Page 71 of Finding Home with You

“Both,” I say, pressing a kiss to her stomach before looking up at her. Erin smiles down at me, her fingers combing through my hair. “I really wish I didn’t have to go,” I add. “But I’ll be back tonight, I promise.”

“Ryan,” she says. “You don’t need to do that. You can’t commute every day, it’s too much.”

“Let me worry about that, babe,” I say, rolling out of bed. “And Chris will be here to watch over you today, so you don’t need to worry about that either.”

“Ryan,” she says again, her tone firm.

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “No arguing with me on this one.”

“But Finn is here,” she says.

“Yeah, apparently,” I say sarcastically as I walk into the bathroom and take a shower.

Finn.

Like he was so fucking useful two days ago.

Forty minutes later, I’m finishing my coffee, when a knock sounds at the front door. Erin looks up from the kitchen table, a confused look on her face.

“I’ll get it,” I say, walking out. When I open the front door, Chris is standing on the other side, dressed casually in jeans and a sweater as though it’s his day off. In reality it’s to minimize how much he stands out.

“Hey,” he says, smiling as he sticks out a hand.

“Hey,” I reply, shaking it and gesturing for him to come inside. “Thanks for doing this,” I add as I walk toward the kitchen.

“Of course,” he says, following me in.

“Erin, babe, this is Chris,” I say introducing them. “Chris, this is my girlfriend, Erin.”

“Nice to meet you,” Erin says.

Chris nods in her direction before turning back to me. “So inside or out, you got a preference?”

“I’d prefer in, if she’s okay with that, but with regular perimeter walks to check the outside. There are cameras mounted at…”

“Ah, what is going on here?” Erin asks, interrupting me.

We both turn and see she’s standing now, hands on her hips as she looks from me to Chris and back to me again.

“Chris is going to keep an eye on things today,” I say, shrugging. “Until I can get back here.”

“Ryan,” Erin says, her jaw tight. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

I glance at Chris who gets the hint and silently walks out of the room to give us some privacy. Turning back to Erin, I step closer to her, placing my hands on her hips as I pull her toward me.

“Babe, I told you. I’m not taking any chances with this. I know you don’t like it,” I add, kissing her forehead. “And I know it’s going to piss you off, but like I said before, I am not going to let anything happen to you.”

Erin stares up at me, her mouth a tight line. “What about Finn?” she asks.

I take a deep breath, forcing my thoughts on Finn to stay buried, knowing they are the last thing she’s going to want to hear. “Finn has his own job to do,” I say. “He doesn’t have the time or the manpower for something like this.”

Erin doesn’t move, her hands still on her hips as she all but gives me the stink eye.

“Come on, Red,” I say, stepping nearer as I lean down and press a trail of kisses along her jaw. “Let me take care of you. Both of you.”

Erin lets out a loud huff, finally conceding as she wraps her arms around my waist and leans against me. “Fine,” she says, clearly still pissed about this arrangement. “But you better not stop me from doing anything,” she adds.

I pull back, brush a hand across her cheek. “As long as Chris is with you, you can do whatever you want, babe,” I say. “I’ll be back tonight, late cause I need to swing by my apartment.”

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