Page 71 of Finding Elodie
Elodie blinked in surprise. “Um…no? This is your apartment.”
“Yeah, and you’ve spent every night but three here since we got together,” he retorted.
“You counted?”
“Hell yeah, I’ve counted,” Scott told her. “The first time you said you wanted to go back to your place for the night, I slept like shit. I tossed and turned and wondered what I did or said to piss you off.”
“You know it wasn’t anything like that. I had cramps and didn’t want to bother you with them,” Elodie reminded him.
“I know. And I told you not to do that shit again. That I don’t give a crap about your period. I mean, I hate that you have bad cramps, but I’m not going to wig out about the fact that you have a period every month. It’s kind of a part of life. And the second time was when Kalani fell and hurt herself. You didn’t want to leave her, so you spent the night on her couch until her kids could get there from Maui. I completely understood, but I still missed holding you as I fell asleep.”
Elodie stared at him in surprise. She couldn’t believe he remembered every minute detail of the times she hadn’t slept over at his apartment.
“And the third time was when you saw that news story about a fire at that restaurant in New York. I knew it made you start thinking about your own situation, and that you were running scared. I hated that you were running from me instead of to me when shit got real, but I let you do it because you’re a grown-ass adult.”
“And I called an Uber at one in the morning to bring me back to your place because I couldn’t sleep and knew I’d been a dumbass,” Elodie said softly.
“You were a dumbass,” Scott agreed, but he smiled when he said it so she knew he was teasing. “I’d never been so mad at someone and so glad to see them at the same time.”
“The woman driving the Uber was nice,” Elodie defended.
“Not the point. You could’ve been taken advantage of, taken somewhere to be robbed and raped. And, might I remind you, you promised never to do that again.”
“I know. And I won’t,” she told him.
“So back to my point, you are more than welcome to stay here. You’re practically living here anyway, other than the few hours you spend at your place in the afternoons when I drop you off after your shift. Kai said it would be no problem to pick you up and drop you off here before and after your trips, and if he can’t, I can arrange for a friend from the base to come get you.”
“I could drive Ben. I mean, if you trusted me with your truck,” Elodie suggested.
“I trust you with everything I have, but it’s simply safer if you aren’t alone. We talked about this.”
They had. But Elodie hated to be a burden on anyone. Having Scott chauffeur her around wasn’t weird anymore, but having someone else go out of their way seemed like such an imposition. “I haven’t felt anyone following me since I’ve been here,” she argued. “And you said yourself that your team hasn’t found out anything that would make you think Paul knew where I was.”
“I did, but that doesn’t mean he won’t suddenly find something while we’re gone,” Scott countered. He leaned down and rested his forehead on hers. “I just need you to be safe while I’m not here,” he said quietly. “But if you really want to drive my truck, I won’t say no.”
And this right here was one of the many reasons why she’d fallen for this man. He wasn’t overbearing and demanding. He had his say and ultimately left the decision about what to do up to her.
“Kai can pick me up and drop me off,” she told him.
Scott straightened. “Thank you. And now, there’s something else.”
“Something else? What?” she asked.
“Sunday, you, me, and the guys are going to hike the Maunawili Falls Trail. I know what you said about hiking, but I think you’ll have fun. It’s not too strenuous, less than three miles round trip, and I’ve done this one several times. We’ll leave early in the morning, before all the tourists get there. We’ll get wet though. And muddy, so be prepared. Afterward, we’ll head to Aleck’s place. He lives in a condo with a huge pool and gazebos with grills.”
Elodie waited until he was done, as it was obvious he was nervous and talking fast so she wouldn’t interrupt him. “Sounds fun.”
Scott stared at her for a second, as if trying to read her mind. “Are you just saying that, or do you mean it?”
“I mean it,” Elodie told him.
He sighed in relief. “Good. The guys have run out of patience with me keeping you to myself. They said if I didn’t plan something, they were going to hogtie me and kidnap you just so they could get to know you.”
Elodie laughed, but then realized Scott wasn’t joining in. “Wait, you’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. Not at all.”
She shook her head. “Well then, it’s a good thing I said yes, huh?”
