Page 33 of Her Surprise Protector
“You did it!” Those three words were all I could think of to say when Riker descended the steps of his private jet onto the runway in Manhattan. “You did it,” I repeated, laughing after I had thrown the arm not busy holding Bree around his neck and stood on tiptoe to give him a bear hug.
“Of course, I did. Did you actually believe I wouldn’t?” Riker asked, retrieving the luggage he had dropped in the course of my near attack.
“I never doubted you would,” I said, only somewhat fudging the truth. I had half-feared that Oscar would never return and give Riker a chance to end this. But, given that chance, I had never doubted Riker’s ability to take him down. “He’s really gone?”
“Yep, he’s really gone,” Riker promised. “You’ll have to testify in court, but we got digital proof he was trespassing. And we found one of those threatening notes he’s been leaving you in his pocket. No, I won’t tell you what it said. It’s time to leave that in the past, Elena. Oscar is going to prison, and we’re going to file a restraining order against him. So, when he’s released from jail, he’ll never come near you and Bree ever again. Ever!”
“That’s such a relief,” I admitted, my voice muffled against Riker’s broad, comforting shoulder. “I’ve just- I’ve been wondering how to deal with Oscar for a long time. Years.”
“Not anymore.” Riker kissed the top of my head. “Let’s go to the apartment, have some lunch, and then I’ll help you pack. You’re going home, Elena.”
Going home.Those words were the sweetest I had heard in my life.
Bree looked on with her usual innocent, wide-eyed expression. She didn’t get what had happened, not yet. She would when we went back to Montauk, and she started seeing her daycare friends and Michael again. Home was the place where you belonged, and to us, that meant Montauk.
Riker felt it too. I knew that. It hadn’t escaped me that he hadn’t said, “Let’s gohomeand pack.” Riker loved the Hamptons. The Eagle’s Perch was his home, not his penthouse in Manhattan. If his work wasn’t here, well…I had the feeling he would turn his back on the city and never return.
Riker had stepped away to help his pilot load his bags into the trunk of the car, leaving me to experience all these realizations. I wasn’t done; one more thing pushed its way into my head. Putting Oscar away wasn’t just good news for me. Riker, too, had been kept in Manhattan, staying with me and comforting me whenever I felt down or hopeless. He must have missed the Hamptons as much as I did.
So, when he came back, I kissed him again. He returned it, of course, and I couldn’t help but touch a finger to the little confused smile on his lips. “What was that for?” He asked.
“Thank you. I so appreciate everything you have done for us.” I hoped Riker felt all the ways I meant those words.
Riker pulled me down to my knees so we could have a group hug with Bree. “You’re welcome,” he said with sparkling eyes, “but I didn’t have a choice. I love you and Bree, and I’d do anything for you, anything.”
Gazing across the top of Bree’s sandy, curly hair and into Riker’s eyes, I knew it was true, and my heart swelled so much that the only reason I didn’t suffocate was that we all had so much to do.
A short car ride later, and we could get started. The three of us began packing right away, Bree even doing her part of picking up her toys. She could sense that something was up, and she held her concentration for all the stuffed animals and two of the dolls before she forgot and started playing. I helped her with the rest, finished my own packing, and then, well…then we left. Just like that, after over a month of living here together, all three of us rushed out of the penthouse door without looking back.
A tiny twinge of nervousness took my stomach and tightened it, taking the insides and squeezing them together without telling me why.Oscar’s gone,I reminded myself, trying to rediscover that triumph I had felt when Riker gave me the news.Everything is fine now.
But everything didn’t feel fine. Something in my gut wriggled and squirmed, waving its arms around to get my attention.
“Are you okay?” Riker asked after he had buckled Bree into her seat on the plane while I stowed her bag away under the seat.
I wished he wouldn’t do that. Riker had some sort of Elena-sense that told him something was off about me before I even knew how to put a name to my feelings, which meant I didn’t really have an honest answer to that question yet. “Yeah.” I smiled, trying to make the word feel true. “It’s just so sudden, you know? But a good sudden.”
“I know exactly what you need.” The plane revved and began rolling forward to line up for takeoff, but Riker stood up from his seat and walked over to the in-house…in-jet? Bar.
“I can wait until we land to drink,” I protested, fairly sure that even though Riker owned this jet, he wasn’t supposed to be walking around during takeoff.
“Aw, really?” Riker managed to look both pouty and mischievous as he poured two glasses of red wine to spite my words. “I guess Bree will have to drink this with me.”
“Just give me the glass.” I lightly slapped his arm after I took it. “Now, sit down, please.”
He did, after reaching for Bree’s bag, handing her the doll she was holding the very first time they had met and helping her open a juice box. I stared at Riker unabashedly, eyeing him with contemplation, interest, and love until he noticed and gave me one of the smiles he reserved only for me. “What?”
“It’s just…” I stopped, realizing that wasn’t how I meant to start. “Remember when we first met? And when we second met?”
Riker shook his head at the termsecond met, but answered positively with his voice. “I couldn’t possibly forget those times. I nearly made the biggest mistake of my life.”
“But you didn’t, and I love you,” I hastened to assure him, knowing I would do anything to keep those brown eyes from turning remorseful. “It’s just…you’re so thoughtful. And caring. And sometimes it still surprises me.”
“Probably because I’m not this way with everyone. Just the people I really care about, and that list is pretty short since my parents passed away.”
I was so used to Riker’s teasing that I never really knew how to take his serious side. I would learn that in time, though, and I had already learned a lot in the month we had lived together. I never wanted to stop learning about Riker, and I knew one thing that I’d like to start with, if he’d let me. “Riker, will you let me read your poetry? Please?”
He twisted one of his fingers in his other hand, rubbing at the callous on his palm. “I…maybe. Ask me again tonight after a couple more glasses of wine.”
