Chapter 10 #2
“No worries,” I interrupted. “You obviously have”—I waved my hand between him and Kimber—“stuff to deal with. If you’ll just tell me where our rooms are, I’ll take care of it myself.”
He looked like he wanted to keep arguing, but finally thought better of it.
“Liddy’s on the second floor at the end of the hall on the right.
You’re right across from me,” he answered, a knowing gleam in his eye as he continued, “I’m sure you remember where mine is, yeah?
Especially with how many hours you spent in it. ”
The fucker. I narrowed my eyes into angry slits. “I’m sure I can find my way,” I sneered. Then I turned and stomped away, wanting to escape the both of them.
I might have hated Kimber with every fiber of my being, but her timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Her unwanted arrival saved me from making an epic mistake.
I took the stairs two at a time, moving fast until I made it to the room Garrett indicated.
Once there, I closed the door and fell against it, eyes closed.
After I got control of myself, I worked on rebuilding the shield that was starting to feel more and more pointless the longer I spent in Garrett’s presence.
When I finally peeled my eyes open, I sucked in a surprised gasp at what I saw. I’d been expecting boxes stacked all around the floor and my double bed sitting on the cheap adjustable metal frame pushed against one of the walls.
Instead, the room was full of furniture I’d never seen before.
There was a huge dresser along the right wall closest to the door, and a matching chest with even more drawers between the two large windows directly across from me.
A king-size bed with a massive, buttoned, white leather headboard sat in the middle of the wall directly across from the dresser with a nightstand on each side of it.
Just inside the door to my left was a writing desk with a plush velvet chair in a deep shade of navy blue.
The walls were painted a pale dove gray, creating a nice, homey contrast with the distressed white of all the furniture.
The bed was covered in a fluffy white comforter with navy and gray paisley patterns all over it, and a ton of throw pillows in the same accent colors.
It was the most beautiful room I’d ever seen, and if I’d had unlimited funds I would have decorated it the exact same way.
Several of the boxes had been opened and my framed photos of Liddy sat interspersed on the surfaces of the furniture.
I slowly moved across the hardwood floor, covered in attractive area rugs with gray, navy, and white designs, to the open closet in the far right corner of the room.
My clothes were hanging in perfect order, my shoes paired up and stacked along the shelves above.
It wasn’t lost on me that my clothes and shoes didn’t even take up a quarter of the massive walk-in space.
I backed out of the closet, closing the door behind me, and moved on autopilot across the room to the en suite, leaning through the doorway to inspect.
Sure enough, my cosmetics and other toiletries were scattered around the large vanity counter.
My shampoo and conditioner rested on a tiled ledge in a glass-fronted shower that was big enough to hold my old bed.
I was so absorbed by what I was looking at that I hadn’t heard the bedroom door open until Garrett’s voice came from behind me.
“Do you like it?”
I straightened and looked over my shoulder at where he stood against the doorframe. “It’s beautiful,” I said. “But… where’s all my stuff?”
“Like I said, it was kinda trashed, so I got you all new stuff.”
My mouth hung agape as he entered the room, walking toward the bed and taking a seat on the edge. I moved around it so I could see his face as I asked incredulously, “What do you mean, you got me knew stuff?”
Garrett rubbed his palms along his denim-clad thighs as if he was nervous to answer.
“All you had was a shitty Ikea dresser that was barely holding together, and no one over the age of twenty should sleep in a double bed, so I bought you all new stuff. I did my best unpacking some of your stuff so it’d feel more like home, but I wasn’t sure where to put everything.
If there’s anything you don’t like, let me know and I’ll get you something else.
I tried to get stuff that seemed like you, but if I was off the mark, I can fix it. Just say the word.”
Oh God. Oh no. Nonononono! “You… you bought this for me?” I questioned with a watery whisper, nearly choking on my emotions as my eyes began to burn.
He must have seen the tears welling in my eyes, because his face fell as he asked, “Is it that bad? Shit. I really tried—”
“You bought this for me,” I repeated, that time as a statement, not a question. “You tried to make it feel more like a home for me.” Yep, I was still whispering.
He stood, appearing antsy. “Well I did the best I could. This is your home, after all.” I hung my head when a tear broke free and trickled down my cheek, not wanting him to see me cry.
“Fuck, baby,” he rasped. His boots clomped against the floorboards as he made his way to me, his fingers once again under my chin, forcing my face to his.
“What’d I do wrong? Tell me and I’ll fix it, I swear.
” His thumb swept the wet from my skin. “Why’re you crying? ”
“Because you’re being really nice to me!” I cried dramatically, throwing my arms out wide. “I told you I don’t know how to handle it!”
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug as his body vibrated with laughter.
That was just another thing I was struggling with.
The way he touched me or held me like it was his right whenever we were within feet of each other threw me completely out of balance.
We might have shared a daughter, but we hardly knew each other at all.
The familiarity he used with me was unnerving, to say the least. All of that, coupled with him suddenly calling me baby, freaked me the hell out.
“Well, we’ll just have to get you used to it, huh?”
I wasn’t so sure that was possible.