Page 152 of The Re-Proposal

The moment I give in to him is the moment I lose my mind, my heart, everything.

And I don’t trust him enough to lose myself… yet.

* * *

Cody’s towncar arrives at Maggie’s new house before anyone else. Vargas’ car pulls up next to us and I’m shocked to see Ms. Phoebe and Laura climbing out of the backseat.

I gasp in excitement. “Did you tell them?”

“I figured you’d want them here for this too,” he says.

My heart wobbles even more in his direction.

“Wow!” Laura squeals. “If the outside is this gorgeous, I can’t wait to see the inside.”

Ms. Phoebe waddles up to me. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

“It all happened so fast,” I murmur. “I was going to tell you when it was all over.”

Her eyes narrow, causing the wrinkles there to multiply. “The next time someone harms you or one of my girls again, you tellme. Alright?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Her severe expression fades and she leaks out a smile. “This house really does look nice.”

“Do you want to see the before pictures?” I offer.

Ms. Phoebe and Laura crowd around my head as I share the photos. Their oohs and ahs reach my ears and make me ten times more excited for Maggie’s reaction.

In the midst of their chatter, I feel someone’s stare. When I look up, I meet Cody’s sharp green eyes. He makes a slight motion with his chin.

“When is Maggie getting here?” Laura asks.

“Any minute now. I called her an Uber. You can check her location if you want.” I leave my phone in their hands and walk over to Cody.

His jaw is clenched tight. “My guys reported that Hatchen already met with the social worker.”

Invisible fingers tighten around my throat.

It’s suddenly hard to breathe.

He touches my shoulder. “Ris, you okay?”

“I am.” My smile is pained. I’d been so busy with work and then waking up in Cody’s bed this morning… so many things happened that I didn’t have time to stop and think about Hatchen. “What’s the plan?”

“There’s no plan.”

“You expect me to believe you don’t have a plan?” I arch a brow. Our eyes lock, a hot polarity of opposites just begging to collide.

“All you have to do is focus on Maggie.”

“That’s it?” My fingers curl into fists. “Just sit my pretty little self down and let a man handle it?”

His eyes remain steady on me, but there’s a glint of amusement. “At least you know you’re pretty.”

“I’m not joking, Cody.” My chest is heaving and I meet his stare head on. “Maggie and I are the victims. We’re the ones he harassed, harmed and threatened.” My voice cracks, but I push my shoulders back bravely. “I want to file a restraining order against him. I’ll see if Maggie wants to do the same.”

His eyebrows tighten. “If you do it by the law, I can’t deal with it my way.”

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