Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 101254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Now?
The thought of doing those things threatens to send me reeling.
Already I feel the tingling in my fingers once more.
I draw in a deep breath and stave off the impending panic.
All I need to do is get into a car. Get in a car with a driver who has passed the best security clearance there is with this man who, though I don’t know him, can be trusted because his brother is marrying my best friend.
Ben returns from the bathroom, checking his phone. “He’s here.”
He takes care not to touch me as he leads me out of the bar. His car—a black BMW—is parked outside on the street. Sherlock, a tall man with brown hair mostly hidden under his chauffeur’s hat, gets out, comes over to the sidewalk, opens the back door, and offers his hand to me.
I don’t take it.
“I’d offer to help you in the car but…” Ben says.
“I’m fine, thank you.” I slide into the back seat, edging over so that I’m behind the driver’s seat. Ben gets in after me, keeping to his own side.
“Where do you live?” he asks me.
I rattle off my address, and Sherlock begins to drive.
I don’t know what to say, so I say nothing.
But I’m very aware that I’m sitting next to a man. A man who doesn’t frighten me nearly as much as I expected him to.
Still…I feel frozen. My skin feels numb, and I’m antsy. I just want to get home. Get out of the car. Get up to my apartment and cuddle with Rita.
We don’t speak the whole way there, and when we finally arrive at my place, I immediately try to open the car door.
It’s locked, of course.
Locked.
I’m locked in.
The tingles start again—
Ben’s low voice eases the panic. “Sherlock will get that for you, and I’ll see you up.”
“That’s not necessary.”
A man hasn’t been to my apartment since…
“I’m not asking to come in, Tessa. I just want to see you to your door. Make sure you get in safely.”
What I’m feeling is such a contradiction. Part of me wants the security of his presence. After all, what if someone is waiting for me? What if Garrett is waiting for me?
But on the other hand…
His nearness makes my skin prickle, and not in a good way.
I desperately want to be free from him. Yet I also want him to walk me to my apartment.
Sherlock opens the car door for me and extends his hand, which I don’t take. He doesn’t seem offended, though. He just closes the door behind me and gets back into the driver’s seat.
Ben follows me to the building entrance. “Which floor are you on?” he asks.
“Fourth.”
My place doesn’t have an elevator, which sucks, but it’s part of the reason why the rent is so cheap.
Ben follows me up the stairs, staying close but careful not to touch me.
We get to the fourth floor, and I walk the two doors over to my apartment. Rita’s barks pierce through from the other side.
“You have a dog?” Ben asks.
“I do. I need to take her down to do her business.”
“It’s dark outside, Tessa.”
“I know that, but the dog has to go out.”
“I’ll take her for you.”
“She won’t go with you,” I say. “You’re a stranger.”
“Then we’ll go together.”
The man has an answer for everything.
Nausea makes its way from my stomach up my throat. I swallow it back. “This is a safe neighborhood, Ben. I’ll be fine.”
But he stays outside my apartment as I unlock my door, calm Rita down, and get her leash attached to her collar. I’m equal parts annoyed and relieved.
Ben doesn’t say a word—neither do I—as we walk down the stairs together.
I usually take Rita on a short walk every morning before work to give her some exercise. But the rest of the time, we only stay out until she goes to the bathroom. Lately, I’ve been lazy about the walks, though.
Normally it’s just a pee in the evening, but tonight it’s number two as well. And of course, I forgot the bag. Ben has me flustered, off my usual routine.
“I’ve got to go back upstairs and get a bag,” I say.
“You think she’ll stay with me? That way you don’t have to drag her up with you.” He kneels and scratches her behind her ears. “You’re a sweet girl, aren’t you?”
Surprisingly, Rita takes to Ben, and it will be easier for me to trudge back upstairs to get the bag without her tagging along. But that isn’t entirely the point. I pin Ben with a look. “You mean you’re going let me go alone, when a few minutes ago you wouldn’t?”
He simply smiles. “If you’re not back in five minutes, Rita and I are coming up.”
Something in me wants to return his smile.
But I don’t. I just turn and leave to get the bag.