Page 52 of Everlasting Promises

I can’t turn my mind off … I just keep wondering

If you can’t share that information with me, I understand

She’s still awake. A grin explodes across my face, and suddenly I don’t feel so tired. I’m not surprised she was concerned; she has such a empathetic heart.

I’d love to see her, so instead of answering, I head toward her house. “Do you think she’ll let us in, Rex?” I hope so.

When I pull up in Hope’s driveway, the soft glow of the television shines around the edge of the curtains. I grab Rex, lock the cruiser, and head straight for her front door with my heart racing. I have to physically pause and take a deep, calming breath to stop myself from banging down her door.

Slow. Slow. Slow.

I knock softly, in case she’s asleep. As time ticks on and there’s no answer, my shoulders curl inward, and fatigue begins to overwhelm me.

“Who’s there?” her soft, lyrical voice comes through the door. The porch light turns on, bathing me and Rex in a soft glow.

She’s still awake!

I clear my throat. “It’s just me.” I drop my head to study my sneakers.What was I thinking, turning up on her doorstep at midnight?“Sorry. I know it’s late. I shouldn?—”

The click of the lock rings out and sends my pulse spiking. The door swings open, revealing her gorgeous face, free from makeup, and her curls piled haphazardly on top of her head. I can’t see her body because she’s hiding behind the door.

“Everything okay?” she asks, worry pinching around her eyes. I swallow, unable to speak, as she steps out from behind the door in an oversized army sweatshirt and long knitted socks that reach above her knees, leaving a couple of inches of her toned thighs exposed. She looks fucking adorable. “Ben? Are you all right?” she asks as she unlocks and pushes open the screen door.

“We didn’t have a positive outcome tonight and the thought of goi—” Before I can finish, she has her tiny body pressed against mine, her face buried in my chest, and her slim arms wrapped around my waist.

“I’m so sorry,” she mumbles against my jacket.

My breath stutters in my lungs at the feel of her against my body. I close my eyes and cup the back of her head as I hook my other arm around her waist to hold her close. We fit together perfectly. Like she was always meant to be in my arms.

Rex whines at our feet, and when I look down at him, he’s looking up at us, his ears pricked and eyes questioning. Hope pulls away from me to crouch so she can say hello to Rex, and now I’m wishing I’d dropped him home first.

“Would you like to come inside where it’s warm?” She rubs Rex’s scruff. “You do, don’t you, boy?” She looks up at me from her crouched position and a sudden vision of her on her knees, taking my cock deep down her throat, assaults me.

My dick wakes up.Down, boy.This isn’t the time to show off.

“Have you eaten?”

I shake my head, trying desperately to shove the illicit image from my mind. “No.”

“I can reheat the dinner I made,” she offers.

Now I feel like an asshole. I never apologized for wasting her time in the kitchen preparing dinner for us. “I’m sorry about tonight.”

She shrugs, her marine-colored eyes sparkling beneath the porch light. “Don’t worry about it. Come inside.”

She steps to the side, allowing us to enter her home. It’s considerably warmer, and I instantly feel better after the discovery Rex and I made tonight. Just being in Hope’s presence is enough to wipe away the image of Anne curled up on what we discovered was the porch of her childhood home. We found out, from her niece, that she had never married or had children—that she was pretty much alone.

The knowledge added to the devastation of our discovery and only highlighted the aloneness and isolation of the life I’ve created for myself. I see Sebastian every few weeks—at best. I have friendly banter with the crew at work, but I haven’t developed any solid friendships. City life is quite different from country life—where everyone knows everyone—making it difficult to create bonds.

I’ll never regret moving to the city, because I needed to escape the memories and toxicity of my hometown, but I find living here lonely … until Hope and Evan. They’ve been a bright spot in my otherwise routine life, and being in her company makes me feel … better.

Hope steps into the kitchen and flicks on the light, then heads straight to the fridge. “Take a seat and I’ll heat this up. It’ll only take a couple of minutes.”

I watch her move around the kitchen with ease. She said she loves to cook and her fridge and pantry certainly look well-stocked. Leaning my elbows on the counter, I angle forward as she bends over to reach something at the bottom of the cupboard. The oversized sweatshirt she’s wearing—that I suspect belonged to Wyatt—still covers her ass, but I’m treated to a little more thigh. When she stands with two empty metal dog bowls for Rex, my brain goes haywire.

Pointing to the dishes, I ask the obvious question, “Are those for Rex?”

She looks down at them, as if to clarify what I’m talking about. “Well, yeah. I bought them on my way home today, so he’d have something to use whenever he comes over.” Her eyes widen, and she slams her mouth closed as if she’s shared a secret that’s not hers to share, but her words give me hope that something can grow between us. Especially if she’s thinking about Rex coming over regularly, because we both know Rex won’t be coming here alone. Pink races up her neck, and I can’t tear my gaze away from her and the startled expression she’s wearing.

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