“Very well, sir. I’ll have your car brought out front.”
“Is it always like this?” I asked with a small smirk.
“Like what?”
“Yes, sir. No, sir. We will wipe your ass for you, Mr. Allen.” I chuckled softly, because I knew it probably bothered him on a personal level. He confirmed it with the twitch in his jaw. I sighed lightly, “You tolerate it because of the image.”
“Yeah. It has taken a hot minute to get used to.”
“So, what you are saying is that I’m going to need to be a quick study, and at leasttrynot to be a PR nightmare?”
I smiled at him knowingly, and he just shook his head before saying, “Let’s go, Luce.”
He stood, and I took his outstretched hand. There were still a few people outside trying to remove reporters. Most had been moved across the street. I glanced at them, and froze when my eyes landed on a tall brown-haired man. He wasn’t holding a camera, but instead just stood there in a black jacket with his hands in his pockets.
Rylie’s arm tugged on mine, but I couldn’t move. My feet might as well have been nailed to the concrete. All I saw was Justin striding for me.
The man stopped and smirked as my vision faded back to that old apartment in Sacramento, where Justin cornered me in the living room. Saw Justin coming at me, fists balled up, and hissing through his teeth how I had disappointed him by not having dinner ready when he got home.
There were small quick movements on my cheeks, and I tried to pull back, but I couldn’t move.
“Lucille.” Rylie.
That was Rylie’s voice. I concentrated on that voice, and when my vision cleared, his gray eyes were locked onto mine, studying me.
“Rylie.” His name came out as a mixture of a relieved sigh and a desperate plea. I wrapped my arms around his waist. I vaguely heard the shuttering of the cameras, and buried my face further into his chest as he held me close. There were voices shouting for the media to leave, and I lifted my head and looked around Rylie’s shoulder. The man was gone.
It couldn’t have been Justin. Right? There was no way he could know I was in Chicago right now.
“Luce.” Rylie’s finger and thumb pinched my chin, bringing my face around to look at him. I blinked again and let the sound of his voice flow over me.
“Rylie.” I breathed again, letting my breath out slowly. “I’m sorry. I thought…” I swallowed hard and took a deep breath to let my breath flow freely again. “I thought I saw Justin. I’m so sorry.”
His head whipped around as he pulled me back into his arms. He scanned the area and held me until his car pulled up. Rylie held me tight as he guided me to the passenger seat. I’m not sure if he opened the door or if the valet did, but I felt him nod to someone and then kissed me quickly on my temple before stepping back and closing the door.
There was no way that Justin could be here. How would he know? No one from the office would have told him where I was. The entire firm knew what Justin had done that night. Sam had even paid to have the restraining order put in place. He had even taken it upon himself to walk me to and from my car every day until I was comfortable enough to do it alone. It was one reason we all worked remotely now.
I jumped slightly when the driver’s side door opened and Rylie slid into the seat. He reached over, grabbed my hand, and threaded his fingers through mine. He squeezed tightly and let out a long, slow breath. “How about we go for a walk to help clear your head? There’s this place I know and wanted to show you. I promise it’s quiet.”
I couldn’t speak, and so I nodded.
“Luce?” He pulled my face toward his and kissed me softly, letting his lips linger. I lifted my other hand and cradled his cheek. Fuck it. Let the world see Rylie was mine. No one could calm me from the horrors like Rylie could. No one could make me feel like I actually mattered more than Rylie. He was my everything, and regardless of all that had happened tonight, and how much my world was going to change, I had Rylie. That was all that mattered.
“Yeah?” I whispered against his lips.
“I love you.”
I smiled brightly at that, letting those words wash away the tension that had flooded my body.
“I love you, too.”
Chapter eight
Wedrovethroughthecity, rain drops streaking across the window, my mind went back to that phone call with Sam. My thoughts swirled around that $40,000 a year salary increase. They could hire a grad for that. Why me, though? I thought through all the elements of the project and I could see why they would want the personal rep, but would it be wise to move to Chicago? Would Rylie even want me in Chicago? There were so many thoughts going through my head that I hadn’t realized Rylie had parked until he pinched my chin between his finger and thumb, and made me look at him.
“Where did you go, sweetheart?”
“Just thinking.” He gave me a questioning look, and I shook my head.
