Page 27 of Follow Me
Goddammit.
Kel awoke disoriented and startled, until he realized he was at the apartment.
As he lay there and waited for his pulse to slow and even out, he struggled against the urge to jump in his truck and rush home to make sure Mal was eating.
This isn’t going to be easy.
Niall had asked him to be patient, to trust them.
Easier said than done.
He sat on the edge of the bed and thought about his late evening call with Doyle last night, after Kel had talked to Mal. Doyle had texted Kel during a layover in Atlanta on his way to London and they’d talked for twenty minutes.
Trying to reassure Kel he’d made the right choice to trust her, trust them, and to let this play out.
But it’s not Doyle’s wife at risk.
So to speak.
Tonight he’d be going over to the house for dinner, and Doyle had practically ordered Kel not to spend the day texting her about eating. To instead focus on them, on their relationship.
To focus on what made them strong as a couple in the first place.
Again, not something easy to do, because a large part of who they’d been before was wrapped around their M/s dynamic, and that was currently on hold. Yes, they had a vanilla marriage, too, but if she’d uncollared herself, and he wasn’t supposed to swoop in and take care of her like he wanted to…what else was he fucking supposed to do?
When he checked his phone, he found a text from Mal, sent only twenty minutes ago.
He felt angry at himself that he’d slept right through it, never heard it.
Good morning! Love you. :)
He blinked back tears as he stared at it. What the hell was he supposed todo? What was he supposed tosay?
Eventually, he settled on something he hoped was safe, although it didn’t come close to scratching the surface of his emotions.
I love you, too, sweetheart.
With that sent, he dragged himself out of bed so he could put on clothes, go out in search of coffee and breakfast, and then hit the grocery store. If he was going to be spending nights here for the immediate future, he’d need food.
And coffee.
And, hell, probably some booze, too.
