“I’m not. Just wanted to take Derek to school and let you sleep in a bit.”
“You’re the one who deserves to sleep in…” He’d had a long flight and a long night.
His fingers played with my hair. “You think you could carve out some time for me today? You know, before Derek gets home.”
I smiled then turned my face into his palm, placing a kiss there. “I can take a long lunch.”
“Good.” He leaned down and kissed me on the lips. “Because we have to make up for the week we lost.”
Deacon made dinner and spent his evening with Derek. He helped him with his homework, worked on the LEGO set in the living room in front of the TV, and spent all his time catching up with his son.
I didn’t mind. I’d gotten his attention during my lunch break.
When it was time for bed, Deacon had Derek brush his teeth and change into his pajamas. After he tucked him in, he returned to me on the couch. He sat beside me, his arm around my shoulder. “I know I was pretty absorbed with Derek today—”
“I know you wanted to spend time with him. Don’t worry about it.” He didn’t need to explain himself to me. “Besides, I had the best lunch of my life…and we didn’t even eat.” I pressed my fingers against his chin and gently grazed over the stubble, smiling at him.
He grabbed my wrist and positioned my fingers against his lips so he could kiss them. “I’m happy to be home.” He kissed the inside of my palm then my wrist before he lowered my hand.
I stared at his face, hypnotized by his gentleness, shocked by the way he loved me…and the way I loved him. But with every moment of joy, a second of anxiety followed it, along with a waterfall of guilt.
“Everything alright?”
“Yeah…why?”
“You suddenly look sad.”
I had no idea he could read me so well. He used to be oblivious, but now he was in tune with my feelings, sensing them without even trying. He’d made so much progress, and I never thought that would bite me in the ass. “No…just glad you’re home.”
His fingers moved into my hair next, pushing it from my face, examining my features. He did that for a long time, like he didn’t need a conversation to connect with me, just a look was enough for him.
I held his gaze, feeling safe with him, like there was nothing that could ever hurt me. It was his soothing energy, his openness.
After a few minutes, he dropped his fingers from my face, his mood noticeably darkening. “There’s something I need to tell you…”
That safety net was gone. Now, I was uneasy, unsure what he would say. “Okay.”
“I considered keeping it to myself. Seemed like the best decision. But now, I’m looking at you…and I know I can’t keep it from you.”
That was like a punch to the stomach.
His eyes shifted away from mine as he gathered his thoughts. “Toward the end of the conference, we were having dinner with some colleagues. Dr. Hawthorne had been—”
“Oh my fucking god. I’m gonna knock this bitch out.”
He stilled at my words, like he didn’t know if he should continue. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything…”
“What did she do?”
“She asked me to walk her to her room…and then she kissed me. Well, tried to kiss me.”
I was a pretty reasonable person, but my patience with this bitch had ended. I wanted to bruise up that pretty face and put her picture on the side of a milk carton because they hadn’t found her body. I just shook my head, my lips pressed tightly together.
“I told her she needed to resign. If she didn’t, I would fire her.”
At least it had a happy ending. “Good. Is that it?”
After a pause, he nodded. “I told her I wanted us to have a professional relationship, but that didn’t seem possible, so it was best to part now. She didn’t argue with me. She just accepted it.”
“You didn’t give her much of a choice.”
He shrugged. “I was honestly pretty offended by the entire thing.”
“Offended that a beautiful woman wanted to kiss you?” I asked incredulously.
“I’ve made my commitment to you perfectly clear. It is offensive. It’s turning into sexual harassment, and I take that very seriously. It’s not just gender-based. All individuals, regardless of sex, should have the respect they deserve. I feel like she doesn’t respect my wishes, that she’s putting me in situations that compromise my relationship with you.”
“Deacon, nothing could compromise our relationship.” I was pissed off about the whole thing, but I believed his version of the story completely.
“I vouched for her. I got upset with you for being jealous. But…you were right on the money.”
“Well, it’s a woman thing.”
He turned away, taking a few moments to decompress.