Page 48 of Leo, My Partner

“Want to sit out here for a while?” Leo asks when he steps back out.

I start, since I didn’t hear him come outside. “Just for a few. Then we need to find the address for the camp counselor. The sooner we get rid of him, the better.”

Leo pulls me out of the chair, sits down, and rests me on his lap. The rocking chair squeaks but holds both our weight. I’m surprised. Leo is so fucking big, I almost think it’ll crack at any moment. When we’re rocking for a another minute with no more squeaking, I relax against him.

“What were you thinking about?”

I could tell him my thoughts about my bakery, but I haven’t figured things out with it. It would be nice to get his opinion on it but only when I’ve considered all options myself.

Instead of mentioning the bakery, I say, “It’s nice out here. I’d like to come back with you sometime. I’m not sure how often you get away or what will happen when we’re back in the city and our real lives, but we should make time to decompress here. Even if it’s just for a night or two.”

“Sure thing, kotenok. I like it here too. It’s made even better with you here.”

My heart melts as I gaze into Leo’s eyes. “You’re sweet,” I mutter.

“I’m honest. I enjoy my solitude, and this place brings me that, but I get this wonderful feeling in my chest seeing you out here. The look on your face every time you step out of the house and breathe in the clean air makes me … happy. I’ve never felt happy about anything outside of a kill in my entire life. But you make me feel that way.”

My eyes fucking mist as I listen to him. No one has ever said anything like that to me before and meant it. And Leo means it. The conviction in his voice and the earnest look in his eyes is all I need to know he’s for real.

Feeling choked up, I lean in and kiss him softly. “I really love you, Leo. It’s too fast, but … I love you.”

“I love you too, kotenok. It’s not too fast. We don’t need to go by anyone’s timeline but our own.”

“Our own timeline,” I mutter, kissing him again as I relax into his strong arms.

CHAPTER 17

TYSHAWN

Leo and I got the goods baked that night so we didn’t have to wake up early to do it. We left the cabin early the next morning so June could have the cookies, croissants, and cupcakes before it was time to open the coffee shop.

After we dropped them off to June—who was a little too excited so early in the morning—Leo asks if I want to go back to his place to take a nap. Although I rarely take naps, I’m not used to waking up at four in the morning to pack a car and drive an hour home. For some reason, I can’t fall asleep in cars, so I spent the time talking to Leo about the camp counselor, making sure our plan is watertight.

Now, I’m exhausted. “Yes, please,” I answer his question, leaning my head back against the passenger seat headrest.

The building we pull up to is nicer than anything I’ve ever seen. It looks like something from a movie—all sleek steel beams and floor-to-ceiling windows. Sleep is forgotten when I step inside the building, looking around with wide eyes. I spin around to take it all in. Everything is so bright and clean, so modern. There’s even a doorman and valet.

“This is nice,” I mutter to Leo as he stops by the bank of elevators.

“It’s home,” he replies simply.

We take the elevator up to the fourteenth floor, and Leo holds the door for me. Leo tells me only two condos are on this floor, and he owns the one directly in front of us, and the one around the corner is vacant. “I wanted to buy that one and knock the walls down, but the contractors said something about load-bearing walls that I didn’t understand and nixed the idea. Mine is enough space as it is.”

He pushes the door open and steps to the side, allowing me to step in. An involuntary gasp leaves me. This place is fucking amazing. The floor-to-ceiling windows are here as well, but instead of them being uncovered to allow unobstructed light to filter in, Leo has the same kind of gossamer curtains that he has at his cabin in the woods. Though here, the curtains are black.

Instead of the light colors of the cabin, these colors are darker and a little ominous. It fits him.

His living room has one of the largest leather sectionals I’ve ever seen, the material appearing buttery soft. The black of the material plays off the red pillows nicely. Just looking at it brings back my earlier exhaustion. I wouldn’t mind taking a nice nap on that couch.

Even though Leo has carpet, a large red-and-black rug is in the middle of the living room floor that my bare feet would probably sink into. There’s more black than red, the splash of color dotted here and there, creating a space of dark foreboding that I find intoxicating.

I walk over to the window, sliding the curtains back gently so I can look down at the street. I’m not a fan of heights, but this view is perfect.

“Wow, I love your place.” My apartment is on the second floor, not getting views like this. Where my place is modest and we live within the middle-class price range, this building is clearly for the wealthy. A memory of Leo saying he wouldn’t have to work for twenty years if he didn’t take hitman contract rings in my head, meaning he’s well-off, but I didn’t think that included living like this.

“It can be our place.” He doesn’t say it as a question, more a statement of fact as he comes to stand beside me. “There’s plenty of space for you.”

“You want me to move in with you?” My voice is full of incredulity.

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