to give them a glowing reference. Seriously. I just want you to be happy, wherever that is.”
I smiled up at him and thanked him with a peck on the lips. It felt so good to feel seen. Feel valued. Especially by the man I loved so much. We had come a long way.
Chapter 54
Jeremiah
Aloud knock on the door had me sit up in bed quickly. I patted the bed beside me frantically, but my heart settled when my hand met Sadie, breathing peacefully beside me. I let out a deep breath and looked around the room, wondering if I had dreamed it. I settled in beside Sadie again, draping my arm around her and savoring her soft skin. I closed my eyes to drift off to sleep again, but the knock sounded again. This time louder. More urgent.
“What the fuck?” I muttered under my breath, sitting up again.
Outside the large windows, I could see the sky was dark. Purple clouds hung low in the sky. The sun hadn’t come up yet. Sadie stirred beside me, rolling onto her back and looking at me with sleepy eyes.
“What’s going on?” she asked groggily.
“I don’t know,” I said, peeling the sheets off me and looking for my sweats.
I found them on the floor and pulled them on, followed by a wrinkled black t-shirt, just as the knock sounded again and I heard what sounded like shouts from outside the front door.
“Jeremiah,” said Sadie, sitting up in bed and clutching the sheets to her as she looked toward the bedroom door. “Who is here?” She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It read 5:07 a.m.
“I’ll go find out,” I said annoyed.
I strode quickly down the hallway toward the large entryway where I could now hear distinct loud voices coming through the door.
“NYPD! Open up!”
