Page 58 of Rewind

“You laugh but it’s your fault for getting frisky in the shower, besides, if you would have let me go home to pack an overnight bag, I could have grabbed my bonnet and a shower cap.”

Though her hair wasn’t as straight as it had been before, the curls that had formed looked just fine to him.

“First, I think you look beautiful no matter what. But if you’d like I can check the spare room because my mom usually keeps some extra clothes and accessories here for when she stays over. I may be able to find a scarf for you to wear. Second, as I said before I don’t want you going back to your house. After that altercation outside of the restaurant, I don’t trust that bastard not to show up at your place. Please tell me he doesn’t have a key to your house.”

“He doesn’t. In my first life, I gave him one after we got engaged but not before, thank God.”

“That’s a good thing at least. Do you have a security system and cameras installed?”

“I have an alarm system that basically alerts the company who then gets in touch with me to ask if I need them to contact the police. I never updated that package after my grandmother passed.”

“Hmm, we’ll get your security system upgraded and cameras installed. Until then you can stay here with me.”

“Are you sure? You don’t think we’ll drive each other crazy living together?”

Ethan took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting her head so that their gazes met. “Amina, I know this may seem crazy, but I intend to spend the rest of my life with you. Whether we move in together tomorrow or later down the road I intend for it to happen.”

She stared back at him wordlessly. Her mouth opened and then closed.

His heart sunk. Did he misread what was happening between them? Did she not feel as strongly for him as he did for her?”

“Say something Amina,” he softly commanded.

Her eyes glistened with the suspicious sheen of tears. “I’m scared. I feel like this is all a dream and I’m going to wake up and I’ll be back in my old life, suffering at the hands of someone who doesn’t give a damn about me. This has been a whirlwind and the crush I’ve had on you has turned into something I’m too afraid to put into words.”

The doom he’d felt just seconds before disappeared and his heart swelled with emotion.

“I love you, Amina. Like you said, this is a whirlwind and I’m scared too. I wish I would have made a move in our past life because maybe I would have been able to save you. But in myheart, I believe there’s a reason the two of us were brought back. It’s because we were meant to be together. The future is scary and there are people out there who want to cause us harm, but whatever comes our way, we’ll face it together. So please don’t leave me out on a limb. I want to hear how you feel as well.”

She ran her tongue across her lips. “I love you too Ethan. I thought I knew what love was before but I had no clue until now. I told you how horrible it was growing up in my Aunt Sharon’s house. She treated me more like a slave than a family member, but I so desperately wanted any bit of affection I could get from her. I tricked myself into thinking when she berated me, it was love. At least then she was giving me attention.”

“Oh baby.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry you went through that.”

“My grandmother rescued me from that hell and I know she loved me and I adored her but when she died I was devastated. That’s how Mark was able to worm his way into my life and he reintroduced me to that toxic fake love I had as a child. I believed myself to be in love with him but now I know it wasn’t real. But what I feel for you is terrifying because I don’t want to lose you like I lost my grandmother. I don’t think my heart could take it if something happens to you.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me. We came back to rectify the wrongs of our previous lives.”

“Mark may be out of my life for now but I wouldn’t put it past him to try something. As for you. Someone murdered you and the last time we discussed this, you didn’t remember who. They could still be out there waiting in the wings.”

He stroked the back of her head absently. He didn’t want to tell Amina what he’d learned because she was already going through enough, but he owed her the truth. “I remember who killed me.”

“What?” She pulled herself out of his hold and sat up. “Who was it?”

“It was a member of my stepmother’s security detail.”

“Did you argue?”

He shook his head and explained what had happened when he met Kim Soo-ah. “So, that’s it in a nutshell. He probably killed me at the behest of his boss. I can’t imagine he would take the initiative to do something like that on his own. What I’m still trying to figure out is why she would want to have me killed instead of just leaving me alone. She knew that I have a successful practice and didn’t need her pay off money.”

“Maybe that’s why she did it because she knew you couldn’t be bought. Someone you can’t buy may be a real threat to people like her. What if she tries something with you again?”

“Well, keep in mind those events aren’t supposed to happen for another five years. Since you’re not marrying Mark, that probably creates a new timeline, meaning your death has likely been prevented. So, if I change something in my life, my death can also be stopped.”

“Hmm, so it’s like the butterfly effect. Each action we do differently in this timeline, it will change the course of our future.”

“Exactly. First, I’m going to find the guard who shot me, which should be simple enough once I start doing a little digging around. That psychopath shouldn’t be running around free if he’s capable of killing at the behest his boss.”

“Yeah, that is wild,” Amina agreed shaking her head. “Do you think this guy was really carrying out orders or was he acting on his own?”

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