Ronan went into his bedroom and quickly changed, then beat her to the living room.
“Okay, this is much more comfortable. You were right,” Giada said as she joined him on the sofa.
“Told you.”
“I know. I’m often right.”
“We shall see,” she teased.
Ronan started the movie, and before he knew it, she was leaning against his shoulder, completely asleep. He smiled as he got up and eased her down, then covered her with a blanket. “I’ll be right back,” he whispered. And he was, with pillows in hand and a large, king size comforter. He double checked the front door to make sure it was locked, then he joined her on the sofa, putting one pillow at the end she was lying on, and the other at the opposite end. He moved the blanket off her and tossed it down by the pillow, put the comforter on the back of the sofa. He lifted her into his arms before sitting on the sofa again, then lying back and taking her with him. He stretched out, arranged her more or less on top of himself, then covered them with the comforter. He managed to grab the remote from the arm of the sofa above his head, and changed the channel to a channel that replayed friends over and over and over. It was basically just background noise and a low level light to keep her oriented if she awoke, and something mindless to occupy his own mind until he fell asleep.
Giada shifted against him, as she almost woke.
“It’s okay. It’s Ronan. I have you, honey. You’re safe. You don’t have to stand watch tonight. I’ve got it.”
Giada took a deep breath and sighed deeply before she snuggled in a little more, then she was perfectly still — all night long.
~~~
“You didn’t even wake me up,” Giada said sleepily as she pushed herself up off Ronan.
“You were sleeping, and deeply, too. After telling me how you don’t get much sleep because you stay awake listening to every little sound, did you actually think I’d wake you up? Besides, I got to hold you all night.”
She smiled at him shyly.
“Thank you for that. Most men would have wanted more than to hold me all night.”
“I’m not most men. And you mean more to me than that.”
“Thank you.”
“So, what are your plans for today?” Ronan asked.
“Well, it’s Saturday, so I really don’t have to work today. I usually take the kids into the shelter though so they can play and run around inside.”
“They don’t get to play outside?”
“Sometimes. But I try to be respectful of the other people there. There aren't many in the tiny homes that have kids as young as they are.”
“Spend the day with me. Let them run around outside and make all the noise they want.”
“I’ve taken up so much of your time already.”
“Do you want to go home?”
“Well, I should, I mean…”
“No. Do you want to?”
She shook her head.
“Let’s just see what happens next.”
“You want to know what I’d really like next?”
“Name it.”
“Could I take a bath. I haven’t had a bath in years. All we have is a shower, and it’s really small.”
