A Soldier For Bella (Love Conquers Life #4) (11 page)

We pull up to Patty’s about two hours later, and as I’m walking through the door, Darryl says, “Good day, Ms. Campbell.”

“Good day, Darryl.”

“I’m told your security will be in the building all evening. Here is my card. I’m on the night shift. Please have them let me know if they need anything.” Darryl hands me the card as Jordan walks through the door.

“Jordan, this is Darryl. He’ll be here all night. This is his card shall you need anything,” I say, handing the card to Jordan.

They shake hands, and Jordan explains that Jared and another guard will be coming for the night shift and he’ll be back in the morning with another guard, but he’s not sure who it’ll be yet.

Darryl nods. “Still, if there’s anything any of you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you.” Jordan shakes his hand one more time and we go up to Patty’s place.

As soon as she opens the door, Patty wraps me in a huge hug and is on the verge of tears. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

“I’m fine, just a bit shaken up,” I say, trying to give her a big grin so she’ll believe me. Jordan takes my bag and asks for permission to deliver it to my room.

“Sure. It’s down the hall, on the right,” Patty says to him. I know Jordan really wants to check out my surroundings without insulting Patty, but I say nothing and just let him do his thing.

“What did Derek say?”

“Just that he thinks I’m safer at my place for now. He’ll be here tomorrow, but we were not planning on coming or leaving together.” I look down. “I’m worried about him. I love him and haven’t even told him yet.” Admitting that makes my eye fill with tears, and just as I’m looking up, one escapes me.

“You have plenty of time for that. He knows, trust me. Besides there’s more than one way to tell a person you love them.”

I nod, remembering the night we made sweet love in the tub. I truly tried to pour my all into that night by looking him in the eye as I made love to him, trying to tell him through my body language how I really felt. Now part of me wishes I had actually told him. I just hope I’m not too late and he’ll take me back after all of this is over.

“Come on. I ordered us some take out. Carter will be home late.”

“What’s our plan?” I ask her as I kick off my shoes and plop down on her couch, folding my legs under me.

“Netflix, food, and wine,” she says, full of pride.

There’s a loud knock on the door, and I jump. Jordan looks out the little peephole and opens the door. We see it’s my new security guy holding our food. Jordan takes it and hands it to us and continues to speak with the guard for a minute. He tells him to keep watch outside the door and he’ll be in here with us.

Patty pours us some wine while I set up TV trays in the living room with our containers. She’s awesome. She ordered me grilled chicken and veggies over rice from our favorite restaurant up the street. The smell makes my stomach growl as we sit to eat. She flips through Netflix, and we pick our movie line up.

It’s been a quiet night. As the first movie finishes, we agree to clean up the mess from dinner and change into pajamas to get comfortable for the night. As soon as I’m done changing, I go into the kitchen to pour another glass of wine. I’ve got a pretty good buzz going, and I’m hoping it’s going to help me sleep through the night. It’s been a long day.

We both get settled back on the couch for the next movie, and as it starts I practically down my wine. Placing my glass on the table, I snuggle up on the couch with the blanket that’s draped over the back. I must have been too comfortable because I remember nothing more than the first scene.

I’m startled awake as I feel someone picking me up.

“Shh baby, it’s me,” Derek whispers in my ear. Confusion settles in. I’m at Patty’s house. What is he doing here? “I’ve got you baby. You’re safe,” he whispers as he kisses the top of my head. I snuggle into him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he carries me to bed.

Chapter 10

Bella

When I awake the next morning, I have a slight headache and I’m completely confused. I feel like Derek was here last night, but he couldn’t have been. It must have been a dream, because it was just me and Patty last night. I know I drank a few glasses of wine, but I didn’t think I drank that much. Shit, how did I get to bed?

When I realize it’s early and Patty and Carter are still in bed, I decide to lie back down and rest. That’s when I smell Derek on the pillow next to me. I notice there’s a note on the nightstand. With a huge smile on my face, I scoop it up.

Hey baby,

I want you to know you weren’t dreaming last night. I was here with you all night to make sure you were safe, but I had to sneak out early in case I was being watched. This was all part of the plan. Carter and I went out for a guy’s night and I drove so it would look like I was dropping him off and just running up. When I found you asleep on the couch I couldn’t resist, so I carried you to bed and snuggled you until you fell asleep.

I love you Bella and promise you that we will fix everything soon. Please be patient and don’t give up on us. I’ll see you tonight.

Derek

I lie down, holding the note to my chest as tears run down my face. I want to go home with him tonight, and I’m hoping he’ll let me. My place no longer feels like home. It feels cold and empty. It’s not the same without him in it. I can’t wait to see him tonight so I can tell him I love him and I’m ready to fix things. I hope we can talk about the upcoming shoot and come to a compromise because as much as I love him, I’m not sure I can pass on this opportunity. I wonder what I’ll do if he asks me to.

“Good morning.” When I look up, Patty is standing in the doorway. “I wasn’t sure if you were awake, but I see you found Derek’s note,” Patty says with a smile.

“I did, and I’m so hopeful that we can work through this photo shoot dilemma. I love him so much, but I’m not sure what I’ll do if he can’t get over me doing this shoot.”

“Talk to him before you stress yourself out. I think he realizes how important this is to you. He’s just having a hard time dealing with it because of this guy, and that’s understandable,” she says with a small smile. I nod, not knowing what else to say. She’s right. He has a valid reason to be concerned, but I’m a strong woman, and I won’t let some crazy guy get in my way. “Come on, Carter is making us breakfast.” Patty nods toward the kitchen.

“He cooks now?” I ask, a bit leery.

“Yes, he cooks and quite well too.”

She leaves the room to give me a minute. After placing my note back on the nightstand, I grab my robe and saunter into the kitchen to see what Carter and Patty are up to. Sure enough, Carter is in the kitchen cooking us breakfast and Patty is making me coffee. I take a seat at the snack bar as she places the cup in front of me.

“Thank you guys for letting me spend the night. It’s not the same staying at my place now.”

“I know what you mean,” Patty says as she sits next to me with a cup of her own.

Carter places a plate in front of me and says, “You’re welcome here as long as you like. I hope you know that.”

“Thanks, Carter.” We all fall into a comfortable silence as we eat our breakfast of scrambled eggs with veggies, roasted potatoes, and turkey bacon. Patty is right. He can definitely cook.

“Carter, this is delicious. Thank you so much.”

He smiles at me. “You’re very welcome, and I meant what I said. You’re welcome here as long as you’d like.”

I nod my head but look down at my plate. I’m lucky to have such good people around me. I notice there is a sudden silence in the room, and it feels a bit uncomfortable until Patty says, “We should start getting ready. Mom is a mess over this and will be here early to see you.”

I give her a small smile as I rise from my chair with my plate and cup. I rinse them and place them in the dishwasher.

I wish my own mom cared as much as Sandra does. I’ve wanted to call her so many times over the last few days, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. She’d probably just say, ‘I told you so,’ and that would just upset me more.

Deciding now’s not the time to think about this, I push my depressing thoughts to the back of my head and jump in the shower. I want to look my best when everyone gets here so it isn’t obvious how much this is starting to affect me.

***

Patty and Carter have been amazing all day today. They’ve been trying to keep me occupied by letting me help them with little things to prepare for everyone’s arrival. Whenever they see me thinking too much, they pull me into their conversation. It’s been great because I think I’d be sitting at home crying, and that wouldn’t be helpful.

The phone rings, and Carter runs to answer it. People must be arriving because he tells the door man to let them up. He opens the door and let’s security know that our guests are starting to arrive. As he finishes the conversation, Sandra and Richard appear. She walks through the door and practically runs to me. She wraps me in the biggest hug.

“How are you, darling?” she asks as she holds my cheeks in her hands, looking into my eyes.

“I’m okay. I’ll be better when this is over,” I answer honestly.

“Hopefully that will be soon,” Richard says as he approaches them. “I’ve spoken with the police to get an update on this, and they are closing in on him. The video they got from the photo studio was not the best, but since they were cooperative and gave the police the guy’s name, the police were able to begin the process of tracking him down. Of course he’s hiding out somewhere, but they’ll get him.”

“I hope so. I’m tired of living like this. It’s causing issues between Derek and I, and I don’t like it,” I tell Richard and Sandra.

“What do you mean, darling?” Sandra asks.

I sigh. “We got into an argument over my latest contract. He doesn’t want me to do it because of my stalker, but this contract is a model's dream. I can’t give up this opportunity because of this guy.”

“What is it?” Sandra asks me, concerned as she walks me to the couch.

“Centerfold of the swimsuit edition of Maximum magazine. I’ll be in their calendar too.”

“Darling, I can understand that this is a dream for you and I congratulate you on reaching a goal, but you have to understand his fears. If you two are going to be a couple, you have to discuss these things and come up with a compromise,” she says in the sweetest voice.

“I’m hoping we’ll be able to talk soon and do just that.” I look down at my fidgeting fingers. “I think I shocked him when I told him, and then when he got upset, it got me upset and I just ran out,” I say, continuing to look down.

Patty joins us on the couch and the men stay in the other room, giving us space for our girl talk. “I’m sure now that you two have both had some time apart to process this and your feelings for each other, you’ll be able to talk about it more openly and work things out,” Patty says, placing her hand on my leg.

“I hope so. I miss him so much.”

There’s a knock on the door. It’s Claire and Troy. We all get up to greet them, and just as we’re finishing, Mia and Jackson show up. Every time there’s a knock on the door, my heart skips a beat as I pray it’s Derek, but he hasn’t shown up yet. I’m getting worried because it’s not like him to be late. Of course he could be circling around to make sure he wasn’t followed.

Carter must sense my concern because he walks up to me and whispers, “Relax, he’ll be here.”

I look up at him. “I’m worried about him.”

“I know.” He says nothing more; he just walks away. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down as everyone continues on with their conversations. I take a walk to the window and look out, silently praying that he’s okay. I never realized how beautiful the view is from here. I continue looking out the window, trying not to worry. It’s not really working.

I’m so deep in my own thoughts I hadn’t noticed Derek was approaching until I felt his arms wrap around my body. I take in his scent. I smile even though he scared the shit out of me. Turning in his arms, I wrap mine around his neck as he holds me close.

He whispers in my ear, “Sorry I scared you.”

“That’s twice today you’ve scared me,” I tell him with a giggle, just happy to see him.

He looks down at me, confused.

“You’re late and you scared me when you snuck up on me.” I pout, and he laughs as he lowers his lips to mine. When our lips touch, it feels like lightning struck my body and brought me to life. I pull away. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too, baby,” he replies. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you, but I’m scared.”

“I know. Can we at least talk about it?” I ask, hoping he’s not going to tell me no.

“Of course we can, but not tonight. I want to just enjoy a night with you.”

I bite my lip as I smile. “Does that mean I can come back to your place tonight?”

“No, but it does mean I’m staying here with you.”

My face lights up. “Really?”

He nods as he laughs.

“Come on. Let’s join everyone else for dinner. They’re all waiting on us.”

We walk to the kitchen hand in hand as everyone makes plates and heads to the dining room to take their seat. We’re the last to be seated, but we jump in on the conversation that’s taking place about Carter and Patty’s home. They’ve started looking at architectural firms to hire someone for the design of the house. They’ve narrowed it down to three, and they’re hoping to pick someone in the coming weeks. They really want to get moving on the construction of their home before summer rolls around, and since Jackson knows a few contractors from the banking business, he’s already been talking to a few of them about timing. Now they can make a decision as soon as they choose the architect.

Poor Patty has a million questions being thrown at her: how big of a house do you want? How many bedrooms? Where will you build it? I feel like she’s been trying so hard to answer everyone’s questions, she’s barely eaten. However, she’s so excited she doesn’t seem to mind. They placed a bid for the piece of land they wanted on Friday, and the owner has until Monday to decide. Hopefully, the owner will accept and Carter and Patty will no longer have to worry about where their home will be.

I try to give her a break by changing the subject. “Patty, dinner is delicious, as always.”

“Thank you. I really enjoy cooking and having everyone over, and now that Carter is helping cook more, it’s even easier.”

“He made us the best breakfast this morning. I was impressed,” I say. Poor Carter actually blushes as he looks down at his plate.

“That’s my boy,” his mom says, making it even worse. Patty and I giggle as he tries to hide his rosy red cheeks.

“I like helping her cook, and eventually she’s going to need more help anyway, so I might as well get used to it.”

“Why is she going to need more help?” Sandra asks, concerned.

“We want to have a baby at some point, Mother. It would be nice for him to be able to help out while I deal with the baby.”

“Please don’t rush it, Patricia. You’re both young and need to live a little first,” Sandra says with a bit of panic in her voice, which shocks me. I figured she’d be pushing Patty to get a move on.

“Mother, we’re not rushing it, but I’m going to have a baby and hopefully sooner rather than later. Carter is almost six years older than me, and that’s our decision.” Patty grins. “Besides, I figured you’d be thrilled to become a grandmother.”

“Oh without a doubt, but I don’t want you to rush either. You’re newly married. You should be enjoying yourselves.”

“We did, on our honeymoon.”

Patty bites her lip and wiggles her brows at her mother, knowing it’s going to make her blush. Sandra is too proper to talk about stuff like that, especially at the dinner table.

Sandra becomes all flush at the thought of her daughter having sex and gives her a dirty look for bringing it up while most of the table just chuckles. “Patricia, this is not the time or place for that kind of talk.”

“Oh mother, stop. How else do you think I’m going to create your grandbaby?”

“I think your mother knows how the baby will be created. It’s discussing it that bothers her,” Richard says, coming to his wife’s rescue. I start to giggle as I get up to begin clearing the table.

Once everything has been cleaned up, we all settle in the kitchen. Patty spends some time showing off pictures from their honeymoon and talking about how romantic it was. I’ve already heard all of this and I’m kind of glad because I can’t keep my eyes off of Derek.

Her parents finally decide to call it a night. It’s been nice seeing everyone, but I’m anxious to spend some time with Derek. We’ve been sitting at the snack bar talking with Patty and Carter for about thirty minutes now, and I’m dying to go to bed.

I’m glad when Patty finally says, “Come on, Carter. Let’s get some sleep so they can have some time to themselves.”