Shaking my head, I make the turn into my driveway, with Chris close behind. This isn’t something I can deal with tonight. Just the thought has panic rising in my throat.
Sucking in a deep breath, I pull into the garage and put my armor back in place. Praying to an entity I’m not sure I believe in, hoping that everything will be okay.
Steam billowsaround me as I open the bathroom door and step into the bedroom. Chris is lounging on the bed in just his dark red boxer briefs, one knee bent, the other stretched out. His reading glasses are perched on his nose as he stares at his phone.
He looks breathtakingly sexy. Even those glasses do nothing to detract from his masculine beauty. There’s something about an almost naked, muscular man with reading glasses on that really gets to me. And I had no idea until this very moment.
Padding across the bedroom in my baggy pajama pants and oversized T-shirt, I feel very overdressed. I climb onto the bed and crawl up toward where Chris is. “You make me feel like I need to invest in sexier pajamas.”
He looks at me over his glasses before taking them off and dropping them on the nightstand. A smile pulls at his lips as he opens his arm so I can cuddle into his side. I lay my head on his shoulder and curl my legs up so that my leg is resting on the side of his.
Kissing the top of my head, he says, “Lucky for you, I already know what’s underneath, so I don’t really care what you wear to bed. As long as I can take it off.”
Laughing, I slide my arm across his stomach. “Anytime you want.”
The arm around my shoulder shifts, and he squeezes my thigh. “I love the sound of that.” His cheek presses into the top of my head. “So, I was thinking…”
My stomach dips and my heart thuds. I ask, as casually as possible, “Oh yeah? What about?”
“I think we should go away this weekend. To the mountains.”
With a hand on his chest, I push up so I can look at him. This wasn’t at all what I expected him to say, and relief floods my nervous system. “Like to Gatlinburg?”
He nods. “Yeah, I found this huge, gorgeous cabin with a hot tub.”
Nothing has ever sounded better than going away with him, but the events of the last week have me asking, “Is it safe? To be away from Nashville?”
Tucking my damp hair behind my ear, his lips lift in a reassuring smile. “I’ll make sure it is.”
I have no idea how he’s going to do that, but I trust him. Probably more than anyone in my life right now.
“I’d love that. I’ve never been but always wanted to.”
His eyes widen. “You’ve never been to Gatlinburg? I feel like that’s a rite of passage to live in Tennessee. You either do as a kid or soon after you move to the state if you didn’t growup here. I’m surprised you didn’t get kicked out of the state by now.”
I know he’s teasing, but it makes me sad. It’s an unintended reminder of how shitty my life was. And still is, to a certain extent.
I lay my head back down on his shoulder. “Blake and I didn’t really go on vacations. He’d take trips on his own, and I never wanted to have to explain to him where I was. So, besides a few work conferences over the years, I haven’t traveled much.”
He heaves a grunted breath and hugs me tight, kissing my head again. “Well, it might be a short one, but your first vacation starts tomorrow. Do you think you can take Monday off work?”
Excitement feels foreign to me, but I don’t hate it. “I should be able to.”
“Good. I booked it through Monday, just in case.”
We relax for a few minutes before I say, “I have a few ideas of what Blake’s passwords could be. Do you want to see if we can get in?”
Chris’s muscles tense under me, then he sighs, “Yes, I think we should.”
I sit up and reach over to my nightstand, grabbing the laptop from where I left it when I moved all my things to Chris’s room. Sitting cross-legged, I balance the computer on my lap and turn it on.
“Okay, I’m a little nervous to try too many. I don’t want to lock us out...” I mutter as I type in my first guess.
Password Incorrect.
I tap my finger on the corner of the laptop, deciding which one I want to try next. Lips pursed, I type it in.
Password Incorrect.
