Page 149 of Hayden's Stalker

“Me, too. They’re both so nice. I’m sure they’ll be good parents.”

She’s right. They’re going to be their own little family soon. I fall silent as I think about how my band family has expanded. It’s strange because we’ve always been so close, but now that my friends all have partners and now children, they’re each their own family unit. Then again, Tati’s becomemyfamily, and Iknow that I would prioritize her over my friends. It should be scary, but it isn’t.

“Do you ever think about our lives after I’ve finished the contract?” she asks.

“Of course. I mean, I don’t actually know where you live when you’re not working. So I have no idea what it’ll be like, but I know we’ll make it work.”

She’s quiet for a moment before she tells me, “Sometimes I go home to Los Angeles and spend time with my family at my parent’s place. Generally, I spend time between contracts at rented accommodation wherever in the world I want to live at that time. I love traveling to new places and seeing different cultures.”

It’s interesting to hear this information and a little strange for her to be so open with me. I’ve gotten used to her hiding information, but since we got together, she’s been telling me more and more about her life. I can’t wait to know everything about her, well, as much as I can know.

I wonder what she imagines for us in the future and ask, “What do you see for us when this is all over?”

“I don’t know,” she says quietly. “If the tour is over, I guess I’ll come to Chicago, and if it isn’t, I’ll stay with you. Either way, we’ll see how things go when we can be free to be together.”

I realize that when that happens, it’ll mean our official time together as client and security specialist will be over. It’s a strange thought to think of her being off somewhere without me.

I’m not sure what it’ll look like once that happens, so I ask, “Until you get another contract?”

“Yeah. Then, I’ll need to go wherever I’m needed until the contract is completed.”

“And you won’t know how long that will be.”

I think this is the thing that worries me. Not knowing how long Tati will be leaving me for when she goes off on these future contracts.

“Correct. Hayden”—she presses her lips to mine and kisses me—“I love you. I want a future together, no matter what that looks like. I choose my contracts very carefully, and I don’t have to take any that we don’t think will work for us as a couple.”

“I’m going to be worried the whole time you’re away.”

My heart hurts at the thought of her being of some contract and in danger. The idea of her being harmed is physically painful, and I hate to think about it.

“If you think I’ll ever not be worried about your safety, you don’t know me very well.”

I squeeze her tightly and kiss her. “We can be worried about each other together.”

“We can set an alarm for midday and worry about each other at the same time every day no matter where we are in the world,” she laughs.

I laugh as well, and we fall silent. This idea is actually comforting. The knowledge that no matter where in the world Tati goes, and for how long, she and I will be connected by our love and by worrying for each other at the same time each day.

I also know that before she leaves me for some other contract, I want her to be my wife. I don’t want to be apart from her as my girlfriend. I want to be married to her when she goes. If heaven forbid anything does happen, I want to have all the rights of a husband. I want to ensure that the love of my life is mine forever, both in our hearts and in the eyes of the law.

There’s also the matter of my stalker as well. If they kill me now, at least I’ll die having been loved by her. Unfortunately, both of us seem to be in high-risk professions, but hers requires active danger by design.

“Would you marry me before you take another contract?” I ask, my heart pounding in my chest, not because I have any doubts about wanting it but because I don’t know how she’ll respond.

“Marry you? We were just talking about seeing how things go as a couple without a stalker hanging over our heads, and now you’re talking about marriage? Five minutes ago, you didn’t even know where I live, Hayden.”

A sharp stab of pain hits my heart, even if I know that this is just Tati being practical. At the same time, I feel as though getting marriedispractical because it’ll bind us legally. I also know without a shadow of a doubt that Tati is the woman for me. I don’t see any reason to wait some period of time deemed acceptable for us to cement our relationship this way.

“It’s probably the stalker that’s made me think about these things. I know you’ve said you don’t think they plan to hurt me, but I still think about it. I could easily have died in that car accident if I hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt. My mortality is very much on my mind.”

I’m on edge as I think about the stalker, and I sigh as I put them to the back of my mind. I squeeze Tati tightly again and allow a sense of contentment from having her here in my arms to wash over me.

“I’ve spent too long being unhappy in a relationship with someone who treated me poorly. Settling for friends with benefits when I always wanted more,” I admit. “Now I’ve found you, and I’ve never been happier. I don’t want to spend a single moment being unhappy again. Life is too short to not hold on to the people who brighten your world. I love you, Tati.”

I wait for her response, and I know that even if she says no, it’s not because she doesn’t love me and wants to be with me.

“I love you, too. I’m not saying no, but I’ll have to think about it. Ask me again after your stalker has been caught.”

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