Page 37 of Secrets We Fight
One I couldn’t be a part of.
12
RHETT
Before we leftthe Christmas breakfast, Fallon went to say goodbye to his parents while I approached Day to tell him about our plans. “Hey, Fallon’s going to go Christmas tree shopping with me and Poppy and then come over to my place to help decorate.”
A puzzled look crossed his face. “Really?”
“Seems he and this one”—I nodded toward my daughter—“hit it off after she found out he got us these tickets to meet Santa.”
“And he gave me hot chocolate.” Poppy beamed, unintentionally making my lie more believable.
My friend smiled down at her. “Uh … okay. Are you heading out now?”
Day seemed a little caught off guard by the change of plans, but if he thought it was weird, he didn’t say anything. It was probably my own fears causing me to worry that someone might figure out what was going on between me and Fallon.
“Yeah, but we’ll meet you outside so you all can follow us to the tree lot.”
Once in the rental, I pulled in front of the museum and waited until Fallon slid into the SUV. Poppy chatted excitedly in the backseat as I drove to our destination with Day following close behind.
“We can’t get a super big one. It has to fit in my apartment, sweet pea.”
“How big can we get?”
“With a star on top, we should probably get one that isn’t more than six feet.”
“How tall is that?”
“About my height.”
She squealed. “That’s super tall.”
After pulling into the lot, I got Poppy out of her car seat, and she took off for the entrance. I was quick on her tail, not able to see if Fallon was following or not, but after a few rows, I saw him hanging back just a little as my daughter asked about each tree.
“What about this one?” Fallon asked Poppy as he inspected a six-foot Douglas fir.
“Daddy, Fallon found a tree!” she shouted excitedly.
It would definitely fit in my small living room.
“Do you like it?” I asked her.
“I love it.”
“Okay.” I smiled at my boyfriend. “I think this is the one.”
* * *
When we arrivedat my apartment complex, I parked in my assigned space, and Day found an open visitor’s spot. Being outside the city made parking so much easier than when we were in Boston.
While I helped Poppy out of the car, Fallon and the other guys came over to help with the tree tied to the roof of my rental. I used the keypad to let us into the lobby of my building, where Meyer stayed to stand guard while I led everyone else to the stairwell. Leigh helped me get the tree up the three flights of stairs.
“Do these guys need to do a sweep of your place before I can enter?” Fallon teased as I unlocked my door.
Day chuckled. “Might not be a bad idea. Hate to see the headlines if anything happened to you in a Secret Service agent’s home.”
While I wasn’t worried about those types of headlines, Day’s words made me think about the risk Fallon and I were taking. Sure, we had a valid reason for him to be at my place, but we needed to be careful not to put ourselves in situations that drew attention. Especially when he was so close and I was having a hard time keeping my hands to myself.
