Page 76 of Stitch
Suddenly it was happening too fast, and how crazy was that? In as long as it took Ice to hack a record, we could have an answer. And if it was the one Stitch had been so terrified of, it would be the end of frivolous things like a honeymoon.
“Wait.”
His brow creased, and he stopped his slow descent out of his seat.
“For what?”
“One more day. Let’s just take one more day of this honeymoon. Let’s leave the others, and get away somewhere. Have one more day of not knowing, and then we’ll find out. If it’s the news we’re both praying we don’t hear, then we’ll have to deal with that. At least for today, let’s try and enjoy the not knowing. Is that weird?”
He shook his head. “It seems to be how I roll these days, babe. Let me go ring the guys and tell them we’re heading out. You grab your phone and decide where the hell we’re going. I won’t be long.”
I watched Stitch step outside the mobile home, and lift his phone to his ear. I was glad that we’d decided on one more day, because as much as I was pushing for answers, I wanted at least this version of him for a day longer. If the news tomorrow was the worst possible news, then I’d be there for him through every damn minute of it, no matter how hard he’d try to push me away.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I dug it out to find a text from Lissa.
Lissa:Hope you’re doing okay, babe. If he tries any other crazy shit, make sure you let us know. If they have to drag him home in chains, they will. They all care about him a lot.
Me:He’s not suicidal, babe. He’s struggling with something we can’t even begin to understand, but we’re taking today to keep pretending, and tomorrow he’ll push the hospital for news. Keep your fingers crossed, because I want him around for a long time.
Lissa:Ice already tried to hack his records, but don’t tell him I told you. He couldn’t get in, but he’ll keep trying.
Icecouldn’t get in? From what I’d heard, that bastard could hack anything. Was it a bad sign that he couldn’t get into Stitch’s files? What if they were flagged for some reason?
Me:Do you think that’s a sign that it’s bad news?
Lissa:Don’t go reading anything into it. He said their systems might be down, if not just that they’ve updated their firewalls since he last tried.
Me:Okay, gotta go. Love ya, girl.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket as Stitch pulled the door open.
“Okay, babe. Where are we going?” Shit, I didn’t even look. Stitch took one look at my face and started laughing.
“Seriously? You had one job! Ugh, fine… I’ll do that part as well. Leave it all to me, I see how it is.”
At least he was laughing again, and acting like a dumbass, and I loved that side of him so much.
“I love you, Stitch. Don’t ever fucking change.”
He grinned widely. “Wouldn’t know how, babe. And look…” He dragged me up from the seat.
“I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I love you, and I’m never letting you go, so get used to this. Me. Because somehow I’m going to keep you forever. Got it?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer, because his lips were on mine the next second, and I gave everything I had to that one kiss, the promise of everything we wanted.
Thirty-Five
Ihad no ideawhere to take us, so I just drove the damn camper thing, after taking way longer than necessary to struggle to turn the bastard around on this narrow road. Camille’s giggles at my attempted three-hundred point turn didn’t help me with the navigation, but I got there in the end.
I couldn’t wait until I could ride again, and have her wrapped around me on my bike. We could go all kinds of places, and she could get to experience it the way she always should have. With me. On my fucking bike. It still pissed me off that Reacher was the one to do that first, even if he had been rushing her to me, to stop me doing something monumentally dumb.
“Hey, let’s go there!” Camille suddenly pointed to a sign, and I groaned. She wanted to go to a fucking medieval village. Seriously? I turned to make a joke about it, but she looked so fucking excited that I didn’t have the heart to argue, following the signs to the fucking place.
It was lame, just like I knew it would be, but she drank in every sight like it was the best thing she’d ever seen. She sampled every food offering, and giggled over the stalls selling all kinds of weird shit, and it took me too long to realise what she was doing.
She was living every fucking moment like a goddess. She was absorbing everything like it was her last day to enjoy anything. Maybe that’s exactly what the day was, for both of us.
And hey… once I gave into that urge along with her, I started to see the place with new eyes, even willingly going on some tour around a bloody medieval dungeon. It definitely wasn’t the kind of dungeon I’d like to see her in, but we had a laugh the whole time.
