He led me to the elevator and pushed the button for the 5th floor. “Where are we going?” I asked.
He smiled down at me, “you’ll see.”
When the elevator doors opened, he pulled me down the hallway, made one right turn and stood in front of an apartment door. “Knock,” he said.
I knocked on the door, only to have Mr. Turner answer the door. “Mr. Turner!” I yelled, throwing my arms around his neck.
“Miss Sephie! I’m so happy to see you again!” he said, as he hugged me back.
“How? Why? You live here now?” I asked, confused. I hadn’t noticed that Adrik had stepped across the hallway and knocked on the door across the hall from Mr. Turner’s.
“He lives here now and so do I,” I heard a familiar voice from behind me say. I turned to find Ms. Jackson standing in her doorway. I rushed to her and gave her a hug as well. “Oh, Ms. Jackson! I’m so happy to see you!” I could feel the happy tears welling in my eyes at getting to see them both again, knowing they were both okay.
“Well, come in, child. Let me show you around,” Ms. Jackson said, grabbing my hand in hers. She looked at Adrik and Mr. Turner. “You two might as well come too. It’ll be an open house.”
“But how though?” I asked Ms. Jackson quietly as we walked through her apartment. Mr. Turner and Adrik chose to remain in her front room as she showed me the rest of her place. “Do you believe me now that that man is in love with you?” she asked.
“He did this?”
She nodded her head. “He came to both of us, told us that you missed us, and asked if we would move here to be closer to you. He wants nothing more than for you to be happy, sweet girl.”
I stood still for a moment, in complete disbelief. “I can’t believe he did this for me.”
“Do you believe me now, child? He’ll give you the moon if you want it. That boy is in deep.”
I stared at her, knowing she was right, but still not able to quite believe it. She reached for my hand and patted it with her other hand. “You’re starting to believe it, but you’re also starting to feel the same for him, aren’t you?”
I nodded my head. “How could I not?”
“Smart girl. You offer him something that he’s never had before. He’ll d ie to protect it. To protect you. I was worried about you when you first left. I thought you’d gotten in over your head, but I couldn’t come up with a better solution. When he came to talk to me about coming here, I knew I was worrying about nothing.” She paused for a moment. “Does he know?”
I knew what she was asking. “I told him. He’s seen the scars. I even told him you stitched me up and everything you did for me. Ms. Jackson, he never looked at me differently. Not once.”
“Do you believe me now, child?” she asked, a small smile on her face.
I smiled at her, realizing she was helping me piece together everything. I hugged her. “I missed you.”
She hugged me back, “and I you, child.”
Sephie
My cheeks were beginning to hurt from laughing so much after just a short time with Max. We quickly fell into old routines, like I hadn’t just disappeared for an entire week with no explanation. I would periodically glance to Adrik. He was always watching me, with his sexy smirk on his face. I watched one of the waitresses try desperately to get his attention a few times. She would lean over the table, giving him a full view down her shirt. She would brush his arm as she set a glass of water in front of him. She would linger and ask questions when she went to check on the table. He never took his eyes off me. He would respond to her with what looked like one-word answers, but he wouldn’t look at her. She finally turned so I could see her face. I recognized her.
“Hey, that’s Kim working the front of house tonight, right?” I asked Max.
“Yes. And let me tell you, I’m still mad at you for not being here because I’ve had to work with that in your absence.”
“That good, huh? She’s throwing herself at my boyfriend currently. I can’t imagine what you’ve had to go through.”
“Oh, she’s a piece of work, for sure. I told her that she needed to take wingman lessons from you. She’s coc k- bl ocked me so many times I lost count.” “Ouch. How are you handling the dry spell? Do you need me to find you a deserving chick tonight?”
He grabbed me exuberantly by both shoulders, shaking me hard for dramatic effect, and looked me in the eyes, “dear God, bless you. Bless you, child. YES.”
He let go and I happened to glance in Adrik’s direction. He and Ivan were both standing, like they were headed my way. I shook my head and smiled at them. Adrik nodded and sat down, but Ivan glared at Max while cracking his knuckles, which made me laugh even more.
“Max, you realize I have five trained killers over there watching your every move, right?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.