Page 57 of The Lost and the Found

Logan

She fell asleep halfwayto my place.

I couldn’t help but watch her every chance I got, and I loved that she felt comfortable enough with me to fall asleep in my presence. That I could make her feel secure enough to let down that carefully constructed wall she built around herself and the world, and let only me in.

I shook her awake and she grumbled something in her sleep before opening her tired, but no less beautiful, blue eyes at me. “Hey, sleepyhead. We’re here.”

She closed her eyes again and sat up. Then, letting out a groan, she let her head fall forward until it gently hit the dashboard. I laughed out loud. She was too goddamn adorable for her own good and, shaking my head a little, I shut off the car engine before climbing out.

She let out a small shiver when I opened the door for her, and I quickly reached in for her, undoing her seatbelt first. She shot me a mean look when I picked her up, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

I had no doubt she would take it as an insult, and I liked my balls, so no, I wasn’t going to piss her off any more than that.

“This doesn’t mean anything. Just because you can pick me up does not mean I don’t weigh much,” she said petulantly, her bottom lip sticking out in a small pout while her eyes remained closed. God, did she not know how fucking cute that was?

I bet she wouldn’t be pouting if she knew.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and opened her eyes to look at me when I didn’t move right away.

“Why are we just standing in the middle…” she looked around, “of a parking lot? I’m cold.”

“I didn’t realize you were so insecure about your weight.”

She looked away then, as if she was unable to meet his eyes. “Why? Just because I look and act confident most of the time doesn’t mean I can’t be insecure about certain things. There are things about myself that I don’t like.”

I knew that, but I thought her insecurity about her wight had more to do with the times she’d spent as a homeless teen and less about how she looked.

I moved quickly to the elevator when she shivered again. She didn’t say anything, and I wondered what I would have to give for the ability to read her mind.

We rode the elevator up in silence, and I stared at our reflections in the elevator door.

Her hair was a mess, and she looked half awake. And though it was hard to tell in the mirror, I knew her makeup was all smudged. She looked absolutely fucking beautiful.

We stopped at my floor near the top of the building and the elevator doors opened straight into my apartment. I watched her take everything in and I shifted her closer to me.

I didn’t know why it was important to me that she liked my place, only that I hoped she would, but I also knew this could be pretty intimidating for someone who wasn’t used to it.

My place wasn’t as lavish as Gage’s, but it was more than Mason’s suburban house. I knew our places might seem to be worlds away, but I wanted her to get used to the idea that this could be hers as well.

“Say something,” I said quietly, bending down close to her ear.

“I didn’t know,” she replied, her tone soft. “I didn’t know you lived like this.”

“Is this wrong?” I asked gruffly. “I know it can be a lot to take in. But I promise, you’ll get used to it soon enough.”

I tried to look at the place from her point of view.

All in all, it looked like a bachelor pad, with a black sectional sofa taking up most of the space in the living room. The entire floor was an open concept, and everything could be seen from where we stood.

I didn’t think too much about the design when I bought the place, but it was sorely missing anything warm or welcoming.

For so long, it was just I place I went to sleep. I probably spent more time at my office than here, and I regretted not hiring a decorator to make it more homely.

Hayden moved to my kitchen and I followed her. I wondered if she liked it. I knew she was big on cooking, but I didn’t know if it was because she liked to cook or because she didn’t want to spend money on takeout.

If I had to guess, I’d say it was the latter.

The kitchen was nice, but I hardly ever spent any time there. It was probably as big as her entire apartment. It had stainless steel appliances and spherical light fixtures hanging from the ceiling, right above the big grayish granite kitchen island.

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