Page 16 of Splintered Security
I smooth a hand down my face, my fingers enjoying the prickle of stubble since I didn’t shave this morning before our errands. The bristles crackle under my palm as I survey the bags blanketing the floor of my bedroom. “The basics,” she’d said. “Just what I need.”
This isn’t counting the dress and all that goes with it for tomorrow. She’s said she doesn’t need it. It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t—or didn’t—she’s not going without it.
I insisted.
After all, it’s my wedding too. And as beautiful as Anni is, a dusty sweatshirt and jeans isn’t what either of us needs tomorrow.
She refused to show me what she got. It’s the only time we split up today. She wanted a few minutes to “surprise me.” I hated every minute she was alone and vulnerable, but the light in her eyes eclipsed the stress of the time apart.
Newsflash… Twenty-four hours ago, I was going to work. My boring job was mentally snooze-worthy and emotionally coma-inducing. Security at a club means watching camera screens and preserving my will to live.
I’m a man of action, not a man of monitoring, and since that’s been my life for nearly a year, I’ve most certainly been bored.
Surprise was watching as she walked through my club. My eyes trailed her every move through the monitors. It was the first time seeing her since… Well, I’d have to think on that. Since I left for the Army, maybe. I was in Pakistan when Aug died. There was no bereavement leave for your childhood best friend from that far away. So, maybe it’s like she said, more than a dozen years since I laid eyes on her. And I knew the moment she sashayed onto the screen that it was Annika Garver—only grown up, filled out, and on a mission.
The bomb threat—or rather, notification—came moments later. I told the team to do what I should’ve done, and instead, headed straight for the last place I saw her. Protecting her was my only thought—more than self-preservation, more than crumbling walls and collapsing ceilings.
She’d said all of two words to me, and I threw my body on hers, curving what I could around her, taking the brunt of everything.
On my back.
On my shoulders.
Just like always. Regardless of what had come between—basic, a tour in the Middle East, losing her brother, moving back stateside, starting a life—my only instinct was to protect her.
Come to think of it, the timing is beyond coincidental. So, yeah, surprising me might be underwhelming at this juncture.
But since I had something I needed to take care of, I took off for my errand and made sure she had my credit card and enough time.
Now, both of us back at home, I can smell her in my room, hear her in my house, and sense her getting under my skin. In less than twenty-four hours, she’s wiggled her way back into my very orderly life. And the evidence of her invasion is all over my home.
8
horny round-the-clock
Anni
Today has been a blur. I feel like Julia Roberts inPretty Woman, only not the high-priced hooker part.
I’ve carried more bags, made more purchases, and spent more money today than any other day in my life. He “insisted.” His face and body went hard when I told him what I planned.
We had a stare down. I hate confrontation. Ren does not. So he won.
On everything but my dress, though he doesn’t know that. That felt too personal. It’s not like I went into a bridal store or found a gown. It’s a dress, not a gown, but I love it. It’s stunning, and I feel beautiful in it.
I’d wear it given all the choices in the world. Wearing it to marry Ren Gallo is every dream I could ever have.
By the time I found the perfect shoes, I was giddy.
Ren ran out for something and returned in time to pile everything into his SUV and take us to eat. Lunch at four doesn’t sound right, but neither did breakfast at ten.
We were incredibly efficient—courthouse first, then phones, then to shop.
I’ve never been the wander-the-mall girl. Maybe as a teenager, but since? Nah. Give me online shopping and easy returns, so there’s no reason to wander store to store. That’s social, anyway. Between my job, and my friends leaving Pueblo the first chance they got, it doesn’t leave much time to meet up and meander in and out of storefronts to spend money on something just because it catches my eye.
I sound cynical. It’s just that life has gotten in the way for a while now. Even so, I’ve smiled more today than any day I can remember for a long, long time.
It’s not spending the money. I never have done that easily or frivolously. It’s the care Ren showed. I don’t know how else to describe his worrying about my safety and comfort, today and in the future, aside fromcare.
