Page 30 of Wrecked By You
I shook myself. It felt like I was being pulled from a dream. “Right. Go to your kids.”
He waved a hand through the air. “They are at my parents’ house. But I need to go to them. Plus, we have work tomorrow, remember?”
I laughed, and it was weird that the statement sounded so normal. “I guess we do.”
He kept my hand but walked toward the door, leading me outside and toward his SUV. When we got there, he paused and kissed me again. This time it was almost a reverent kiss.
My heart was happy, and though I didn’t know how this would go, I knew I didn’t want to stop. “Hey, your mom and Willow have given me a lot of food. I mean, it’s just basics, but how would you and your kids like to come over for dinner tomorrow?”
Damon cocked an eyebrow; then his face was filled with a soft smile. “You want to cook for us?”
My heart warmed at the tender way he asked. “I’m not great, but I’ll try.”
Once again, he wrapped me tightly in his arms and rocked me back and forth. “I would love to have you cook for us, Isla.”He pulled back, and I thought I saw tears in his eyes. He gave me a kiss on my head, squeezed my hand, and then got in his SUV. “But I have a business conference in Denver for two days.”
“What?” I didn’t like hearing that he was going to be gone.
He nodded. “That’s part of the reason the kids are staying with my parents anyway. I have to leave early tomorrow. But I’ll be home Friday afternoon.”
“Good.”
He pushed a lock of hair out of my face. “Would you want to cook for us Friday evening?”
My heart raced. “Absolutely. Plus, it will give me more time to figure out what to cook.”
Gently, Damon leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. “Okay. See you Friday.”
Part of me wanted to hold him tighter, not let him go. The other part worried that this couldn’t be real.
He pulled back. “You’ll be here, right?”
“Yes, I’ll be here.” Only minutes before, I’d thought I might have to leave this town, yet now I was certain I’d stay. I squeezed his hand.
He frowned and looked at the house. “You need security.”
“What?”
“A security system.”
I probably did, but I didn’t know the first thing about that or how to pay for it. “I’m good.”
His frown deepened. “I’ll continue to have the patrol cars drive by, but please be careful.”
“I will.”
I stood there watching him as he drove away. Damon Armstrong. Dang, the man was a good kisser.
I woke the next morning and felt different. I had kissed Damon Armstrong. Longing entwined with happiness filled me, and suddenly I felt bad about that. I knew that was stupid, and I didn’t need to dwell on those thoughts of feeling unworthy to be with someone like Damon.
After all, my ex had said so many things about Damon. He knew we had been best friends, and he knew how much I’d been hurting when Damon wouldn’t take my calls. Of course, I hadn’t told Kyle about it, but he had looked through my phone and found that I had tried to call Damon, and then Kyle had demanded to know what we’d talked about. When I’d told him that we hadn’t talked—or rather, that Damon hadn’t even answered—he’d used it as a weapon against me. When he’d get mad at me, he would throw it in my face.
I didn’t want to think about my ex. I got up, sucked in a deep breath, and then knelt and said a prayer. I asked the Lord to help me have good thoughts, to help me do a good job today, and for protection on Damon and his family while he was gone. Hope for a new love flowed through me as I quickly got ready and headed into the police station.
Today was a good day, filled with the same things from yesterday except I was getting better and faster. By the time it hit six o’clock at night, I was ready to go. Mrs. Friendly gave me so many words of encouragement, and I was grateful.
As I exited the police station, I got a text from Damon.How did your day go?
I got inside my car and texted him back, my heart beating quickly.It was a good day. I’m learning. How was your day?