Page 51 of Cross My Heart
Trevor: Jesus, don’t burn the place down.
Dexter: Your confidence in me is overwhelming.
Preston: Dinner, got it. What else? Doll, you have any suggestions? I think it’s going to take more than dinner and some floodlights to win over your girl.
Julia: I’m going to assume you are calling one of the guysdolland not me. If you’re talking to me, watch your balls when we meet in person.
Preston: Noted.
Preston: So, any suggestions?
Trevor: Dex, lead with your heart, the rest will follow.
Julia: Get Maria to stay!
Dexter: Will do.
Preston: Who the fuck is Maria?
Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I walk up the stairs to check on Richie. He has been up there longer than I thought he would be. “Hey, Richie, how’s it going?”
“Ah, it’s going okay. Ran into a bit of a snag with some wiring but back on track now.Can’t say I have ever had anyone ask me to put backup floodlights in a bedroom before. Definitely haven’t been asked to hide them, but whatever floats your boat, dude.”
Lanie
Chapter 22
“What the fiddlesticks are you doing in my room?” I know I’m shrieking, but if he is doing what I think he is doing, I’ll kill him.
“Jesus Christ, Lanie. You scared the shit out of me,” Dexter says, appearing nervous. He is guilty, I know it! I’m living with a total creeper.
I stare from Dex to the portly man on a ladder in my room, then back to Dex. Hands on my hips, face flaming red, I wait for him to explain. The stout man quietly climbs down the ladder giving Dexter one of thosemanlooks. You know the ones, they say, “good luck to you.”
“You gosh-dang creeper. Are you putting one of your cameras in my room? Why? Why would you do that?”
Dexter looks mad.
Good, I ruined his plan, but what kind of pervert is he? Let him be angry. Three quick strides are all it takes for him to cross the hallway to meet me.
Low and dangerous, he speaks, “Let’s get one thing clear right the fuck now, you hear me, Lanie? I am not now, nor have I ever been a creeper. Have I done anything, anything at all to make you think you couldn’t trust me?” He asks, inches from my face.
“You did put cameras all over the house when you were in London,” I point out.
“Dang, she got you there, boss,” says the burly man.
Dexter gives him a deathly glare and he goes back to work.
“Lanie,” he sighs, “I’m not putting cameras in your room,” he pauses and grips the back of his neck, seeming more unsure of himself than I’ve ever seen him.
I let out a long breath. “Then what are you doing, Mr. Cross?”
“Fuck, Lanie. Are we back to Mr. Cross?” He raises my face to his, “I’m installing emergency LED floodlights in your room. If the power ever goes out, they kick on within two seconds. I-I just didn’t want you to be afraid anymore,” he tells me.
My world starts spinning.Did he really just do this for me?
He cradles my face in his hands, thumbs wiping away tears I didn’t even know had fallen. “Lanie. Lanie, look at me, sweetheart.”
I raise my eyes to his.
