“Of course. Let me grab the package and put it in my truck, and then we can head to my house.” He grabs my hand and leads us out to the side door, before heading to his truck and carefully dropping the package off in the back. He opens the passenger door, lifting me up into the truck before buckling me in and shutting the door.
Once he climbs in the driver’s side, I feel a little of my defiant self return. “I can get myself safely into a truck, you know.”
“Not now, Marina. I need you safe, and I know you’re just trying to get under my skin.”
“Is it working?” I barely hold in my chuckle.
“Unfortunately.” He sighs.
I slide my hand over the center console to take his hand in mine. His thumb grazes over mine as he pulls out of my driveway. We’re both quiet as we make our way to his house. I’m trying to figure out exactly how I want things to go once we get there. I know we need to talk, but I hadn’t planned on this psycho stalker encroaching on my time with Arlo. Or scaring me more than ever before.
Too soon, we pull into his driveway, and I’m no closer to knowing how I’m feeling than I was when he first showed up.
“I need to call Oakley and hand off this package. I’ll meet you inside?” he asks.
“Sure.” I jump on the chance for a few minutes alone. He opens the front door for me, and I try to walk inside, but he grabs me around my waist and presses a kiss to my temple.
“I’ll be two minutes,” he whispers.
As he goes to meet Oakley, I pace around his sparse living room. I know I want to talk to him about why we’re still married, but this stalker situation is distracting me from that goal. I’ve racked my brain trying to figure out why me and what I did to make someone think this behavior is okay. I’ve come up empty at every turn, and now my only hope is that Arlo and Oakley can find this asshole before things get even worse.
Grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch, I kick off my shoes and curl up on the corner of his couch. The ivy chill I’ve felt since I saw the package has only deepened.
“Hey, Emmerdeur, you doing okay?” Arlo’s soft voice reaches me.
“I—” I think about how I want to move forward with Arlo and brushing my feelings to the side won’t help accomplish that. “I don’t think so.”
Arlo kicks his shoes off before picking me up off the couch and settling in my spot, placing me in his lap and wrapping his arms around me.
“Why me? What did I do?” I ask, even though I know he doesn’t have an answer.
“You didn’t do anything. I promise I’ll work my ass off to find this guy and stop him from doing this again.”
“I know, but you aren’t a superhero, Arlo. You can’t promise anything, especially when we have no idea who this guy is.”
“Oh, Rina, you underestimate me.” He chuckles.
“I’m serious.” I pull back and look at him. “We have no clue who this is, and you can’t make promises like that. And you can’t be with me twenty-four seven. That’s not feasible for anyone.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yes! You have a job and a town to take care of! I have furniture to make and don’t need a shadow for a just-in-case scenario here.” I throw my hands up, trying to keep my thoughts logical.
“Rina… You are more important than anything,” he says softly.
I look back and forth between his eyes, unsure of what to say or how I’m feeling about his statement.
“Am I?” It comes out without my consent. “If I’m so important, how did we landourselves here?”
He sighs. “Do you want to a take a shower or bath? Get more comfortable for this conversation in bed?”
“We can go to the bedroom, but I’m not getting naked around you before we talk. We can’t be trusted naked together.” His booming laughter makes me join in.
“Fair enough. I’ll let you borrow one of my shirts to sleep in.”
“Who says I’m sleeping here?” I ask, but the look he gives me tells me I’m not fooling him. “Just sleeping, Arlo. Nothing more.”
“Whatever you say, Marina.” His smile is infectious, and I kind of want to punch him. Even after all these years of distance, all these years of anger, he still somehow knows me better than anyone.
