Renley
“Eveline hasn’t called me.”
“She always calls me.”
Shit, was he supposed to worry? “She was fine yesterday when I left. You think something happened?”
“ You happened.”
Now he was extra confused. “What?”
“She always calls on her vacations, at least once a day. She called every day last week—until you showed up. She never shuts off that brain of hers, but you somehow got her to do it.”
Oh.. . “Is that a bad thing?”
“It’s not, so I hope for your sake you don’t fuck this up.”
Renley gulped. “You don’t have to worry there, sir.”
Jeronimo gave a slow, approving nod. “Good.”
With that, he turned and walked out, leaving Renley rather dumbfounded but also proud of himself. It was true: Eveline had barely uttered a word about work when he was around.
Before returning home, he stopped in to check on the cats and wound up trapped by Flake for an hour, who demanded cuddles.
He sent videos and pictures to Eveline, who loved every single one.
It was sitting there that he realised the amount of trust she’d put in him—with her cats, with her home—and with her heart.
Saturday morning, he went grocery shopping for the both of them. He tried his best to remember what she’d gotten before, and made sure to have her fridge at least somewhat stocked upon her return.
When his phone rang and her name popped up, he shook his head. “I hope you are parked somewhere.”
“It’s called Bluetooth, Renley. Even the old people use it.”
“Time for you to get home. You wouldn’t be speaking so unkindly about yourself if I were next to you.”
Eveline laughed, the sound making his heart flutter. “I’ll be there in an hour.”
“Perfect, we’re already impatiently waiting. Be safe.”
“I will be.” She blew him a kiss and ended the call.
He tried to calm his impatience by petting Flake and Luna, nearly stumbling over his own feet when he finally heard the garage door open. Unable to hide his smile, he emerged into the garage just as she was transferring into her chair.
“Kitten,” he purred, taking her cheeks between his palms and kissing her. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
As she went inside to greet her demanding fur babies, he followed behind with her bags. “I picked up some frozen pizzas. I thought we could have a home movie and pizza night.”
“Sounds like my kind of evening.” As he took out all the ingredients and set them on the counter, Eveline stared into the fridge. “You filled my fridge.”
“I did and I hope I got all your favourites. I tried to remember as much as I could.”
Eveline let out a dreamy sigh. “I don’t deserve you.”
“I thought you were going to speak more kindly about yourself with me around.”
She let out a laugh and joined him on his side of the counter, withdrawing the cutting board and a knife. “Thank you for looking after me.”
He kissed her hair and side by side they stacked their pizzas with tomatoes, onions, bacon, and a ton of extra cheese.
They stuck on Eveline’s favourite show, spoiling the cats with treats as they ate before relaxing with their knitting.
Though he had his own blanket to finish, he was mesmerised by Eveline’s fingers somehow juggling five needles at the same time.
Eventually, her head found its way into his lap, hair splayed over his legs as he combed through it.
“Can we go to the gym tomorrow?” she asked, sleepily.
“We can, but you can take the day to rest if you like.”
“I feel like if I don’t do it now, I’ll be too nervous to go at all.”
“Then we should get some sleep. The gym is the emptiest first thing in the morning.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
He lifted her into his arms bridal-style, and she instantly nuzzled into his neck. Letting her change, he retrieved her wheelchair, finding her cuddled up with the cats when he returned.
Although Eveline tried to hide it, she was clearly nervous. Without saying a word, he held her close and soothed her with gentle touches and soft kisses until she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, he made her breakfast, and had to physically put his jaw back in place when she emerged from the bedroom in her gym outfit. The tight shorts and a loose t-shirt that she’d tied at her side had him drooling everywhere. “I don’t believe I’m the one everyone is going to lust after.”
Eveline clearly struggled with accepting the compliment, and offered nothing more than a soft smile as she refilled her water bottle. Seeing that she was too nervous to finish a full plate, he packed a few snacks in case she got hungry later.
When they arrived at his gym, he signed her in as his guest and then with his fingers soothingly massaging her neck, he guided her to the cables. As he’d hoped, the gym was sparsely occupied, which seemed to relax Eveline quite a bit.
“I thought we could work on arm strength first?” he suggested.
“Only if you show me yours.”
Leaning down he ran his nose over her ear. “Anything my kitten wants.”
As he worked, Eveline’s hungry eyes had him red-faced and sweating in no time—and not from the effort.
Once the first hurdles of fear and hesitation had been climbed and put behind her, she actually seemed to enjoy it.
He definitely enjoyed watching her, and when she tested her limits by adding more and more weight, it made him ridiculously proud.
Keeping the session short, he soon kissed her forehead. “Well done. Let’s get you home.”
“I can already feel the sore muscles I’ll have tomorrow.”
“Will you come more often?” he carefully asked and handed her the water bottle.
“Maybe once a week? I could ask my physical therapist to help with some exercises.”
“Look at us learning each other’s hobbies.”
Eveline tugged him down by his shirt and demanded a kiss. “Thank you for doing this with me and being so patient.”
“Frankly, you looked hot. I don’t know how I’ll keep my head straight if we keep doing this together.”