Page 147 of The Grand Duel
He looks between me and the road. “Okay. I’ll figure something else out.”
I continue to stroke Luna. “Really?”
“Yes,” he tells me, reaching for the controls to turn the heating up. “Will you come back to mine before I drop you home? I can order something for dinner.”
“No. I need to get back.”
His jaw locks, hands white-knuckling the steering wheel. “You haven’t eaten, Lissie. You’ve been sat in the vet’s for most of the day. Let me get you something to eat.” I can hear the frustration in his voice. “Please.”
I sigh, dropping my head back to the rest.
“I need to get Daisy from Edna’s. Will you take Luna in and get her comfortable for me? I don’t want her stuck in rush hour traffic whilst I drive to Edna’s.”
I nod, understanding his logic. No matter how loudly my head yells at me that it’s a bad idea. “Okay, but I’m only agreeing to this for Luna’s sake.”
He nods his understanding, his body seeming to relax a little.
I settle back in the seat.
The rest of the journey is made in an odd, comfortable silence.
Charles pulls into the underground parking when we reach his building, getting the door for me and then my bag and Luna’s medication when it’s clear she isn’t going to get down from my arms. When we reach the lift, I test her on her feet, letting her stretch out as I hold her under her back legs.
I lean in and kiss her head. “Good girl.”
When I right myself, letting Luna stand, I see that Charles has his eyes closed, his chest full from the long inhale he’s just pulled in. As he exhales, he opens his eyes.
The lift pings, but neither of us moves, our gazes locked.
He looks utterly shattered, and I can’t help but wonder if maybe he didn’t sleep because he was as lost in his head about the two of us as I’ve been.
Or maybe I’m just naïve, and it’s not that at all.
“I didn’t know I’d want you like this, Lis. I had no idea when I made the decision not to tell you that I’d want you the way I want you now.”
I’ve thought about those words so many times over the past three days, the way they twist up my heart until it threatens to give out.
I think he meant them, and it confuses me as much as it hurts.
Swallowing, I look away, stepping out and into the entrance to his home.
He clears his throat. “I won’t be long. If you want to wash the blood off”—he gestures to my neck and shirt—“you can use any of the bathrooms. The third bedroom on the right at the top of the stairs is mine. There are T-shirts and jumpers in the wardrobe.”
“I won’t shower. I’ll head off once you’re back.”
His face grows somewhat sad, and it’s like a sucker punch to my gut.
He nods, stepping backwards. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
My heart doesn’t stop its racing beat until the doors are shut, and he’s long gone, and even after that, it’s not a normal rhythm. I follow Luna as she heads for the stairs but pick her up when hobbles backwards with her paw held up.
Knowing where she’s likely going but not wanting to presume, I place her down when we reach the top, letting her lead the way and hating that she struggles.
When she gets to the third door on the right and looks up at me, I unlatch it and push inside.
The smell of him hits me first, and it’s as good of a sucker punch as the look on his face before. His bedroom is mostly tidy. Everything in place, bar a shirt that’s half in, half out of the bathroom. It looks more like one of the dogs has dragged it to the position than Charles being a slob based on the rest of the penthouse.
Luna limps to the bed, and I quickly lift her and place her on the mattress. She goes to the bottom of the bed, looks around as if lost, and then sinks down with a soft whine.