Chapter 48
48
“Icould use a week of Little time,” she murmured.
“Then that’s what you’ll have.”
“I can’t. There’s too much going on. And I have a job. My boss will be angry if I don’t turn up to work.”
“I heard he’s very demanding.”
“Yes, very,” she agreed.
“Sexy, though.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
“And intelligent,” he added.
“Yes.”
“The best-looking man you’ve ever met.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
He tickled her and she squealed. She loved this playful side of him, it seemed to be coming out more. Maybe . . . maybe she was helping him feel more at ease? Perhaps he felt safe to let out other sides of himself like she did?
She liked that thought.
“Reuben,” Alejandro called through the door.
Reuben sighed. “Back to reality. But I will ensure you get as much Little time as you need. Even if you come with me to work and spend time as Little Blossom.”
God. That sounded good.
But she still had a job to do, even if she was dating the boss.
Reuben moved her so she was sitting on his hip. She watched as Cairn walked out carrying her bag, handbag and another large bag. She guessed it belonged to Cammie since she walked out behind the big, quiet bodyguard.
Alejandro walked over to Reuben, glancing around. “No signs of the neighbors stirring?”
“No, nothing.”
How had Reuben been keeping an eye on the neighbors? She’d been unable to concentrate on anything but him.
“Good,” Alejandro replied. “Take them home. We’ll deal with this.”
“How?” she asked.
Alejandro grinned. “You’re cute, chica.”
Then he walked away.
“What . . . what just happened? Why didn’t he reply? Why did he smile and call me cute?”
“You are cute. And he’s lucky I know he’s in love with Cat,” Reuben grumbled as he carried her to his car. Cammie was already sitting in the back. Cairn stood by the car; the luggage had disappeared.
Was he standing guard? Or keeping Cammie from running?
“You can’t be jealous about your friend calling me cute,” she told him.
“Jealous? No, more like murderous.”
“Daddy!”
“If it was someone else,” he allowed as he reached the car. “And Alejandro thinks you’re cute because you thought you got to know how he’s going to deal with Eric.”
Oh.
She’d thought it was a reasonable question. “They can’t kill him.”
“It’s no less than he deserves.”
“Reuben,” she whispered. It wasn’t that she actually cared whether Eric lived or died. The guy was an asshole.
But she did care about Alejandro and his men getting into trouble.
“Don’t worry.”
Cairn opened the door, and Reuben placed her into the front seat and then buckled her in. Cairn shut the door and Reuben stopped to speak to him for a moment.
She turned, wincing as her stomach ached.
“Are you all right?” she asked Cammie.
The other woman just stared at her coldly. Okay, she guessed she was in shock or something. Faith understood that. It wasn’t every day that your husband turned into a raging lunatic.
Faith turned back around as Reuben got in. He shot her a look. She attempted to smile back at him.
“I don’t have my phone,” Cammie said. “That man in there took it.”
“I’ll get it back for you tomorrow,” Reuben said.
She waited for Cammie to argue. Why would Alejandro or one of his men take her phone?
But Cammie said nothing, and Faith decided now wasn’t the time to ask.
Reuben reached over and grasped hold of her hand, placing it on his thigh. There was a strange tenseness to his body. She guessed he had a right to be tense after everything that happened.
Faith could only imagine how he’d felt getting that message from her, rushing to her, not knowing what was going on.
She had the feeling that he didn’t want to stop touching her. That he needed to know she was all right.
And she needed that too.
Finally, they were home.
They’d stopped at Alejandro and Cat’s house so a doctor could look both her and Cammie over.
Now, Faith was exhausted.
Reuben parked in his spot and then turned off the car. After he helped her out, he opened Cammie’s door. Cammie climbed out on her own while Reuben got their bags.
Faith reached for Cammie, but the other woman shied back and she had to hide her hurt. Faith was trying to be understanding.
Even though Eric was a dick, he was still her husband. This had to have been a shock.
As they climbed into the elevator, she winced as she took in Cammie’s face. “I’m sorry, I should have found you some ice to put on your face. We’ll get something up there.”
“Don’t bother,” Cammie replied. “I don’t want it.” There was a haunted look to her that was making Faith twitchy. “What will happen to Eric? He might need medical care. He’s going to need me when he wakes up.”
“You . . . you can’t want to be with him after what he did,” Faith said.
Cammie made a scoffing noise. “He’s my husband, Faith. I love him.”
“We’ll speak about this tomorrow. For now, we’re all going to bed.” He led them into the apartment. “Baby, go to bed and I’ll get Cammie settled.”
Faith nodded, feeling really unsure about all of this. Eric was firmly the bad guy in her head. Was he not the bad guy in Cammie’s?
How could he not be?