Page 81 of Trophy
Allison spent the day in an exhausted and strangely giddy haze. It felt like she could actually breathe, like she didn’t have to stay on guard against something she might let herself do or become. Chelle told her that she looked gorgeous, and when Allison doubted the veracity of this compliment, Chelle just muttered that love tends to do that to a woman.
Allison didn’t even feel obliged to object.
She got off midafternoon, as she normally did, and was tempted to walk over to the hardware store so she could get a glimpse of Rob. She managed to forgo that silly mission andinstead went to the Walmart in the next town over to catch up on some shopping she’d gotten behind on because of all the heartache.
Things might be better with Rob now, but she still was really tight on money. She couldn’t be eating out all the time because she didn’t have food in the house.
While she was there, she looked at the clothes section for the first time in her life. She had more designer outfits than she knew what to do with, but she didn’t actually have very many lying-around clothes. Most of the clothes in the store she wouldn’t dream of wearing, but she bought a couple of pairs of yoga pants that looked decent enough, and then she went to look through the pajamas. Arthur had wanted all of her sleepwear to be slinky and sexy, and she only had a couple of comfortable pajama bottoms. She found some light cotton ones that looked cute enough. She could tell the quality wasn’t as good as most of her clothes, but she didn’t see why it mattered.
At least they were cheap.
She actually had a little bit of a shopper’s buzz as she left the store, and she had to laugh at herself.
When she got home, it was still just after five, so she made herself sit down and work on some jewelry instead of stalking Rob’s house. She was still working on that choker necklace, which was incredibly intricate, so it forced her to concentrate.
She blinked when her phone buzzed, and it was Rob telling her he was home. It was almost six already, and she’d had no idea.
She put down her tools and ran to check the mirror. Since her hair was in decent shape, she grabbed her purse and hurried across the street.
The door was open, so she knocked on the storm door and let herself in.
“I’m in here,” Rob called out.
She found him slouched down on the couch in the living room. “What are you doing?” she asked.
He gave her a tired smile. He’d finally shaved this morning, but he still didn’t look quite like his normal self. “Sitting.”
“Did you get anything to eat?”
“Not yet. I was waiting for you.”
“You look tired. Do you want me to fix something?”
“Not yet.” He stretched out his arm toward her. “I want to sit with you for a minute.”
When she took his hand, he pulled her toward him with surprising force. She ended up on his lap, laughing and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“That’s better,” he murmured, nuzzling her face as he slid both of his hands down her back until they were cupping her bottom. “I wanted to make sure you were still…”
“I was still what?” she asked liltingly, tangling her hands in his hair.
“Still mine.”
She could feel him smiling, even as he pulled her into a tight hug. She hugged him back and after a while said against his shoulder, “Are you really okay, Rob? You seem… different.”
“I am different. I lost you and I got you back. I don’t want to do it again.”
“I don’t either. So let’s not.”
He eased her back so he could see her face. “Is it all right if I ask a few questions, just so I can stop worrying about some things?”
“Of course. What are you worried about?”
“We’re… dating now, right? For real?”
“Right. For real.”
“Exclusively?”
