Page 39 of The Kissing Part
“Matt.”
“Let’s go inside.”
I turn to go and nearly collide with Owen. He tells Olivia to get me inside, takes a picture of the guy, and strides across the street.
I go to the front room, my legs shaky as I lower myself to Harper’s soft velvet sofa. Olivia rushes to the kitchen and returns with a plastic cup of water. She brought paper plates, plastic cups, and plastic silverware for us to use until we could get unpacked. She thinks of everything.
I take the water with a shaking hand and drink until it’s gone. Then I close my eyes and focus on breathing.
“We don’t know who it was yet,” Olivia says. “No need to panic.”
“I’m not panicking. I’m breathing to prevent panic from setting in.”
She sits next to me. “I’ll breathe too.”
After a few moments, I open my eyes. Reality crashes in on me. “I’ve been in serious denial about moving here, dreaming I could have a normal small-town life. Now I’ve brought this horrible person to our door.”
Harper walks in with a lamp. “What horrible person?”
I swallow hard. “There’s a man across the street in a beige car, watching the house. I think it’s Matt.”
“Oh, I wondered who Owen was talking to. That guy took off.”
Owen walks in a moment later. “I got his picture and his license plate, so I can let the local police know who to look for. That was Matt. He followed us here from the city.”
“I’m sorry,” I say in a small voice.
His entire demeanor changes, from tough to concerned. “Hey, it’s not your fault.” He sits by my side, wraps an arm around my shoulders, and pulls me in close. Tears threaten. For so long I’ve longed to be in his arms again, feeling safe and protected from the world. Just not under these circumstances.
Olivia slips away.
He tips my chin up. “I’ll never let anything happen to you. You’re too important.”
“To you?”
He gazes into my eyes. “To everyone.”
“Owen.”Be real with me.
“You know what you are to me,” he says gruffly.
“I don’t.”
“You’re different. Special.”
I hug him, tears stinging my eyes. He’s not as closed off as I feared. Maybe it took a threat for him to realize what I meant to him.
I pull back and meet his eyes. He strokes my cheek and gives me a tender kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck and return the kiss with all the pent-up feeling I have for my one and only love.
“At least pick a room,” Harper says.
We break apart as she walks past on her way to the moving truck outside.
Owen rubs the back of his neck. “We probably shouldn’t do that again. I need to keep some professional distance to be a good guard.”
“But wouldn’t I be safer pressed close against you?”
He runs a finger down my nose. “Getting close to me is never a safe thing.”
