Page 22 of Protecting Andie

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The days spent with Andie were the best he could remember in a while. Sure, graduating BUDs had been amazing, but this beat that feeling.

Emily didn’t seem to mind him being with Andie. By the second night of his sleeping with her, it was obvious to both Derik and Emily they were a thing. He was glad he had his sister’s approval.

Walking his sister down the aisle was wild. She wasn’t his child, but there were paternal feelings. He was so proud of her. They’d had so much go wrong in their lives that they could have ended up in bad places. Seeing her end up in such a good place with a good person gave him hope. Maybe there were good relationships that could really work out.

On Sunday night, he and Andie barely slept. He needed her to know how much he would miss her. He made her promise to make that flight to San Deigo. On Monday afternoon he flew out, wishing Andie was with him. She said she needed a week to get everything ready for her being gone for a month.

Spending a month with Andie had him excited. He was looking forward to getting to know her better. He planned tointroduce her to his buddies. Getting them to like her wouldn’t be hard. She was good for him, and he knew they would see it.

Since his house was only a few doors down from Kevlar’s place, he was looking forward to introducing her to Remi. He thought they would get along, but who knew. Remi had always been nice to him. He thought Andie was a little like Remi. She had the same kind heart and good nature.

On Tuesday morning he was looking forward to returning to work and finding out what had gone on since he’d been in Oregon. He’d had a few updates from Trip, but nothing major stood out. It would be good to get back into the swing of things.

They’d texted a few times to keep the communication flowing. Of course, when they were in meetings he didn’t have his phone with him. When he came out of the meeting, he found that she’d texted him four times. One of which was a photo of a coffee mug, the caption stating that she was bringing it with her. He almost texted back that he had mugs but hesitated. He bet the mug with a floral pattern on it held some significance to her. The last thing he wanted was to diminish her, so he texted back that he was making space in his cabinet for her mug.

“Hey, Rider, how was the wedding?” He glanced over to Trip and flashed a wide grin. “Great.”

“So your baby sister is married. You like the guy she married, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Derik is great.”

“You’ve been texting every free minute we’ve had. What’s up?”

He glanced at his phone and pocketed it. “Um, I met someone. She’s coming here for a month to stay with me.”

Trip gasped. “What?”

Rider chuckled, knowing he was about to get the treatment. The guys would give him hell for a few days but then be supportive. “Yeah, I know.”

Bud was right there, his lips spread into a wide grin. “Did you say you have a girlfriend who is coming to live with you?”

He shrugged. “She’s coming to stay for a few weeks. We’re trying to figure things out.”

Q approached and slapped him on the back. “I couldn’t help but overhear. You have a woman now? That was fast.”

They deserved some answers. His team had stood beside him in the past and would continue to stand with him. They were his best friends and always had his back.

“Listen, guys, she’s the one. Don’t be mean to her.”

Hop had just come in and slapped his hand on his chest as he gasped. “We would never. How dare you suggest we would be less than kind?”

Rider rolled his eyes. “Just don’t give her a hard time.”

Trip slapped him on the back. “How about we plan a cookout at a park? It will be a neutral space. She can get to know us in a casual environment.”

“Sure. I’ll tell her that you guys want to meet her and see what she thinks.”

“Oh, man, you are into her,” Q said.

“Yeah, he actually wants to check and see what she wants to do,” Hop said. “That’s when I knew I was done for. The moment I cared more about what Vera wanted than you guys, I knew.”

“Was she part of the wedding party?” Trip asked.

“My sister’s best friend. We spent the week together doing stuff.”

“Nice. Did you get some?” Bud asked.

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