“I can nearly hear your negative thoughts through the phone, Kelsey.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m here. Where are you?”
“Bathroom.”
He doesn’t speak, but he doesn’t hang up the phone either. I hear the door creak and the phone goes dead as there’s a light knock on the door.
“Kels?”
My fingers shake as I unlatch the lock. I barely have the door open when his enormous arms wrap around me. My face pressed against his chest, inhaling his soothing scent. His chest purrs, and I can’t help but sob all over again. He’s always there when I need him, no questions asked.
“You’re all right, baby. I got you.” He just holds me, scratching my back. The rumble of his purr vibrates against me, soothing me. He doesn’t push me, he doesn’t carry me out of the grocery store over his shoulder. How does he know? He always just seems to know what I need.
He just holds me. I’m not sure for how long, but my breathing is even and I’m not crying anymore. I feel safe.
“I think I’m okay to leave now.” My head leaves his chest and I look up into his deep brown eyes. He gently kisses my forehead, and I sigh.
“Well, I’m not letting you drive home. We will need to leave your car here.”
I nod my head, part of me not wanting to leave the warm safety of his arms. His thumbs swipe under my eyes, and I give him a watery smile.
He holds my hand as we walk throughout the grocery store. I’m shaky as I look around, hoping to all hell we don’t run into Meera. To be honest, I have no idea how Dom would react. He knows everything, all the gory details. He and Robin are really the only ones who know the entire story. Even Smith got a shortened version of the events.
Dom must notice me looking around. He lets go of my hand, and I seriously am about to cry over it. He places his arm over my shoulder, pushing me into his body, and I sigh out an air of relief.
“We gotta go pick up Cameron and then we can go to your house,” he says.
“Okay,” I say. Though I wonder if Cameron doesn’t drive, I don’t question it. I just want to get the fuck out of this store.
Once we get to Dom’s truck, he opens the door for me. The car smells like a mix of him and Cameron and it’s extremely comforting. I relax. The soft leather under my fingertips and the distance from the store helps the tension leave my body.
I can finally breathe soundly. It helps even more when Dom takes my hand in the car and holds it the whole way to his house to pick up Cameron.
Chapter 12
Itwouldbegreatif the woman next to me would stop scaring the ever living shit out of me at every opportunity. It felt like my stomach dipped out of my ass when she called me, crying. I never want to see Kelsey hurt like this ever again. I don’t have to ask what made her have a panic attack. Clearly, she saw Meera or something about that situation. Kelsey is usually so confident and lighthearted. The only thing that could cause this is something revolving around her ex.
I want to bundle her up in a ton of soft blankets and never let her go. Her small hand is in mine as we park in the driveway. Before I even got to the grocery store, I texted Cameron and let him know I was on my way to pick him up.
“So, this is your house?” Kelsey says next to me. It’s the first time she has spoken since we left Safeway.
“Yeah, I forgot you haven’t been here yet.”
“Can we go inside?”
“If that’s what you would like,” I say. Hoping to all hell that the house isn’t a complete disaster. Cameron and I aren’t the cleanest. She opens her car door, not giving me a chance to get it for her, so I exit the vehicle and walk her to the front door.
I’m proud of the house that Cameron and I have, even if it’s not tidy. She looks around the foyer and smiles.
“I like it,” she says, looking at anything and everything. The space is modern with clean lines and minimalist decorations. Mostly because we just haven’t had time. I’ve really only spent the majority of the time on Cameron’s nest and our bedroom.
She sees a photo of Cameron and me that we took at Virginia Beach a few weeks ago, both of us bare-chested and smiling at the camera. She holds the photo frame between her delicate fingers and smiles. “You look happy, Dom.”
“I am happy.” I watch as her face falls.
“Maybe you should take me home,” she says.