Page 102 of Set Me On Fire

He had a whole lot to say, but I had the final word. I’m heading back to my office.

Stay there, Knox insisted,then make an appointment to see Brent.He needs to know what’s going on.

No, he didn’t. I loved the protective energy there, but Knox didn’t know. I’d brought up problems with creepy patrons or colleagues plenty of times with my bosses, including Jim, and most of the time, it just ended up creating more hassle for the victim. I wasn’t going to let anyone make me feel helpless.

I’ve got this, I replied. Another notification came through, reminding me of my doctor’s appointment.And I’m going to need to take a raincheck, Charlie. I’m due at the doctor’s after work today.

We’ll come.

I shook my head, wondering how the hell I’d thought they wouldn’t want to be involved. Instead, I had to wonder how I’d explain three guys accompanying me to my appointment.

Can’t fit you all into the doctor’s consulting room,I replied.But if you want to hang out in the waiting room?

We’ll be there.

Noah was a strange contradiction, a mixture of uncertainty and confidence, but I was only getting the latter right now.

It’s late night shopping tonight,Knox added.Charlie can take Millie out tomorrow night. I need her today.

Was that the way it was going to be? They’d negotiate like adults for my time. I admit it had me smiling, right up until Dave brushed past me in the hall. He mumbled some shit under his breath, but I didn’t care.

You wanna take me shopping?I said.You’re speaking my love language.

I gave them the address of the doctor’s surgery and the time and then walked back towards my office.

“Chocolate, yum!” A masculine voice came from within the break room.

I stuck my head in, catching sight of Dave hulking over the coffee machine.

“Help yourself,” I told the guy who’d grabbed the box. “Someone dropped them off for me, but I can’t stand dark chocolate. Too bitter for me.”

And with that I waltzed back to my office, ready to start the day.

Chapter 47

Knox

I stared at the now empty room. Buster and me, we’d spent the day cleaning every inch of what would be the nursery. Wiping down window sills, vacuuming the carpet, even sweeping away cobwebs. It was a blank slate ready to be written upon, and while I’d looked at picture after picture of kid’s nurseries online, the decor seemed to vary from everything beige to neon bright.

Which one would Millie like?

That was the maddening part. Something in me wanted, no, needed to provide for her. Whatever she wanted, needed, I wanted to have it already there for her, but… I didn’t know her enough to make this call, so when the messages came through, I seized the moment. Charlie could do whatever flashy shit he wanted to do later. Right now, I needed to make sure our child had somewhere safe, somewhere secure, to grow.

I tried to keep myself busy until the afternoon by running all my washing through the machine, cleaning the rest of the house, even taking Buster for an early run, but the tension in me didn’t ease until five o’clock came and I was ready to leave. Fresh outof the shower, I stared into the mirror, straightening my collar for the third time, then reaching in blindly, finding some kind of cologne and spraying that on before walking out the door.

Peak hour trafficwas ten times worse than it usually was. My hand gripped the steering wheel way too tightly, the vinyl creaking as I cursed the idiots on the road. They kept us in a job, every second prick a hair’s breadth from being another road statistic I was sure, but before I knew it, I was pulling up outside the front of the doctor’s surgery. Millie was already there and getting out of her car, and for just a second, I sucked in the sight of her.

She didn’t know how beautiful she was. If she did, she’d never have bothered with any of us, but she did. My eyes slid down the pants and blouse combination she was wearing, looking for signs of our child, even though what I’d read in the baby book I’d downloaded made clear she wouldn’t show for some weeks. I just wanted… what? Some sort of confirmation, some indication of the link between us, which is why we were at the doctor’s in the first place. I got out and walked over.

“Oh…” That look on her face, wide eyed and surprised, then the smile that followed it–I’d replay that over and over in my mind. I even smiled myself, the expression feeling weird until her hand came to rest on my arm. “Hey. I wasn’t sure if you’d make it. Traffic was a bitch.”

“Of course I’d come.” My hands were sliding across the panel of her car and towards her, like I had a right to. My fingertips found the small of her back, the thin fabric of her blouse no barrier between me and her skin. “I said I would.”

“That’s you, huh? Guy who does what he says he does.” She shook her head slightly and not for the first time, I wondered what the hell kinda of guys she was hanging out around beforethis. Didn’t matter. I dismissed them without thought. She was mine, ours now. “You have no idea how hot that is. Like when I was younger I wanted all hot monkey sex?—”

“No one’s saying that’s not still on the table.” Fuck, where did that come from? Me apparently, but I forged on. If I was dropping truth bombs, I may as well go all in. “I said I’d take care of you.” My eyes slid down. “I meant that in every way.”

She sucked in a breath, ready to reply, but of course, that’s when Charlie appeared.

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