Page 38 of Triple Protection
"Then post about them."
"But what if that only angers my stalker more? We still don't know who he is. What if he gets jealous?"
Courtney's silence is deafening. I already know what she's going to say, and I love that she still has patience for me.
"The actions of others are not your responsibility. You can't live your life in fear of what others are going to do. You can't live your life in fear, period. That's not living. You owe this world the completely genuine, authentic, beautiful, wonderful person that is Angela. This world is a better place because you are in it and cheating the world of your...you...is letting your stalker win."
I sigh, knowing she's right. It still makes my stomach churn.
Knowing I'm not convinced, she continues. "Plus, that's what you have the boys there for. Your job is to be authentically you. Their job is to keep you safe. You can't control what anyone else does, and you're already doing exactly what you need to do to keep yourself safe."
I bite in the inside of my cheek and nod. She's right, of course. She's always right. But she's also the world's best coach and pep-talker.
"Alright, Court. I will."
She smiles and nods. "Now tell me all about the sex. Is it amazing?" I blush and check to make sure the boys aren't listening before I tell Courtney all about the most soul-shattering sex of my life.
Chapter twenty-eight
Angela
Angela
One Tuesday afternoon Brick picks me up for our date. Just like how Liam planned his date last minute, Brick does the same. Or, at least, he doesn't share his plans with anyone. If my stalker has hacked into our phones or security cameras, he'd be able to plan ahead to take advantage of being in public with only one of my bodyguards.
Instead, he spends a week planning our date in private. He picks me up with a bouquet of daisies and drives me to a small town just outside the city limits. We've gotten into the routine of Brick touching me whenever he wants, but if I want to touch him, I have to ask. I don't mind, and I've gotten more and more comfortable communicating with him what I want. The problem is, I want to touch him all the time.
He opens my car door after we park and reaches his hand out to mine to help me out of the tall SUV.
"Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
I glare up at him without any real heat. "You know I hate surprises."
"You'll like this one. This is only our first stop."
Excitement bubbles up inside of me as he takes my hand and wraps it around his arm before leading me down the sidewalk.
"You know where I'd really like this hand?" I whisper, leaning into his side and squeezing his strong forearm.
"Ma'am," he says in fake offense. "You're going to have to learn to keep it in your pants."
"I'd rather it be inyourpants." He groans at my terrible joke before rolling his eyes and smiling. A little blush creeps up his cheeks. I love nothing more than making this mountain of a man blush under my attention and sexual advances. It's incredibly endearing.
We round a corner and stop just in front of a small, family-owned bookstore.
"After you," he says, opening the door and ushering me inside. When I stop just inside the threshold to take in the floor to ceiling dark wood bookshelves and the signature smell of books, antiques and coffee, Brick presses his hard chest to my back and wraps his arm around my waist.
"Let's get you an iced coffee first and then you can pick out as many books as you'd like. My treat." I spin on my heel to look up at him in surprise. He smiles back down at me with complete male satisfaction. We both know I could buy all the iced coffee and books in the world, but the fact that he chose this for our date still moves me. It's a message - that he knows me. That he sees me.
"I need to kiss you," I whisper. He pulls me slightly to the side into an alcove so we're no longer blocking the entrance before taking my hands and wrapping them around his neck and pulling my body flush against his. He eagerly dips his head andbrings his lips to mine. Our kiss is needy, hot, heavy, and full of gratitude and appreciation. I run my fingers through the short hair at the back of his neck like I know he likes and am rewarded with a full body shiver. I pull away as the ache in my groin becomes too demanding and I'm forced to walk around the rest of the afternoon with damp panties. God, he's so handsome.
As I catch my breath, staring into his whiskey-brown eyes, three little words tap-dance across my tongue and threaten to spill out. Instead, I tell him with my eyes. I feel like I can see them reflected in his eyes as well, but my cheeks flush with heat and I pull away.
To the right of the entrance is an attached tiny cafe. It's simply a wooden bar with one cafe table and two chairs, but scattered throughout the bookstore are various stools and chairs and benches to lounge on. With both get iced coffees - vanilla for me and caramel for him - before we wander around the bookstore. I adopt that lazy, slow walk with head tilted sideways as one does when they're browsing book titles on a shelf. He ushers me to the romance section.
"What are you going to get?" I ask him.