Butch nodded and left and Matthieu shut the door, resetting the alarm.
He set the box down and found her dolphin. It smelled a bit, but not terrible. Moving to the bed, he set it under the covers with her. With a grumble, she pulled it close then smiled.
Fuck him.
That was just too adorable.
He turned back to look in the box again, wondering what Butch might have found that he’d thought she would want.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. Lego? There were clumps stuck together. Walls? Roofs? Strange. Had she just dumped it in here half-built? Or had they been built and broken?
He set it down in the corner and pulled a spare blanket over it. He’d try to get it into the car tomorrow without her seeing. Now wasn’t quite the time to ask her about it.
But that time was coming.
He sat on the armchair next to the bed and stared at her while she slept. She looked so small like this. She was so quiet.
Finally, he let down the wall he’d put up. The one that had kept his deepest emotions at bay.
Sure, he’d felt anger and fear tonight.
But what he hadn’t allowed himself to feel was pure and utter terror. However, it had been there, bubbling away deep inside him.
He stared down at his hands as they shook.
She could have died tonight.
Matthieu didn’t know why that was hitting him so hard.
Don’t lie to yourself.
You know.
He’d never felt like this toward anyone before. Like his entire life would be over if something happened to her.
As though she was his life.
This was insane.
He’d known her less than three weeks. It wasn’t possible to fall this deep for someone in that time. He’d lived with women in the past and he’d never felt like this before about them.
Leaving them had been . . . easy. It shamed him to say that. But he’d always held part of himself back from them. And he’d never made them promises.
He’d chosen women who he knew he wouldn’t hurt when he left.
Which is why he couldn’t get close to her.
And yet, Maya had managed to work her way under his skin and into his heart.
Fuck.
She was in his heart.
Now it was time to decide.
Did he stay or did he walk away?
40
