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“My parents are out of town at the moment, so I was thinking we’d go over to their house for a swim. I’ve called Mrs. Beck, their cook and main housekeeper. She’s making us something for dinner. Nailyah is headed to Atlanta to stay with my other sister, Lela, for a couple of days. We’ll have it all to ourselves.”
I placed a hand on my hip and looked at him. “I can cook,” I informed him.
His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at me. “I’m sure you can. But today’s been a lot. I want you to relax and enjoy life.”
Today had been a roller coaster, but that didn’t mean I had to be pampered. I’d had worse days. Much worse. Days that he couldn’t imagine.
“Fine. But if we are going to live here, then we aren’t going to be spoiled princesses. I can cook, and Dovie and I both can clean.”
His smile tightened. “You’re not cleaning.”
Like hell. I started to argue, but saw the uncertainty on Dovie’s face and stopped. This was a conversation that we’d have without her around to listen. She had no gauge for how homes—stable, safe homes—worked. I didn’t want her to be scared of Storm because we argued.
I returned his tight smile and just nodded.
It took three days before my anxiety started to set in. I was sure it would have happened sooner if Storm hadn’t kept me distracted.
We had gone for a walk over their property, and he showed Dovie and me the land that would be his sisters one day. They didn’t have peach trees on theirs, but they did have pecan trees. We went to the Shephards’ stables, and I rode Noor again. I was growing attached to her. It had been as if we were in our own little bubble. Reality had ceased to exist for a little while.
He’d had to leave this morning to handle work, and I hadn’t asked for details because his line of work was something I doubted he would share. Without him here, I had time to let this all sink in. Digest everything he’d done so far, and the realization that he’d done more for me—no, us—than anyone ever had made me want to throw up my guard. I no longer felt in control, and I wasn’t sure how to navigate that.
Storm was slowly taking decisions away from me.
I stood in the living room, my gaze on the backyard with my hands tucked in the back pockets of my cutoff jeans. As magical as the past few days had felt, looking back over it, I now saw it differently. It was terrifying.
I had always been the playmaker. The problems were mine to fix. Sure, I’d used wealthy men for money, but not once had I ever given them any real power. I let them think they had it, but they never did. I chose when to leave. I decided when it was over. And I never let them inside my walls. When they’d claimed to love me, I had always smiled and kissed them. But I never said the words back. Not trusting anyone with my heart had been my ultimate weapon.
With Storm, I didn’t have that in my arsenal. What we were doing here was foreign to me. It was so out of my comfort zone. Not only had I fallen in love with a man, but I’d done so with the most dangerous one I’d ever met. It wasn’t like I could take Dovie and run from him. He’d find me.
I didn’t want to run.
If I ever needed to leave him, it would wreck me.
I no longer recognized myself.
The phone in my pocket began to ring, and I slid it out to see Storm’s name. My chest instantly eased, and I knew that, too, was something I should worry about. The influence he had over my emotions. I feared it was something I had no control over. Add it to the list of things I was losing my grip on.
“Hello?” I said into the phone.
“You doing okay?” he asked with concern etched in his tone.
I frowned, wondering why he was asking me that. “Yes. Just waiting on Dovie to wake up and come downstairs.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry you have to stay in the house today. I should be home around four. There’s a celebration party over at Stellan’s. The Shephards’ house tonight. One of our horses won the Belmont Stakes.”
I had no clue about horse racing, but I smiled, happy for him. “That’s wonderful.”
“It’s a formal thing. There will be two women coming by at one o’clock. They’ll have dresses for you both to choose from, and they’ll do your hair and makeup.”
That wasn’t something I’d ever experienced.
“I have two formal dresses that are nice. I could wear one, and I have a sewing kit, so I can alter the other one so that Dovie can use it. As for hair and makeup, we can do our own. You don’t need to send someone over here for that.”
