He glanced at her when they stopped at a light. “I’d rather you stay with me, baby. Would that be okay?”
She had dreaded getting to the city for one reason, and that was that she’d be separated from Travis. Now that she had a choice, she felt almost lightheaded with relief. “Can we just go to your place?”
He reached for her hand, lifted it, and kissed her palm. “I’d be thrilled to take you to our place.”
She grinned. He sounded so serious and loving, it brought tears to her eyes.
They pulled into an underground parking lot.
“Is this where you live?”
“Yes, the first three floors are the security business my partners, and I have, and the rest of the floors are apartments for each of us.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, wow. So, you don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to?”
“Oh, I still have to go places to put in bids for security systems or make sure they are up and running right.”
“Is this the only way to get into the place?”
“No, there are two doors in front. One for the business and a smaller one for the partners’ personal spaces. We have a security man in the lobby of our residence.”
“But not on the business side?”
“No, you have to come into the bigger lobby, and the receptionist will let you come up. There are security men all around, so you can’t just come up.”
“Okay.”
He grabbed their bags and led her to the elevator. He put in a code. “Remember this code, baby. That code just goes to our place.”
“Okay.”
The higher they went, the tighter her stomach got. She would never have thought she’d be running from her brother and ending up living with a man she’d met days ago.
The elevator doors opened into a foyer. The floor was beautiful hardwood throughout the area she was able to see.
“Each apartment is different. We designed our own space.”
“This is beautiful. You did a great job.”
“Don’t give me too much credit. I said I wanted hardwood, and they brought me three samples. I tried going to one of the stores with the thousands of different floors you can choose from, and I was overwhelmed. I did the same with paint and then had the work done.”
She giggled. “I know what you mean. I like what you picked.”
“If there is anything you want to change, just tell me.”
She almost choked. That wouldn’t happen for a very long time.
“Let’s go to bed, unless you’re hungry.”
She shook her head. “I’m not. I would like to take a shower.”
“Okay. Follow me, sweetheart.”
He took her to the last door down a long hallway.
She stopped right inside the door. The furniture was a dark brown that matched the stripes in the bedspread. Different shades of blue and gray were added everywhere. The carpet was a deep blue color, and the wall a creamy white, which lightened up the room. The bed was huge, but it still didn’t take up much space in the large room. Besides the bed, there were nightstands and a seating area off to the side. Across from the bed was a widescreen TV.
To the right were two doors.