The Boss's Love (22 page)

"Please, com
e home," he pleaded again. She was the only person in the world that could possible turn him into a begging fool.

"Okay," she relented. 

He breathed out a sigh of relief. "Will you come home now?" 

She nodded. 

"Let's get your things together, okay?"  

"Okay," she said. "Let me tell Sean and Ryan I'm leaving." She pulled away.

"I'll start packing your items in here, sweetheart," he said and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you," she said.

He closed his eyes at her words and leaned his forehead onto hers. "I thought I lost you, Court. In too many ways. My heart has been torn out of my chest without you. I not only need you, my world is empty without you," he admitted. Now he truly understood the notion that Courtney was his greatest weakness. Without a doubt. She was the single person who could ultimately destroy him. But that was the price he was willing to pay for the love of his life.

Ryan Millen

After loading Courtney's luggage into the trunk, Jack and Carl stood unnoticeably off to the side watching the scene on the front lawn.    

“I’ll be over to check on you,” Sean informed Courtney.

She nodded. “I would expect nothing less.”

“Good,”
he said. 

Ryan grabbed her and crushed Courtney into a hard embrace.  

“You take care of yourself and if you need anything, you call me right away,” he demanded.

“I love you both so much,” Courtney said. She pulled away. "I can't thank you enough."

Ryan kissed her forehead. “Oh, honey, we love you too, and would do anything for you.”

Sean looked to Darren who stood next to Carl and Jack. 

“Take care of her or you’ll have us to answer to. We’re home now, she can run to us for anything,” he warned.

Darren
nodded, clearly appreciating their undying loyalty towards his wife. 

“I will,” he assured him.

Darren held out his hand for Courtney, helped her into the backseat of the SUV, and slid in beside her. Jack and Carl climbed into the front and pulled away from the cousins' home.    

Sean and Ryan watched the car until it was out of sight
. Sean could see the disappointment in Ryan’s body language. He placed a heavy hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“She’ll be all right,” Sean said.

Ryan nodded, but still worried about his cousin. Deep down, he knew he couldn't keep Courtney from her husband. He loved her like a sister but in this case he had to cut her loose from their watchful eye. She had a husband whose job it was to protect her.  

***

Darren

Darren had unpacked Courtney’s clothes while she rested. She informed him she tended to tire out with significant activities and so far
that day had been quite emotional for her.

After he was
finished, he stowed her suitcases away and quietly went downstairs to prepare dinner for his wife. The house buzzed with his staff that was arranging to keep Mrs. Murphy well protected twenty-four seven. Darren had informed his men of agent John Marshall's visit to his wife and put them all on notice that if the man got near his wife again, heads would roll...off.  

For an hour he slaved over
the stove when he heard soft footsteps pad down the hallway. He looked up to watch his beautiful wife enter the kitchen donning that sexy, disheveled look she pulled off too well.  

“Gorgeous, how did you sleep?” he asked. He set down the bamboo spoon, approached
, and then kissed her soundly.

“Good, I still feel tired but finally
rested,” she said.

He smiled at her confession. His wife needed him and needed to be in their bed more than she was willing to admit. 

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

She nodded. 

He led her to the dining room table, poured her a glass of red wine, then went back to the kitchen to dish out their meal. Swiftly preparing their plates, he served Courtney her dinner then sat down at the head of the table, to her left. He linked their hands, leaned over and kissed her again.

“I’m so happy to have you home, baby,” he said.

She leaned into him. “Thank you for fighting for me.” 

“Oh, honey, I don’t have a choice. I can’t be without you,” he admitted.  

She gave him a tired smile, turned to her dinner, and picked at her food. 

They ate in silence for a few minutes until Darren decided to quiz her about her cousins
. "How long have Sean and Ryan been home?” 

“About two months.” 

“Did you know?” he asked.

She nodded. “Ryan emailed me when they would be returning. I wanted to give them time to settle into their home before I visited. I saw them for a couple hours after they landed
. They started at the hospital the day after they arrived. They didn’t have any time off to really settle.” 

He nodded, though not entirely pleased with the secrecy.
"What made them decide to get into the fields they're in?” he asked curiously. 

“Ryan, well
despite the fact he's got a different woman daily, he’s a romantic at heart and loves the idea of family. Maybe not a family for himself but definitely being a part of a Sean's future family. Taking care of babies was second nature to him. Sean got into cardiology after one of his high school friends died of a heart attack on the football field. He never got over that tragic event. He threw himself into learning about the heart, almost as if he could figure out what had happened maybe he could go back in time and save his friend,” she explained. 

“Why the N
avy?” 

“My aunt and uncle didn’t have the money to put them through college, so the military did. They took advantage of the opportunity. Turns o
ut they were both excellent SEALs, too.” She smiled.

“They
're close to each other,” he stated. 

She giggled affectionately. "They are. It’s spooky sometimes how close they are, as if they can read each other's mind.” 

Darren chuckled. “Derrick and I did the same thing to my parents for a time. We looked so much alike, when we dressed alike we tortured Mom.” 

“Boys.”
Courtney chuckled. 

He got caught up in his wife's
laugh and smile. There hadn't been much happiness in their lives for too long. He was determined to bring joy her life, and would make sure nothing came between them again.

Throughout dinner Darren
continued his questions about her cousins. He found she loved discussing the two men who had been with her until she'd been a senior in high school, when they'd enlisted. He gave the Millen family credit for instilling the sense of family into the three children at a young age. Darren vowed to accept the two men into his family because they meant the world to his Courtney. Whatever was important to his wife was of the utmost importance to him. 

Darren

It had been t
wo months since Courtney returned home to Darren, yet their intimacy level remained stagnant. Two weeks ago she had been cleared by her OBGYN to have sex, but she remained at arms length. They slept in the same bed but she no longer curled up against him at night. Instead she positioned herself close to the opposite edge of the mattress. As far away from him as possible. It broke his heart but he refused to push.   

Darren waited in the living room with Jack, Carl, and a couple other men for Courtney to make her way downstairs. A charity event downtown filled t
heir agenda for a few hours that evening. While they chatted about business, they heard the bedroom door close. Darren stepped into the hallway to meet her and gasped when she made her appearance.

A vision in a midnight
blue form fitting, floor length evening gown, she stole his breath. A V-neck top showed off her fantastic cleavage and a scoop back that fell to her tailbone exposed her delicious fair skin. A slit up to her left thigh and nude Jimmy Choo heels elongated her toned legs. She belonged on a red carpet in Hollywood. 

“Court,” Darren whispered in awe. “You’re stunning.” 

Her hair pulled back in a loose up-do, wisps framed her perfect features. Her natural color, that returned a few weeks ago, said her body was well on its way to healing. A pair of large diamond stud earrings Darren had bought her a couple of years ago as a birthday gift twinkled off the lighting.  

“Thank you,” she said. “I bought
the dress yesterday. I didn’t have anything new to wear. Are you sure you like it?” she asked, unsure of herself.   

He stiffened. Darren hadn’t been told she'd gone out shopping
the day before. He turned to Jack and Carl and raised a censorious eyebrow to let them know they would be questioned later, as well as his displeasure over not being informed of his wife's outing. One thing he'd made perfectly clear to his men was that if Court left the house for any reason, he was to be notified. That wasn't negotiable. No more chances would be taken with his wife. She may have thought he was overprotective prior to the incident but that was nothing compared to what she was in for now. 

“It’s beautiful, sweetheart,” he said. He made a mental note to casually ask about her shopping trip later.  

Approaching while she descended the stairs, he held out his hand to help her down the final three steps. Jack handed Courtney’s shawl to Darren, who wrapped it around her slim shoulders then kissed her. Since she returned home, he was unable to control himself and needed to have constant physical contact with her. 

“Are you ready?” he asked. 

She nodded. 

“Then let’s go enjoy ourselves.” 

***

Once they arrived at the
event, Darren and Courtney were escorted to their table. Ashley Johnson, wife of a professional hockey player, jumped up and yelped. 

“
Courtney, I had no idea you were going to be here,” Ashley said excited. She grabbed Courtney, hugged her, then pulled away and looked her up and down. “You look gorgeous, Courtney Millen.” 

“It’s Murphy now,” she corrected.

“Oh, I didn't know. I’m sorry.” Ashley looked past Courtney and smiled at Darren. She held out her hand. “Ashley Johnson.” 

“Darren Murphy.” He took Ashley’s hand and cupped it
in a warm greeting. The woman looked somewhat similar to his wife in regards of their petite stature and blonde hair with big blue eyes. Darren seemed to recognize her but couldn't place from where.    

“Is Mark here?” Courtney asked, scanning the
room.

“He is. He’s getting ready to serve our table.” Ashley giggled. “This should be interesting.” The hockey players were their waiters for the evening at this annual charity event. 

Courtney chuckled at Ashley's enthusiasm. She patted the two seats beside to her. “Sit here, we can catch up.” 

They sat
and Courtney explained that she had sold Mark Johnson his home when Mark had been traded back to the
Pittsburgh Penguins
a few years ago. Darren watched the two women interact with each other and noticed Courtney seemed to have a fondness for Ashley, which he could understand. The woman was very personable. Their table had a constant stream of people who stopped by to greet Ashley. She never got a chance to eat her meal the entire night.    

“What do you do for a living, Ashley?” Darren asked.

“I’m an attorney.” 

He perked up. “Oh?”

“Ashley works for the Foster Firm in Pittsburgh,” Courtney explained. “She’s a defense attorney. I’m sure—"

“Yes, now I recognize who you are.” It hit him. “I've been trying to place you all evening.”

Both women laughed.

“I get that a lot,” Ashley said.

“Do you know my brother, Derrick Murphy?” Darren asked.

“Yes, I do know Derrick,” Ashley said excited. “Now it makes sense to me. You look identical to him. My goodness. Are you twins? It all clicks.” She chuckled. "You looked familiar to me as well, and I was embarrassed, thinking we had met before." 

Darren liked her. Funny, witty, intelligent, and obviously down to earth, as well as a defense attorney. Bonus. His men constantly needed attorney services. Sometimes Derrick needed help and would call in a well-known attorney friend of his. Now he had another connection. From what he read about Ashley Johnson in the newspaper, she was a brilliant attorney and her win record was one of the best in the city. She defended some real assholes, but excelled at it. 

A tall, good-looking guy in a
tuxedo approached the table, leaned down, and kissed Ashley soundly. They watched her lose herself in the man.  

“Mark, you remember Courtney.” Ashley motioned when the kiss broke off.