Page 116 of Before I Loved You

Ray regards me and immediately understands my concern. “I won’t watch the video, Sarah.” His eyes move between me and Paul. “Although I will need someone to confirm it’s the right video. Would you be comfortable if it was Paul who confirmed for me?”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Y-yes.”

“Think you can do that, Paul?”

Paul hesitantly nods, letting out a deep breath. “Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it.”

I can feel his body tense beside me, so I reach for his face, turning his chin toward me. “You’re the only person I trust to help me with this.”

He sighs, mixed emotions filling his eyes.

“It’s just…” He runs his hand over the top of his head, appearing so overwhelmed. “It’s going to kill me to watch it. To have to watch what that asshole did to you.” He looks off to the side, appearing lost in his thoughts.

“I only need you to watch for a second or two,” Ray states. “Once Sarah is in the picture, you can shut it off and confirm with me that it’s the right file. And then, once you do, I’ll trace it to every location it’s stored in and completely erase it from existence. Greyson will never be able to get his hands on that video again.” His fingers start typing away as his eyes narrow in on his screen.

Paul nods. “I can do it.” His lips brush against my ear, and he whispers only loud enough for me to hear, “For the mother of my child, I will do anything.”

I look up, tears forming in my eyes for an entirely different reason than five minutes ago.

The mother of my child.

“All right.” Ray closes his laptop and shoves it in his bag. “It’s settled.” He focuses on Paul. “Call me when you get his computer, and I’ll walk you through the process. It should only take a matter of minutes.”

Paul nods. “Okay.”

Ray’s attention slides to me. “We will take care of this, Sarah. I promise.” He reaches across the table, squeezing my hand.

“I know you will. Thank you.”

Ray stands, adjusting his coat. “Guess the next time I’ll see you guys will be in a few weeks on Christmas.”

I open my mouth, not sure how to respond to that. I don’t want to intrude on their family Christmas, and Paul hasn’t mentioned anything to me. “I’m—”

“We’ll be there,” Paul affirms, sending warmth through my chest.

Ray smiles as he turns around and walks out of the café and into the snow that appears to be falling harder since we arrived here.

My shoulders slump as I relax into my chair, picking a piece from the muffin. It’s been a rough few days, and I’m mentally hitting a wall. “What should we do now?”

Paul tosses his head to the side, contemplating. “What would you like to do? I don’t have basketball, and I already finished my assignments for the week, so I’m free all day.”

“Hmm…” I mull a few ideas over but say, “Nothing. I want to do absolutely nothing with you.”

Paul’s lips curve up. “And what does nothing entail?”

“Blankets. Lots and lots of blankets on the couch with movies and food. Yes, definitely food. And maybe ice cream. Possibly sex.” I purse my lips, deep in thought, tapping my chin. “Definitely sex. And naps. That’s what a day of nothing means to me.”

He laughs. “That sounds like my kind of day.” He rotates his shoulders, stretching his arms. “And what movies should we watch?”

I know I will regret these words the second they leave my mouth, but after everything Paul has done for me, it’s the least I can do for him.

“I was thinking we could have a…HarryPottermarathon,” I mumble the ending, hoping he missed it.

“I’m sorry…” He positions his hand around his ear as a shit-eating grin appears on his face. “What was that?”

I sigh, closing my eyes as I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I said we could have a Harry Potter marathon.”

I open my eyes, finding Paul suppressing a smile.

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