Page 24 of Protecting Andie

“Yeah. Insurance and your husband will be gone when they deploy. They can have the security and the freedom.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Yeah. It sucks.”

“So that’s why you’ve never settled down?”

He was silent for a moment. “I’ve never found anyone I wanted to settle down with.”

“You know I’d never do that stuff to you, right?”

“I got that.”

“How could you tell?”

He sighed, and that sound made her insides feel squishy. She liked talking to Rider and hanging out with him. The last week had been amazing. She needed more.

“I knew by the way you looked at me. How kind you were. You cared about me, not just what I could do for you.”

“I do care about you. I care deeply,” she said.

“I care about you, too. I know we need to spend more time together. Also, my friends want to meet you. A cookout at the park. Are you in for that?”

“God, yes. I want to meet your friends. They sound so cool.”

His laughter filled her with happiness. She wished she was there now. That she had to wait until next Saturday for her flight in the afternoon was bullshit. She should have abandoned everything and driven down today.

They chatted for another hour, talking about nothing important. Before she fell asleep, she received a text from Emily. It was a photo of their view from the resort. The place looked amazing. Happiness for Emily filled her. The woman had lived through some bad shit as a kid and deserved the best.

Maybe Rider was the man for her. The way she felt about him left her hopeful, but stuff could still go wrong. He was a good man, and she just hoped she didn’t blow it.

15

The days passed slowly for Rider. At least he had work to keep him busy. On Wednesday night, they stayed late and went over new information. He hoped they wouldn’t end up leaving town for the next few weeks, but it was a possibility. That was always an eventuality. They left town when they needed to leave and stayed gone as long as necessary.

On Saturday, he woke up early and cleaned his house. There wasn’t much to take care of, but he wanted the place to look nice when Andie arrived.

Time seemed to tick by slowly, and when he finally settled in his car for the drive to the airport, anticipation filled him. Before her plane landed, he switched from the cell lot to short-term parking and went inside.

Waiting had him tied up in knots. What if she hadn’t really gotten on the plane? There was a guy he’d heard of who had a long-distance relationship with someone he’d met on the internet. She’d said she was coming out, but she never got on the plane. He’d been left standing at the airport looking like a fool. Of course, that woman could have just been someone catfishing him, and he knew Andie was real. Still, he breathed out a sigh of relief when he spied her leaving the secured area.

He knew the moment she saw him because a huge smile lit up her face. His heart squeezed as he moved toward her. He pulled her into a hug as relief mixed with a feeling so deep his throat closed, and emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

She tilted her head up as he stared down at her. Her mouth was too much of an invitation, and he pressed his lips against hers. The kiss felt so good, and he wanted to take it deeper, but they were in public. He just needed to show her how much he cared for her. When the kiss ended, all he wanted to do was get out of there, but they had to get her bag.

Rider brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “It’s so good to see you. At one point, I was afraid you weren’t going to come.”

“Oh, honey.” She squeezed his arm. “I thought you were going to call me and tell me not to come.”

“Never. This week without you was long.”

Her lips spread into a wide smile. “I can’t wait to get to your place.”

“Same. I want to have you all to myself.”

She squeezed his arm again. “Behave while we’re here.”

“You got it. But once we’re home, no more behaving.”

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