The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (43 page)

“You don’t trust me.  You don’t believe we’ll really have a future together.  You don’t have faith in us, or in this,” he states despondently.

I can’t blame him for being upset with me.  “But sweetie, you didn’t see what I saw.  It’s our first day apart, and you go running right to Averee.  I saw you at her loft.  Why?  And why is she telling everyone that you’re dating her again?” I ask softly, wiping away the tears that have sprung again.

“I didn’t want to say anything, but she’s been calling and texting me for a while now.  When she showed up at the Knicks game, that was the last straw.  Somehow, she found out that we were going to be there.  She orchestrated that meeting, baby.  I had to go tell her face-to-face to back off.  I think she told people we were dating just to get back at me.”

“So you didn’t trust me, either.  You never told me she was calling you.  Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Juliette, you have to understand. I know how much you worry about my old lifestyle and I was trying to save you that pain.”

“So you’re mad at me for not trusting you, but you didn’t have enough faith in me to tell me what was happening.  We’re at a little bit of an impasse.  Where do we go from here, chief?”

“All I know is that I can’t live without you.  I can’t eat.  I can’t sleep.  I can’t concentrate.  We have to find a way to get past this and move forward.”

“How do we do that, Evan?  I want you to have faith in me.  I want to trust you, too.”

“I think I have an idea.”  He lifts me off his lap and walks towards the door.  “I’ll be right back.”  I can hear him open the trunk of his car and slam it shut. 

When he comes back, he’s got a blue Tiffany’s box in his hand.  My heart starts racing, my pulse is quickening, and my imagination is running wild.  I knew he went to Tiffany’s on Thursday, but I was too afraid to ask him about it. 

He sits back on the couch with me and hands me the gift box.  “Open it, please.  I was hoping to give this to you Thursday night.  When I bought it, I couldn’t wait to get home to give it to you.  But ... well ... you know how that worked out.”

The box is too large to be a ring box.  I can’t imagine what it could be.  How could this gift make a difference in our relationship?  I open the box and waiting inside is a silver key chain with a beautiful heart pendant and a key, a house key. 

“I don’t understand.  What does this mean?”

“Juliette, I want to go to sleep at night with you beside me.  I want to wake up each morning with you in my arms.  I want you to know that I’m coming home to you every night.  I want you to move in with me.  I love you.”

This is the last thing I expected to happen today.  “But what about Maddy?  I can’t just dump her on Auggie.”

“Bring her. She’s one of the reasons we’re together today.  We can take her running on the beach with us every day.  But if you don’t want to – “

“Evan, I want to be with you more than anything.  Are you sure you’re willing to put up with all my crazy insecurities?  Rumor has it, I’m quite a handful.”  A smile is plastered across my face.

“I think I can handle you.  Is that a ‘yes’?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“God, I love you.”

“I love you more.”

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

E
van helps me pack.  I’m not taking everything right away. There’s no rush, but neither one of us wants to sleep alone again tonight.

“Sweetheart, I don’t know how I’m going to break the news to Auggie.  He’s going to be devastated.”  Auggie is my rock.  He’s always been there for me.  Now I feel like I’m just turning my back on him, abandoning him.

“He knows.  I asked him Thursday night before I went to see you at work.  I knew that if Auggie wasn’t alright with it, you would never agree.”  I love that he respects my relationship with Auggie enough to ask him his permission.  He’s like my brother, and it’s good to know that we have his blessing.

“Did you ask my mother, too?” I ask.  At this point, nothing would surprise me.

“No.  I thought we could invite her to dinner one night and tell her together.  How does that sound?”  How does he know the perfect thing to say?

“I like that idea.  How about your parents and Callie?  Are we going to invite them, too?”  I’d love to see them all again.  I hope they feel the same way about me.

“Absolutely.  It’s time our families meet, don’t you think?”

“I do. I can’t believe this is really happening.”

As we’re talking, I’m filling a few suitcases with the essentials.  I open the drawer with my sweats and t-shirts, grab a few, and toss them in the luggage.  As I do, Evan follows behind me, removes them from the suitcase and places them back in the drawer.

“Excuse me, bossy man. What do you think you’re doing?” I ask.

“Helping,” he simply states.

“Taking clothes
out
of my suitcase isn’t helping, chief.”

“That depends.  Why were you packing them?”

“They’re for hanging around in, sleeping, you know, stuff like that.”

“Then I was definitely helping.  You won’t need anything to sleep in ever again.  As for hanging around, I have other ideas about that, too.”  He sweeps me into his arms and kisses me deeply.  It feels like ages have passed since we’ve kissed like this.  His tongue swirls with mine, and I can feel his passion all the way down to my toes.

He pulls away abruptly.  “What’s wrong?  Why did you stop?” I ask.

“If I don’t stop now, I won’t be able to stop at all and I’m saving the rest for when we get home,” he whispers in my ear.

“Home.  I like the sound of that.”  I give him a playful bite on his neck.  “What do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know.  I thought we would spend the rest of the morning and the afternoon relaxing before our big night.  Play it by ear.  See what pops up.”

“Well, I didn’t want to say anything and spoil the surprise, but there’s something I’d like to give you when we get home,” I tease, running my hands up and down his chest.  He grins devilishly at me.  We are definitely on the same page.

“Why don’t you tell me what it is. I have very particular tastes, you know.  How can you be sure I’ll like it?”  Just teasing like this ignites a fire in me that burns hot to my core.

“That’s a good point.  I’ll make a deal with you.  If you don’t like it, you don’t have to keep it.”  I turn away to grab a few more things from my dresser.

“It’s good to know I still have some options, just in case.”

“How about something for me?  Do I get a special house-warming gift from the man of the house?”  My hand sweeps across his tight ass as I move around the room, collecting and packing.

He grabs my hand and pulls me in close.  “There are a great number of things I plan on giving you, my love.”

I run my hands across his broad shoulders and down his toned back.  “All I need is you.”

Evan nibbles on my ear and trails kisses down my neck.  “I love what you’re wearing.  I used to have a sweatshirt just like it.  How about you take it off now?”

“Not until we get home, chief.  You ready?”

He grabs my ass and pulls me tightly against him.  I can feel his erection rubbing against me.  “I’ve been ready.”

Evan brings my bags to his car while I clear my things out of the bathroom.  I take one last look around the house before I join him.  I haven’t lived here long, but in the short time I’ve been here, we have created some memories that I will hold dear for a lifetime.

I lock up the house securely with Maddy inside.  Evan’s house isn’t ready for a pet yet, so Auggie agrees to keep her for a day.  As soon as I step outside, I see Evan on the phone pacing frantically.  It doesn’t take me long to find out what’s got him so worked up. Spray painted on my car in big bold letters is the word BITCH.  I walk around to check out the other side, and sure enough, the word WHORE is emblazoned there.  Great, another gift from my admirer.

Perfect.  Just as Evan and I take a step forward, a giant step, in fact, we’re shoved two steps back.  I can see the sparkle that was there for me just moments ago, slipping away. 

“No, I have no idea when it happened.  It was dark out when I got here.  Yeah, I know.  This may be the break we need, buddy.  Check it and get back to me.”  Evan ends the call and slips his phone into his back pocket.

“What was that all about?” I ask.

“That was Adam.  He’s going to check and see if we got any footage of whoever did this.”  Footage?  What is he talking about?

“Evan, I don’t understand.  How would you get footage?  My car’s been parked right here in the driveway all night.”

“I know you said no, but Adam and I included a small surveillance camera right above the motion detector when the alarm system was installed.  Adam is pulling up the account online right now.  If we’re lucky, Juliette, we may get to see who we’re dealing with.  This could be over, baby!”

I grab Evan and hold on tight.  This man is my entire world.  No matter how long we have together, not even the passing of an entire lifetime would be long enough to show him how much I love him.

I look into his eyes, eyes that only have love for me, and tell him, “Baby, take me home.”

On the way, we stop at the Green Planet Coffee Company for caffeine and nourishment.  This is the place where I first set eyes upon Evan, and now, here we are, embarking on a new journey together, and, hopefully, ending a very painful chapter in our lives together.

I get a chai and a banana nut muffin.  Evan orders a latte and an apple fritter.  We sit on the Adirondack chairs in front of the store, just as Auggie and I did so many weeks ago, and it feels like a world of possibilities is opening up before us. 

I warn Evan, “Eat up, chief.  You’re going to need your energy when I get you home.”

In between kisses and snacking, Evan’s phone rings.  “Talk to me, Adam.  Did we get anything useful?  No shit.  I’ll be damned.  OK.  Work on it and get back to me.”

Evan looks at me and I can’t tell what he’s thinking.  “Well?”

“It’s a woman, Juliette.  She was driving a small black car with New York plates.  She was wearing a hoodie so we didn’t get any good shots of her face.”  Not what I was hoping to hear.

“A woman? Seriously?  I was convinced it was a man.  I guess that clears Derek.  Remind me to call him later.”

Evan looks at me, eyebrows raised.  I know exactly what he’s thinking.  I really shouldn’t be calling Derek anymore.  He’s right.  “On second thought, I can always tell him when I see him at work.”

“Let’s go, baby.  I need to get you home and into my bed.  Now!”

We arrive at home. I still can’t believe this is now my home, too. When we reach the front door, Evan shows me how to use the keyless entry.  The key he gave me is really more of a token than a necessity, although the key will work should I ever forget the code.  I can’t imagine I ever would, it’s Evan’s birthday in reverse.  5-2-3-0.

Evan wastes no time bringing my bags to his room, our room.  He places my bags in the walk-in-closet and I bring my odds-and-ends bag to the bathroom. 

I desperately need a shower.  The saltiness of my tears has left my face feeling grimy and each invasion into my privacy by my unwelcome admirer leaves me feeling unclean.  Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.

I turn on the showerhead and begin to strip off my clothes while my music is playing.  Titanium starts up as I slowly ease myself into the cascading water.  I have the water temperature set super-hot, and it takes me a moment to let my body adjust to the shock of the heat.  I back into the stream, feeling the water wash over my hair and run down my back.  I close my eyes and just let the water work its magic on my muscles and nerves. 

As I pour shampoo into my hand and begin to work it into my hair, the glass door opens and Evan slips in behind me.  “Let me do that,” he mutters in my ear.  I immediately drop my hands and reach back behind me.  I place my hands on his hips and lean back as he massages my scalp.  I could stand here for hours just enjoying the sensations on every inch of my skin.  His hands playing with my hair, hard body rubbing up against me, and the hot water raining down on me, is all creating a beautiful melody that has my nerves humming.

Before Evan places another hand on me, I have got to shave my legs.  Stubble on his face is hot, but stubble on my legs is not.  I grab my razor and lift my leg, resting it on the ledge.  As I lean down, running the razor up my leg, Evan takes advantage of his position behind me and teases me with his firm erection.  His hands are planted on my hips as he rubs up against me.  I let out a soft moan, which only prompts him on.  Switching legs only provides him better access.  He is so close to entering me, I can hardly stand it. 

I hear the click of the shower gel opening, and then the clean smell of spring flowers fills my senses.  Evan begins to work the soap into the spot between my shoulders, gently massaging and working the muscles with the perfect amount of pressure.  As he works his way down my back, I arch into his strong hands, blissfully lost in his skillful touch.

It feels as if I am being cleansed of all the terrible memories from two nights ago.  A fresh start.  I turn around to look at the magnificent man here with me.  So solid and strong, yet graceful and elegant, making me ache for him.  His touch ignites a fire that burns deep inside me.  “Evan, I don’t know how I could have doubted you, even for one moment.  Will you ever forgive me?”  I ask softly.