Page 69 of I Can't Even

I had at least another hour and a half to sleep, but I was wide awake now.

And, since I was wide awake, I might as well get up and make him a to-go cup of coffee.

I was in the kitchen wearing his t-shirt and nothing else when I felt him come up behind me.

His hand wrapped around my belly, and he pulled me into his hard chest before pressing a kiss to the side of my neck. “Be cautious today, please.”

I turned in his hold, looped my arm around his neck, and stared into his beautiful green eyes for a long moment before saying, “You, too, Hot Cop.”

He sighed, dropping his forehead down to mine. “Please, please, please be careful. This guy is going to be pissed as hell that someone got away. He might retaliate against you since you got away, too.”

I leaned up and kissed him. “I will.”

He deepened the kiss, and then pulled away, patting my ass gently to get me to let him go.

“I’ll see you tonight. Text me a lot, okay?” he asked as he slowly started to back away.

The words ‘I love you’ were on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t voice them. Instead, I only gave him a nod, and then he was gone.

When I turned back, I saw his coffee still sitting on the counter, and cursed.

Grabbing the mug, I ran. I got to the front door to find it closed.

I pulled out my phone to send him a text, mostly because I’d promised him I would think before I acted. And running out into the dark wasn’t thinking before I acted.

Me:

I made you to-go coffee.

The message said ‘read’ underneath of it seconds later, but he didn’t reply, and I deflated.

I was just about to turn back toward the kitchen to put his coffee away when the alarm panel beeped, and the door was opened.

And there he was.

I held out the coffee, but instead of taking it, he caught my wrist and pulled me to him.

“Thank you for not coming outside,” he growled. “Thanks for the coffee.”

After one final kiss, he closed and locked the door again, and then the alarm panel beeped, letting me know he’d armed it.

I stared at the brand-new wood door for a long moment before I drew a deep breath and said, “I love you. Be safe today.”

Nothing replied but the barking of a random dog in the neighborhood.

Turned out, that dog wasn’t so random after all.

An hour later, Garrett arrived with his K-9 Officer, Boss, to take me to work.

“So, you drew the short straw this morning?” I asked as he walked inside while I was eating some of the snack cakes I’d received yesterday.

His eyes twinkled as he said, “I would hope that Quaid would do the same if our situations were reversed.” He paused. “But also, I’m headed to the doctor anyway. We’re in the same building.”

I nodded.

“What do you think about me going to work?” I asked.

“I can’t say that I like it, but let’s be honest, you can’t just stop living your life. I’ll be talking to a few of your fellow coworkers, though, explaining the situation. Hopefully with them keeping an eye out…”

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