“Thank you,” I whisper quietly, smiling ever so slightly to myself. “I appreciate it, Will. You have no idea.”
Chapter 18 – William
“Are you sure this is okay?” Serena whispers to me for what feels like the hundredth time. “I don’t want to put you through all of this. You have already done so much for us, we don’t want to take anymore from you, Will…”
“Serena, I want you here.” I step out of the car and wrap my arms comfortingly around her when she does the same thing. I don’t know exactly what we are at the moment, there isn’t exactly anything solid between us, but we have become a lot more comfortable with slight physical contact with one another these days. “By the way, this is only my weekend house anyway.” I point towards the mansion and her eyes pop wide in surprise. “I don’t spend a lot of time here because it’s much too big for one person so it will be nice to have some noise in the place.”
“Wow, this is something else.” She rests her hands on her hips and stares at the building in awe. “I can’t believe that you have this incredible place, yet you spend most of the time at the apartment. I mean, I guess I get it because of the distance, it’s much easier to get to work when it’s just around the corner, but this is incredible.”
“I won’t be going back to the apartment this week when you are here,” I reassure her. “Like I said to you, the distance has always been a bit of a bitch, but I want to be around for you and your mom.”
We both look at Maria in the car to see her fiddling with her brand new cell phone, trying her hardest to get used to it. I feel sorry for her past but everything is new for her now, she is about to try and get used to a new life without the man who has been around her for years, even if he is a scum bag. It will be different for her without him. I’m sure she will struggle with it for a while but eventually she will see that life is so much better without him around.
“David might be in jail,” Serena sighs. “But she’s still afraid. She might not be saying it to me out loud, but I can tell. She has become a wreck because of him and I think it’s going to take her a while to recognize that she doesn’t have to be afraid anymore. So, I am so grateful for you letting us stay with you. This is a house that David doesn’t know, it’s far away from everything that Mom is used to, and it has good security as well.”
“Oh, for sure.” I cock my head to one side and smile. “You guys will be very safe here. Nothing to worry about.”
“That’s why this is so great.” She takes my hand in hers. “And, I can’t thank you enough.”
There is something sizzling and burning in the air between us, the elements of our intense chemistry is coming back, but I need to be careful because I’m the one who still want her and she is the one who put a downer on us. She wanted to put us on hold because of the work situation, so if anything is going to happen between us it has to be up to her. I turn away and open the door so Maria can come out and join us, so the tension dissipates.
“Shall we go inside?” I ask with a smile. “So, I can show you to your rooms and you can get to know the house.”
“This is very kind of you,” Maria declares as I take her inside. “I appreciate it a lot. I will do whatever I can to make it up to you for this. I will clean and cook, I will… I don’t know, I will thank you somehow though.”
I chuckle and let her know that I don’t expect anything of the sort from her. I did overhear them talking in the hospital about what they were going to do next. Serena asked her mom to come and stay with her, but Maria freaked out and said that David might be able to find her there because he knows the address. Plus, there wouldn’t be enough room in the apartment for the pair of them, which is why it immediately came to me to offer them place to stay at my weekend mansion. I didn’t even need to consider it, it was immediately perfect, they were shocked initially but agreed.
I certainly don’t want anything from Serena and Maria. I just want to help them as much as I can.
Now, as I take them inside the house I couldn’t be happier. They already bring a warmth into the house that hasn’t ever been here before. I didn’t even know that they were missing, but now I realize that my house won’t be the same without them in it again. Especially Serena, I knew from the very first moment that I saw her, she was special, but the more time that I spend with her and in all kinds of situations, I like her more and more.