Page 63 of What Comes After

In the meantime, I was fully prepared to support her in any way that I could. Whatever it was going to take to see her through this was my only concern. I’d give her anything she needed.

Because I’d made a decision.

Devyn was going to be mine. It wasn’t going to happen today, and it probably wasn’t going to happen tomorrow. But when the time was right for her, we were going to get there.

For now, I was going to try to get her to have some fun, because she deserved it.

Devyn’s recovery was going well, and she was making improvements every day. She no longer needed to nap in the middle of the day, and she didn’t walk as gingerly across the room any longer. Despite the progress she’d made, she wasn’t quite a hundred percent yet, either.

So, as much as I had wanted to do things that would remind us both of the fun we used to have when we were kids, it was going to have to wait. I’d keep those ideas tucked safely in the back of my mind, and as soon as she was ready—hopefully by at least her birthday—we’d do it all.

Devyn Jade deserved the world.

If I could have given it all to her now, I would have.

But since she wasn’t ready, I’d hand her bits and pieces. Before she’d even realize what was happening, Devyn would have it all. She’d have everything right in the palm of her hands, and it was going to be me who gave it to her.

It was starting tonight.

Though I hadn’t forgotten a word she’d said to me the day she told me about what happened to her, there was one thing that stood out to me.

Devyn had indicated how much she’d been looking forward to going out that night she’d been attacked, because she hadn’t gone out in such a long time.

I’d decided to give her that tonight, but this time, she was going to have a much better time. Because not only was she going to have someone with her who wanted to be there and would give her his full focus and attention, but she was going to make it back to be able to sleep safely in her bed as well.

And although I’d had some concerns about how she’d react when I asked her to join me tonight, Devyn proved I had no reason to be.

“Really? You want to go out?” she countered after I’d asked. The tone of her voice indicated she was feeling surprised by my invitation.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

Devyn shot me an incredulous look. It was almost as though she believed I was asking a foolish question. “I realize we’re in Iris, but you’re not exactly an unrecognizable face.”

“It’ll be fine,” I insisted. “With what I have planned, I’ll be able to arrange for us to have some privacy. I promise you won’t have cameras in your face.”

She thought for all of a few seconds before she agreed, “Okay. I’d love to join you. It’s been a long time since the two of us have had the opportunity to do something fun together.”

Keeping it casual.

That was the plan.

I fully believed if I kept things laidback, if I didn’t put Devyn under any pressure, her heart would begin to soften, and I’d have a fighting chance.

Now, I was waiting down in the great room for Devyn, and I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t yet what I wanted it to be. It didn’t matter that she was upstairs getting herself ready to go. It didn’t matter that I was taking her out like anyone else who was dating someone would do. It didn’t matter that even if I knew it wasn’t going to happen, I desperately wanted to end this date with the two of us coming back to my place, where I could kiss her lips for the first time in twelve years.

Twelve years.

God, I didn’t know how I’d managed to survive that length of time without having another taste of her.

Patience.

As I heard her footsteps descending the stairs, I reminded myself of the goal. The only way I’d achieve it, the only possible chance I had of getting what I wanted, was to have patience.

Right.

Devyn was my friend. First and foremost, especially for right now, she was just my friend.

The moment she stepped into the room and came into view, I nearly lost it. In all the years that I’d known her, I couldn’t remember a time when I saw her dressed the way she was dressed now.

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