Page 65 of Guarded from Treachery

His hand stills on my back. In a careful tone, he asks, “How so?”

Lifting my head, I meet his solemn gaze. “First, because I was worried I made it up in my head, like the police said. That the whole pregnancy thing was a subconscious denial of the truth, that I did this to myself and didn’t want to admit it.”

A fierce expression moves across Matt’s face. “I never thought that.”

“But I worried. And if itwasthe truth, like I thought… I’m not stupid, Matt. I knew what the most likely explanation was. That someone assaulted me. I didn’t want to think about it, but how could I not?”

“Someone did assault you, Isla. They drugged you. Touched you. They did a damned medical procedure on you. None of those things are okay.”

“I know they’re not. And I feel weird and icky about it. Sarah’s right, I should talk to a counselor. I probably should have already.”

“I’ll get you set up with the best one today.”

“It doesn’t need to be today. But soon would be good.” I lean against Matt, resting my head on his shoulder again. “I guess I’m just trying to focus on the good things right now.”

“Like what?”

“Having an answer. Knowing I’m not crazy. Knowing how it happened.” My fingers twist into his shirt as I continue, “I love this baby. So that’s a good thing. And you.”

“And me?”

“Yes. You. My silver lining. My eye in the storm.” My lips press to the soft skin of his neck. “Some truly awful stuff happened to me. Really crazy, terrible stuff. But I also found you. And I’m so grateful I did.”

Matt’s chest rises and falls. His arms tighten around me, not painfully but protectively. His voice goes thick. “Oh, Isles. I’m so grateful I found you, too.”

14

MATT

“Matt, I can’t believe you did all this!”

Standing stock-still in the barn doorway, Isla’s head is on a swivel as she takes everything in. Her mouth makes a perfect little O before she claps her hand over it, and she turns to me, her eyes wide with surprise.

My heartbeat ratchets up to double speed. Nerves grab hold of my stomach and give it a hard shake. I wasn’t nervous about this plan when I was putting it all together, but suddenly I’m filled with doubt. “Do you like it?”

Her eyebrows shoot to her hairline. “Do Ilikeit? Are you kidding?”

“No?” Catching her free hand, I thread my fingers between hers. “Does that mean youdolike it?”

“Matt.” It’s gently scolding. “I don’t know how you could even ask.” A smile blossoms across her face. “It’s gorgeous. I can’t believe you did all this.”

I glance around the expansive barn, trying to look at it with a fresh perspective instead of the jaded one that came after hours of preparation.

It’s not exactly the ideal setup for a special, romantic-ish date; regardless of how long I spent carefully arranging everything. If circumstances were different, I’d take Isla into San Antonio for the evening, with reservations at one of the nicest restaurants and tickets to see a performance at the Tobin Center. But the way things are now, I’d end up spending the entire night on high alert, my attention focused on guarding Isla instead of actually spending time with her.

That’s not what I want. I want Isla to have a nice date, something that shows how much I care about her. A date that makes her feel special. Appreciated.

Could I have done something back at my apartment? Of course. But since she’s been at Blade and Arrow, every evening is spent either at my place or hers, playingMinecraftor watching TV or a movie. Which I love—I look forward to my uninterrupted time with Isla all day—but I wanted to do something different.

So here we are. In the barn we restored from a falling-down building to a comfortable outdoor living space, complete with a kitchen, a game area, a home theater, and our most recent addition, an eight-person hot tub. It’s nice on a normal day, with freshly painted walls and white lights strung from the rafters giving the place a bright, open feel. But when I had the idea of planning this date out here, I wanted to include some new touches.

I hung more lights, of course. When I went to Lucy for advice, she informed me that there’s no such thing as too many lights. Which sounds like a stretch—what if the walls are literally covered in them and the barn looks like a disco ball? But I did attach tiny lights to the ceiling in the shapes of constellations, so when the rest of the lights are out, it’s like you’re looking up at the night sky.

Battery-operated candles are set out on nearly every available surface, giving the barn a warm and intimate feel despite its size. Two rows of the same candles create a path to a table draped with a crisp white tablecloth and decorated with an enormous bouquet of violet roses.

More flowers in an array of purples and lavenders add pops of color throughout the barn—glass vases and jars filled with allium and aster and hyacinth.

And no, I didn’t know what they were called until I went to the florist. I just said I wanted to buy all their purple flowers, and as the bemused employee created all the bouquets, she explained which flower was which.

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