Page 145 of The Promise Of You

But can I do this? Really? And feel complete? At peace?

And how about Justin? He said he loves me, and I know it to be true. But things between us progressed quickly. It doesn’t mean it’s what he wanted. It just… happened.

The man never wanted this type of commitment.

And now, with Gisele, and a baby on the way? Is this going to be too much for him?

Gisele and the baby, he has no choice.

But me?

I close my eyes to hide my emotions from him and wrap my legs around his hips, my arms around his shoulders, pulling him to me.

Leaving no space between us.

His weight feels good on me, and I start dozing off.

Then both our phones chime with a sound I hear during the day, when it doesn’t matter.

But it’s night.

It could be what we’ve been waiting for.

It could also be lovers looking for a quiet place.

Justin lifts himself off me, barely enough to grab his phone.

It could also be a bear.

He jolts. “Fuck! It’s them.” He hops off me. I grab my phone and look at the grainy image while I slip on my clothes. The light from the restaurant’s back door spills onto the parking lot, lighting a car with the trunk wide open.

I jump into my underwear, slip on my jeans and flip flops, and pull a sweatshirt over my head as we both tumble out of the house and into Justin’s truck.

Checking my phone, my blood runs cold. Two men are loading the trunk of a car, the light from the restaurant’s back door leaving no doubt about what’s going on.

“Ohmygod, Justin, you were right.” I don’t care to see who it is or what they’re carrying. No one is supposed to be loading stuff from my restaurant into their car.

We need to catch them in the act.

“Dec,” Justin barks into his phone as he peels out of the driveway. “We’re on. Got them on camera. We’re headed there now.”

“Wait for me,” Declan snaps back, his voice audible even to me.

“Won’t wait forever, Dec,” Justin says, hangs up, and drops his phone on my lap.

As we approach the back street leading to the parking lot, Justin switches the truck lights completely off and slows. Then he pulls to the side and kills the engine. “Wait in the truck. If you see car lights coming down the street and Declan still hasn’t gotten here, you block the street with the truck and get the hell out so they don’t find you. I’m gonna go.” He slices out of the car.

I hand him his phone. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

He closes the car door softly, and my heartbeat picks up as I watch him storm away, shoulders hunched, fists balled up, his silhouette clearly visible in the full moon.

Samuel is an asshole. And David is a wild card. What will they do if—when—Justin confronts them? God, what is Declan doing? How far was he anyway? I strain to listen but hear nothing but the summer trill of millions of insects in the night.

The wait seems interminable. Should I go? But then I won’t be able to block their exit if they leave before Declan gets there. And if I move the truck in the middle of the street, Declan won’t be able to make it to the parking lot.

God! I want to call Justin, but I can’t. What if he’s hiding in the bushes, collecting evidence, and his phone rings?

Ohmygod, his phone is not on silent. Oh please, please, please don’t let anyone call him now.

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