Davenport Harbor (Six Degrees Book 3) (24 page)

“
Breakfast is ready.
”
My voice was slightly husky with the nervous energy that was running rampant inside me. Just looking at him made me want to squirm. I clenched my thighs, the pleasant ache between my legs reminding me of this morning, making my breathing heavy.

“
These are for you.
”
There was an edge to his voice, and I wondered if he was nervous, too. Closing the space between us, he handed me the gorgeous flowers. It was the first time I
’
d ever received flowers. I smiled at him and stood on the tips of my toes to kiss his lips.

“
Thank you, they
’
re beautiful,
”
I told him, my eyes on the cheery looking bouquet.

“
I
’
ve never bought a woman flowers, hope they are okay.
”

“
I
’
ve never received flowers from a man. They
’
re perfect,
”
I reassured him and, he kissed my forehead.

“
Here are some things I thought you might like.
”
He handed me the two bags and I laughed. One had three different brands of tampons, two different bags of pads, and what looked like a pharmacy of over-the-counter pain relievers.

“
John,
”
my eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but giggle. The moment I looked into the other bag my giggles turned into laughter. There were three different rolls of cookie dough, four pints of different flavored Ben and Jerry ice cream, two Häagen-Dazs pints, and a wide array of candy bars. Looking up at him, all I could think was that I loved this man.

The thought was bright in my mind, and my laughter died down, my eyes stinging. Breathing deeply through my nose, I looked at him.

“
Thank you.
”

“
It
’
s no big
—”

“
It
’
s one of the most thoughtful things anyone has
—

“Shh…you don’t have to say anything about it okay?” His voice made me shiver, and I wished I weren’t on my period so I could have another round with him. As if reading my thoughts, his eyes went intense and hot, “Soon,” he whispered against my mouth before he pulled away and led me to the table where he made me sit on his lap as we ate breakfast.

John

I could feel the excitement radiating from her body as we drove towards Old Town Pasadena. Two weeks had passed by in a blur since we had made love. Not one night had we spent apart, and never in my life had I slept as well as the nights I
’
d had her in my arms. Sabrina had called earlier to see if we wanted to meet Mike, her, and the kids at the street fair tonight.

Anne had been hesitant about leaving the hill. Part of her still worried about Downey finding her. I
’
d hired someone to watch over Blake from afar, and from what I was told, Downey had returned to Northern California. When I explained this, Anne
’
s relief was obvious.

Holding her hand in mine, listening to Zoey
’
s sweet babbling in the backseat of my car, I couldn’t help but feel content. Full. After parking the car we get out, and I looked towards the two-block stretch that the city closed down every Wednesday night. Various types of booths filled every possible spot available. From fruits and vegetables to Hawaiian shaved ice to artwork exhibiting different mediums, and a diversity of foods.

Popping open Zoey
’
s new stroller that I
’
d surprised Anne with last week, I watched as she walked towards me with Zoey in her arms.

"Mike texted. They are running behind, but he’ll call once they get here," I told her, slipping my cell back into the pocket of my cargo shorts.

"Okay. Should we just wait here?" She asked and I shook my head.

“
We can walk around if you want to,
”
I suggested and she nodded, smiling. I could see that she was slightly nervous, even after knowing that Downey was far away.
One day, Kitten, one day you won
’
t even have to think about looking over your shoulder.
I
’
ll make sure of it!

Unable to help myself, I reached for Zoey.

“
You ready, pretty girl?
”
I asked her, and she babbled her heartwarming baby talk. I strapped her into the five-point harness the guy at the baby store had told me was one of the safest for kids her age.

Moving back to the handle of the stroller, I put my hand out for Anne to grab. She smiled shyly.

“
Ready?
”
I asked her without giving her time to think about holding my hand in public.

“
Yeah,
”
she answered softly.

I pushed Zoey
’
s stroller while I held Anne
’
s hand. There was a comfortable silence between us. I loved watching Anne
’
s eyes light up at every single booth. She insisted on buying a huge clamshell of mixed berries, which I placed in the storage bag under the stroller. She stopped to look at a booth filled with little girls hair bows and headbands in various colors and prints that were advertised to have been made by hand, and I insisted she pick out at least ten for Zoey. She argued with me that Zoey didn’t need them, so I started to pick them out. I could hear her laughter as she came closer. Having picked out half of the ten, I took them and paid, hanging the purchase on the stroller.

We stopped at another booth that had hand-made fairy costumes, and I bought Zoey a multi pastel-hued set of fairy wings and a matching tutu. I bought Anne a wreath of flowers with a bunch of brightly colored ribbons that cascaded down in the back and a fairy wand. I liked the way her face softened when I picked them out, insisting every little girl needed to be able to play dress-up with her mom. I liked being able to give her that because the look she gave me was even better than before.

We watched a quartet of four high-school-aged kids play cover songs and threw cash into the guitar case that was available for tips. Mike messaged me that they wouldn’t be able to make it after all; something about Mark
’
s baseball game going extra innings.

Anne and I shared a funnel cake as we sat at an open bench and watched people walk past us. By this time, the heat and night had made Zoey sleepy. Anne
’
s head was on my shoulder, Zoey was asleep in her stroller on the other side of me, and I was more than content. I was happy.

Anne moved her head, her hazel eyes warm and sweet.
“
You okay?
”

“
Better than okay.
”
I kissed her and brought my cell phone out to take a picture of us together sitting on that bench. Not that I needed to record the memory. The memory would be embossed into my soul till the day I died.

***

“
Thank you for taking us tonight,
”
she said as I watched her place two huge bouquets of flowers I
’
d insisted on purchasing onto the countertop in the kitchen.

“
It was my pleasure. We should go out more often.
”

“
John.
”

“
You are always safe with me, Kitten,
”
I vowed and she smiled at me. Trying to lighten the mood, I smiled back at her.
“
Now kiss me, I have to get a little work done before I can go to bed.
”

I liked the blush that went over her soft skin when I ordered her to kiss or touch me. My body hardened as I watched her walk to me. Impatient, I went to her, meeting her in the middle, and kissed her.

***

An hour and a half later, still staring at the computer, I pressed ‘send’ on the last e-mail that had to be taken care of tonight. A knock on the door made me look up and smile.

The face of all of my fantasies appeared, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her in one of the many new silk nightgowns I
’
d bought for her and that she had hesitantly accepted. In an emerald-green long, silk nightgown with a plunging V-neck, her skin looked creamy. Her hair was damp from a shower.

“
I just wanted to check if you are almost ready to come to bed.
”

“
Come here, Kitten.
”

She walked to me and like we have done so many other times during the last two weeks, she sat on my lap, her head curling into my neck.

“
Did you have fun?
”

“
Yeah,
”
she sighed happily, and I smiled, breathing in the scent of her freshly washed hair.

“
We should do that again.
”

“
Yeah. It was a really nice date,
”
she said and I laughed.

“
That wasn
’
t a date.
”
I felt her body stiffen against mine.

“
Oh.” That one simple word was filled with disappointment, and I realized that I was not as smooth as I thought I was.

“
Let
’
s go on a date,
”
I suggested, hoping she’d agree.

“
You don
’
t have to do that."

“
I want to.
”
That wasn
’
t a lie. I just didn
’
t know what the hell was coming over me.

“
Really?
”

“
Yeah,
”
I answered, ignoring the weird pace my heart started to beat at.

“
What about Zoey?
”

“
Sabrina and Mike would love to watch her.
”
I knew without a doubt they would. I looked into her beautiful doe eyes, something that looked almost hopeful. I couldn
’
t stop myself. I dug myself deeper into a hole, wanting to give her more so that she would continue to look at me like that.

“
I
’
ll plan it all. Let me surprise you. Sound okay?
”
The smile that she gave me was worth all the nerve-racking stress this was going to cause.

John

A date?

What the fuck had I been thinking? Sure, I'd taken plenty of women out to dinner. It was just to have someone sit across from me, someone to enjoy a meal with, and then to fuck afterwards. But a real date? When was the last time I
’
d done that? Had I ever? A night I actually put thought and effort into for the sole purpose of making a woman happy? And this wasn
’
t just any woman. It was Anne.

My Anne.

Staring out the window of my office, I watched the city below alive and moving. At my age, I knew what I had to do. I needed help. But not just any help. I wanted to wow my kitten. Mike and his stupid ideas wouldn
’
t work. Not this time. This time, I needed a professional of sorts. Before I could talk myself out of this, I grabbed a file from my desk and called Bernadette to come to my office.

“
Yes, Mr. Davenport?
”

“
Please sit, Bernadette.
”

“
Birdie, sir.
”
She always insisted I call her by that silly nickname, but I still refused. I looked at her, tapping my fingers on my desk nervously, and she tilted her head, clearly wondering what I was up to.

“
Bernadette, how many people have we hired together since you started working for me?
”

“
Five, Mr. Davenport,
”
she efficiently answered me.

“
Right. And you have helped me with each one of those, right?
”

“
Yes,
”
her eyes narrowed.

“
So you know the in-depth background checks that I do on each new employee?
”
Her back straightened, confusion and slight worry marring her green eyes behind those ugly thick glasses.

“
Yes, sir,
”
she murmured.

“
So you have to know that I did one on you, yes?”

“
I told you about Vikki,
”
her eyes widened and I shook my head.

“
That's not what I am talking about.
”
Putting my hand out, I bit away a smile as I handed her the file my private investigator had created on my excruciatingly productive assistant. How she had time to do what she did after hours was beyond me. It was actually rather admirable. I watched as she opened the file, her cheeks brightening and her eyes closing. Her head slumped forward slightly, and I wondered why she seemed to be embarrassed.

“
Carrick almost didn
’
t find that.
”
I pointed to the file in her hands.

“
Mr. Davenport, please let me explain.
”

“
Bernadette, you really don
’
t have to.
”
I shook my head.
“
Or should I call you Sophie Samuels?
”
I asked her and she looked up at me, and for the first time I couldn’t seem to read her.
“
I
’
m actually very impressed. How do you get so much done? You work eight, sometimes up to twelve hours here, and in the short time you
’
ve been here, you
’
ve published three books.
”

“
Oh
…
well
…”