Fifteen minutes later, there’s a knock on the door, and Everleigh jumps. Sassy lifts her head, then slowly jumps on the couch. I’m happy to see her moving around.
I take the pizza from the delivery driver and hand him a tip. When I turn around, Everleigh is staring at me with a wide-eyed expression.
“Food and then a shower for you,” I order. “You’re tense, and you need to try to relax.”
“After the Escalade and the detectives and Chad’s crazy family, the last thing I can do is relax,” she admits. “Maybe I should get a security camera.”
“Couldn’t hurt,” I say.
We sit on the couch and eat slices of greasy pizza with juicy pineapple pieces. It’s exactly what we needed. She puts on a show, and we watch in silence. After we’re done eating, I put the leftovers in the fridge and meet her back in the living room.
Sassy’s lying next to her, still begging for crumbs.
“I think I’m gonna take a shower,” I tell her.
“Not a bad idea,” she says. “I kinda want to sit in the tub until my skin prunes. Do some meditations or something to calm the hell down before bed.”
I grin. “Good. I’ll be waiting for you.”
After I’ve showered, I wipe down the kitchen counters while I wait for Everleigh. Exhaustion takes over, so I go lie in bed, fighting sleep until I know she’s in here with me.
Finally, she slides under the sheets, and I exhale. Her soft lavender-scented skin presses against mine as I hold her in my arms. Her closeness is calming, and I don’t know how I’d adjust if she decided to start sleeping in her room again.
“Feel better?” I mutter.
The moon peeks through the blinds, giving me just enough light to see her gorgeous features. “Yeah, a lot.”
I garner up the courage to ask her something that’s been on my mind all day.
“I have a question for you…” I linger, swallowing hard.
She studies my face and patiently waits, but I know she’s ready to explode inside. That’s just how Everleigh is.
“I’d like to go visit Annie and Sadie.”
She makes a face, and I find her reaction adorable. “You don’t need my permission to see your sister and niece.”
I chuckle softly. “Oh, I know that. But I wanted to see if you’d like to join me?”
“Wait, seriously?”
“Well, yeah. She mentioned coming here, but I wasn’t sure it was a good idea with everything going on. Plus, it’s hard for her to travel with her job and Sadie. Then I thought about leaving you here alone and don’t like the idea of that either.”
“So, I’m tagging along like a piece of luggage.”
I roll my eyes because she likes to mess with me every chance she gets. “Yeah, one big pain in the ass luggage.”
She chuckles. “When would you wanna go?”
“Depends on your schedule. Tyler already told me I could have off whenever.”
I watch as she licks her lips and gazes into my eyes.
“What about next weekend? Lexie would cover for me. Dana and Heidi are already scheduled, but they love the extra hours.”
“So that’s a yes?”
“Absolutely!” Her tone rises with excitement.