Page 33 of Unexpected Redemption

Regrettably breaking the kiss, I scoop her hair to the side and tuck it behind her ear. “I am able to speak now.”

She winks. “Glad I could help.”

Fucking love her.

I also adore how she came to talk to me about this. Knowing her the way I do, I’m shocked she didn’t make a hasty decision. Now more than ever, I’m starting to realize that the little things like these matter the most. Every day, she shows me how important I am to her.

Unable to resist, I steal another quick peck. “Back to the topic at hand. Do you want to take the job? Or not? Unsure how to turn it down? Need more time to think? Talk to me.”

“The reason I didn’t want to wait until later to talk to you about this is because today’s Peggy’s last day. I thought it would be good to shadow her while I have the chance. If she leaves and I don’t know shit about fuck, then what good am I going to be to Boss Dad or Redleg?”

Fighting off my grin, I surmise, “Sounds like you’re leaning toward saying yes.”

She folds her lower lip inside her mouth, eyes flicking toward the ceiling. “Huh. I guess so. Mostly, my thoughts have been positive about it.”

“Don’t take my next question as me saying I don’t think you’re ready, okay?”

She nods.

“Do you think you’re emotionally able to handle the responsibility? You’ve seemed much more secure roaming around the building without me for a few days now. Any fear of being on your own?”

“I suspect the time I spent in the shelter helped with that immensely. I was forced to be solo in what I knew was a safe environment. Each day I was there, I grew more comfortable. That’s carried over since being with you again. And this place...” She glances around, flicking her wrists to motion around us. “These people helped you save me. I feel incredibly secure here.”

“Well, security is in the title, so . . .”

She chuckles, her eyes twinkling in the fluorescent lighting.

“And anxiety? PTSD type symptoms?”

“Simone and I have discussed how I’ll likely have bouts of that for a while. It’s unavoidable. All I can do is manage it and work through it when it comes. In addition to my therapist, I’ve got you and my friends to help me.” Her lashes flutter as she closes her eyes and inhales through her nose. When she breathes it out a few seconds later, a palpable sense of serenity remains on her face. “I won’t stop living because of what happened to me.”

While she was talking, we linked hands again. I raise them to my mouth and feather a kiss on her knuckle. “I’m so fucking proud of you. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

“Nah. I’m just stubborn.” She looks at our joined hands, her lips thinning as a smile spreads. “Do you realize you just kissed my ring finger?”

“Is that a hint?”

She quirks a brow at me, and a dimple that I rarely see appears on her cheek. “You tell me.”

“Well, I need to handle my two other things first, but those seem less important the longer you look at me this way. So uh... courthouse?”

“Not a freaking chance. When you buy this cow, you’ll be doing it in a sexy tux and looking at me in my virginal white dress.”

“Can’t wait. Except the tux.”

“You’ll do it for me, won’t you?”

“Anything for you.”

“Ahem,” a deep voice pretending to clear his throat interrupts us from behind.

My spine stiffens, and I turn around to find Shep glaring at me from a few feet away. “Shit, man. Be right there. Almost done.”

Lettie has an uncanny knack for making everything else in the world disappear.

Proving his irritation a moment ago was only for show, Shep’s jovial demeanor returns instantly. “Mia just pinged me. I’ll meet you in the lair, and we can go through it there.”

Shep approaches, heading toward my office with his laptop tucked under his arm. He pauses beside us,his eyes locking on Lettie’s neck. “That’s a beautiful necklace, Lettie.”

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