Page 148 of Hayden's Stalker

As she locks the secure door again, I slip my arms around her waist from behind. “I love you, preciosa.”

“I love you, too,” she says as she rests her head back against my chest.

I squeeze her tightly before I lead her over to the sofa. When she sits down next to me, I put my arm around her shoulders and pull her into me. She rests her head on my shoulder, and I rest my cheek against the top of her head.

“So, as I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted”—I shake my head, hardly believing that another one of my friends is going to become a dad—“how do you think I’m going to give Heather proof we’re together?”

“Oh, well, if you refuse to go on the date with April. It’s proof for Heather.”

“What? Why?”

I’m confused by this logic because there are plenty of reasons not to date April, a lot of which I laid out for Heather tonight as it is.

“Because she’s April Conway. You’d have to have a pretty damn good reason to not want to date her.”

I laugh and kiss Tati before I tell her, “I’m not interested in April, and I never have been. If I wanted to date her, I would’ve done it years ago. That’s reason enough to say no.”

“Or, you just say yes to the date, go on it to appease Heather, and tell her sparks didn’t fly. Your willingness to go on a date with another woman will throw her off the scent.”

I stare at the wall of the room across from us. All of this sneaking around and hiding Tati’s belongings in my room. Lyingto my friends. It feels wrong, and I don’t see why we can’t just be honest with them. They love me, and they’ll be happy for me. They certainly wouldn’t do anything that might mean I’ll get hurt.

I don’t see why it’s so important to hide our relationship from them that Tati would be willing to send me on a date with another woman. She doesn’t have any reason to be jealous, of course, and she clearly isn’t, which I’m glad about. At the same time, I still don’t like it. I’m committed to her, and I don’t want to go on a date with April.

“How important is it that my friends stay in the dark about our relationship?”

I turn to look at her, and she frowns at me. “My biggest concern is the other bodyguards finding out. I think some already suspect something, but if I lose their respect entirely, it can make it difficult for me to keep you safe. At the end of the day, that will always be my number one priority. If they don’t respect me, and I have little doubt that knowing about our relationship would cause that to happen, they may second-guess my judgment calls. I can’t risk that happening.”

I can see her point because they’ll see it as unprofessional for her to be sleeping with a client. I’m sure there would be an added aspect of misogyny to do with her being a woman as well.

I sigh and nod. “That makes sense. I just don’t like the idea of leading April on in any way, either. She’s a good friend, and I don’t want her to feel rejected if I don’t want to date her.”

“If it helps, I don’t think she’s into you. She’s either being pressured into going on a date by Heather, or she’s in on the plan to find out if we’re together.”

I raise my eyebrows at her. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve spent a long time studying body language. People tell whole stories with the things they never say aloud.”

I’m in awe of this woman, and every day, I feel even more astounded by the skills she has and the life she’s led.

“You never cease to amaze me.” I smile at her and kiss her again.

She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me back before we get up and head to our bedroom. Tati dresses in a nightgown and walks into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

“Um, where’s my toothbrush?” she calls out with a laugh.

I rush into the room and grin at her as I open the cupboard door and pull down Tati’s things that I stashed there.

“What can I say? Heather’s short. There was no way she could casually open that cupboard and see your stuff.”

“Well played, but Heather’s notthatshort.”

I’m amused because Tati’s so tiny she would think of Heather as being tall, but I’ve always thought of her as being short.

“Not compared to you, but she is compared to me.” I wink at Tati, making her laugh.

We finish getting ready for bed, and when we’re lying in the dark room together, I pull her into my embrace. It’s comforting to be here in this safe space with the woman I love. As much as I enjoyed spending time with my friends, it would be better if they could know I was with Tati so we could be more at ease around them.

I smile as I think about the announcement my friends made tonight. “I can’t believe Gabriel and Ariana are going to have a baby. I’m so happy for them.”

---