I took him up in the elevator, smiling at one of the residents who joined us when the cabin stopped on the ground floor.
Once we were home, I removed his clothes and left him in his underwear. I didn’t bother putting on his pajamas and pulled the sheets over him. I sat on the edge of the bed, watching him sleep and listening to his breathing.
The weight of his disappearance had hit me hard.
I had almost lost him.
We were family now, but we were still figuring out our life together—one terrifying event at a time.
I turned off the light beside his bed and quietly left the room.
Chapter 13
Julia
Iwas in the middle of typing case notes when my phone rang with a call from our front desk coordinator.
“Hi, Julia. You have a visitor.”
“Who is it?” I didn’t have any appointments this afternoon.
“His name is Marcus Hayes, and he said it’s important.” She spoke in a low voice, suggesting he was probably standing near her desk.
My fingers tightened around the phone. What was Marcus doing at my office? On Tuesday morning, I received a text from him where he abruptly canceled our Saturday night date without explanation. Since then, I had been convincing myself the cancellation didn’t matter. I told myself it was better this way instead of getting involved with a client’s guardian and crossing a line I probably shouldn’t cross.
He had a right to change his mind, but I was still hurt, and since there hadn’t been any follow-up, his silence confirmed what I had been thinking. Getting involved with him was too complicated, too messy, and a bad idea in general. His line name was Romeo, for goodness’ sake!
So what was he doing here?
Despite my reservations, I closed my laptop. “Tell him I’ll be right out.”
I took a moment to collect myself, smoothing down my blouse and taking a deep breath, reminding myself to be professional and not show emotion. Then I left my desk and walked into the reception area.
Marcus was standing with his hands shoved into his pockets, head bent as he studied the carpeted floor. When he heard me enter, he lifted his eyes, and I noted exhaustion on his face and dark circles under his eyes. When he smiled, it seemed to take a bit of effort.
I immediately felt sorry for him and was worried. Could something have happened to Noah? Since I didn’t know for sure, I steeled myself for the upcoming conversation.
“Hi, Marcus.”
He walked over, studying me with unnerving intensity. “Hi. I was wondering if we could go somewhere private and talk.”
He shot a surreptitious glance at the receptionist, who was doing a poor job of pretending not to listen. I considered saying no and demanding he tell me what he wanted to say right then and there, but I didn’t need her in my personal business.
“We can meet in the conference room.”
He followed me down the hall into the small room, and I closed the door behind us. We stood facing each other with unusual awkwardness.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “What did you have to tell me?”
“I need to explain why I had to cancel our date on Saturday.”
I smiled. Though I couldn’t see myself, I knew my expression was tight and unnatural. “You don’t need to explain. Youchanged your mind. No big deal. I understand.” I kept my voice cool and detached.
His eyebrows drew together in consternation. “That’s not what happened.”
“Look, I don’t have time for games. I should’ve known better, anyway, since you call yourself Romeo, and we shouldn’t have made plans given that Noah is a client of mine. No need to apologize if that’s what you were about to do. It’s actually best that we don’t get involved.”
“Is that what you really believe?”
