“Hey, have you seen my watch?” he asked, walking up to her, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
“Yep, it’s by the sink. You took it off last night to wash the dishes.”
“Oh, good, thanks, baby. You made breakfast.” He grimaced. “I’m so sorry; I have to get going.”
“It’s okay, it’s nothing elaborate. Just eggs and toast.”
“If I wasn’t leaving work early today for the sentencing I could stay and eat with you.” He pulled her up and kissed her properly. “I appreciate everything you do, you know that, right?”
She smiled at him, her heart melting a little. “I do.” And he always made certain she knew it.
“And you’ll be okay? You don’t want to come into the office with me?” He’d only returned to work a few days ago, wanting to make certain the threats against her had died down. But there had been another disaster in the news, and people seemed to have moved on.
She wrinkled her nose. “And watch you do paperwork all day? No, thanks. I get enough of that in my job.”
Well, she had.
“Speaking of your job, have you called Doctor Harper?”
No, because she was a wimp. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye to that part of her life yet.
“I thought I’d wait until after the sentencing.”
He frowned slightly then nodded. “I guess that’s a good idea. Then you can concentrate on everything that needs to be done like getting out of your lease and having your stuff packed and sent here. If you need any help arranging it, let me know. I don’t want you getting stressed out.?
?
Right. Nope. No stress here.
She forced herself to smile and nod. God, if he knew everything she was hiding from him, he’d have a fit. Then he’d probably turn her over his knee and spank her ass until his arm tired. Maybe that would be a good thing. A long, hard spanking to make her forget everything else for a while, to release some of the tension building inside her.
She knew she should tell him how she felt. But she didn’t want him to feel bad. He hated Haven. Jenna had lived in Dallas her whole life, she’d only lived in Haven a few months. It made no sense for her to be homesick. For Curt to be the one to up and move. She’d get used to being back here. She had friends here, she could find a job.
And Curt had enough on his mind without her worrying him with her foolishness. She wasn’t a child. As long as she had Curt she didn’t need anything else.
Right?
***
“Hey, Curt.”
He glanced up as Cady walked into the room. Everyone else was out, and he was on his own, trying to get through as much paperwork as possible so he could get home early to Jenna. He knew she was putting on a brave face for him with all this stuff with her dad.
“How’s Jenna holding up? The sentencing is today, right?”
“Yeah, this afternoon. She’s trying to keep it all together and be strong for her mom, but it’s hard for her.”
“I can only imagine. Any more threats?”
He shook his head. “We’ve dealt with the worst offenders, and things seem to have died down.” Otherwise he wouldn’t feel safe leaving her like he had. Although he’d still had a few moments of hesitation. But no one knew where she was, and she didn’t really leave the apartment.
“What’s she going to do after the sentencing? Has she made a decision about whether to stay in Dallas or go back to Haven?”
“She’s staying.” Of course she was staying. She was moving in with him. Doubts swirled through him as he remembered that she hadn’t yet quit her job or gotten out of her lease. But she’d had a lot going on, it would take her time to adjust.
“That’s good. I’m sure she’ll find a job here easy enough. Although I suppose that’s something she doesn’t want to think about yet. It would be difficult to go back into the world after all of this.”
“There’s no hurry for her to get a job.” He’d take care of her. Always.