Page 58 of Fearless Protector

When Bowman pulled open the door to see Nick out, he had his answer. It had been the right thing to do. It was what Cleo wanted. There she was, standing at the steps with wet lashes and her hands fidgeting nervously.

“Bo,” she said with a whimper.

“Cleo?” he asked, pushing past Nick. “You’re here?”

She nodded and leaned back a bit when Bowman stepped in close for a hug. She looked unsure of what he was about to do. When his arms were around her, she finally relaxed her posture and rested her chin on his shoulder. Nick stood in the doorway and smiled. Her eyes were locked on him but he was unsure of what she was feeling.

When they stepped out of the hug and nervously chuckled, Cleo finally spoke to Nick. “I can see you ignored everything I said and decided to come here anyway.”

“He said he loves you,” Bo cut in, clapping his hands together loudly. “Did you know that?”

“I was starting to pick up on it,” she said, crying but smiling.

Bo draped his arm over his sister’s shoulder. “You and I have a lot to talk about.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Nick said, stepping out of the way.

“Don’t you dare,” Cleo said, grabbing his arm and holding him there. “You’re staying right here. You deserve to hear it all.”

“I don’t want to intrude,” Nick said, raising his hands up and stepping back again. “Really, I didn’t come here for us. I came here for you.”

“I know that,” she said, reaching for his arm again. “That’s why I want you to stay.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

Cleo

The moment she’d been dreading was finally happening. Nick was standing at the farthest point he could go in the airport without a ticket. Holding her tightly he whispered in her ear, “You’re going to crush it in Portland.”

“Why did I want to do this again?” she asked, squeezing him around the waist. “I’m going to rip up this ticket.”

“The tickets are digital now and you’re going to Portland. It won’t be long before I’m there too. I just need to get back to Boston for a little while and wrap some things up.”

“I can stay and wait for you.”

“You’re exactly where you are supposed to be. Get on that flight and go get down to business in Portland. Bo and I have some things to work on too.”

Bo was standing nearby with a dodgy look on his face. When she walked over to him, he looked down at his shoes. “I feel like we barely had time to catch up.”

“I know,” she sniffled. “But this is just the start for us. We’ll keep in touch now, and there will be a time that’s right for us to really get together. I’d like to meet this woman and her daughter some time.”

“It’s purely professional between us.” Bo shook his head and looked away. “Really, I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

“Those purely professional relationships are the ones you have to look out for, trust me.” She winked at Nick. “Call me this week, okay?”

“I will,” Bo promised.

“And you call me when you land,” Nick said taking her in his arms for one more hug and kiss. “We have plenty of time now. No expiration date looming over us. You’re mine and I’m yours, no matter how far away from each other we are.”

“Thank you for not giving up on me,” she said, putting her hands on his cheeks. “I can’t wait to see what you don’t plan next.”

“Don’t plan?” Bo asked, looking perplexed.

“That’s his thing,” Cleo replied. “He likes to go where the wind takes him.”

“That must drive you crazy,” Bo joked. “You used to hate that.”

“I really do,” she agreed. “But sometimes it turns out better than expected.”