Which was exactly why he’d wanted to make it happen for her.
So he’d talked with the guys helping watch over her, and together they had all agreed that if they made a very clear motorcade, it would deter any potential abduction attempts. They’d also used a decoy to pretend to be Teresa while they snuck her into the back of a different vehicle, just in case any mercenaries might be bold enough to try another attempt, and they might be able to turn the tables on them.
Thankfully, nothing had happened and now they were safely there. While he’d spend the rest of the morning worrying about the return journey, the smile on Teresa’s face made the stress more than worth it.
“You’re welcome,” he told her, smiling back.
Things had been pretty good between them yesterday after they’d slept together. He’d worried it might create awkwardness, they’d taken a major step that Teresa hadn't been ready for when they’d been dating, and had only hours before forgiven him, so he wouldn't have been surprised.
But there was no awkwardness.
If anything, things had been better.
They’d talked, keeping to fairly neutral and easy topics, he’d helped her cook dinner, and they’d watched some old movies together. It had been nice and was exactly what he wanted his future to look like even as he knew that Teresa was nowhere close to even wanting to be his friend again, let alone anything more.
For a moment, she just looked at him, then she pushed up onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I know you didn't want to do it, so I really appreciate it. It feels good to be back out,not cowering at home, not letting them steal my power. My team and I are going to bring them down.”
Her fiery determination not to be broken, to keep fighting, only made him fall even harder for her. Micah would have sworn he already loved her as much as it was physically possible to love anyone, but then she went and did something like this, and that love that already felt so full swelled a little more.
The elevator dinged open before he could say anything, and they both headed down the hall to the Cyber Team office. Everyone else was already there since they were all staying in the building, most of them in the apartments, although he had no idea where Josiah lived. Seemed like the man spent ninety-nine percent of his time at his desk working.
“Teresa!” Chelsea exclaimed, hurrying over to hug her friend. Ava was right on her heels, and even Isabella and Tobias got up to come over and offer hugs. Only Josiah once again remained at his desk, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him, although Micah suspected he was actually anything but.
As the girls chattered away, Micah stepped away to give them space to do their own thing. Taking a seat down the opposite end of the table, Nathaniel and Tobias immediately joined him, and when he caught their eyes, he realized they were looking at him expectantly.
“What?” he asked.
“You slept with her,” Nathaniel said softly so his tone wouldn't carry and the girls wouldn't hear him.
“How could you possibly know that?” While he wouldn't have been averse to the idea of tattooing on his forehead that he was hopelessly and forever owned by Teresa Dash, he obviously hadn't done that. So how had his teammate figured it out within seconds of seeing him?
“You saying it’s not true?” Tobias asked, arching a brow.
“I'm not saying it’s not true, and I'm not saying it is true. I don’t want to violate Teresa’s privacy.” He didn't care if the guys knew he and Teresa had slept together, but he wasn't sure she’d feel the same way about it.
“Doesn’t look like she thinks talking about it is violating her privacy,” Nathaniel said with a nod at the other end of the long conference table, where the girls had their heads down and appeared to be deep in conversation.
“Oh yeah, they’re talking about it,” Tobias added.
“Girls,” he said with a chuckle. Still, he was thrilled that Teresa had a group of women with whom she felt safe and comfortable. Back when they’d been kids, she’d had plenty of friends, but getting close to them had been difficult given that she had so much on her plate at home, plus her studies. He could imagine her rape had made it harder to trust people, especially since she thought he abandoned her because of it, but it looked like she’d found people worthy of her trust, and he absolutely loved that for her.
“So are you two together again?” Nathaniel asked.
“No. We’re not anything,” he replied honestly.
“Your decision or hers?” Tobias asked.
“Hers. I'm one hundred percent in. If she’d take me back, I’d be there in an instant. But I messed up big time. Way bigger than you guys did.” Maybe it would be reassuring that Ava had taken Nathaniel back after he’d freaked out on her multiple times because of his own hang-ups about growing up poor while she came from a wealthy family. Or that Isabella had been able to forgive Tobias for telling her he wanted nothing to do with her or their baby when she wound up unexpectedly pregnant, because of his back injury and his mother’s illness.
But neither of those things reassured him.
They hadn't messed up anywhere close to as badly as he had.
“I’m trying to keep realistic expectations,” he continued. “She has every reason to hate me forever. That she found it in the depths of that big heart of hers to forgive me is more than I could have hoped for. But …”
“You want it all,” Tobias said softly, like he got it. Which he probably did. From what he’d gotten to know of the former Delta Force operator over the last few days was that the man had given up on his dreams after being injured, much like Micah had given up on his after he’d thought Teresa cheated on him.
“Yeah, I want it all. For the last twelve years, I thought I hated her, that I was over her, that if I ever ran into her again, all I’d want was an apology. But it changed the moment I bumped into her downstairs. I still thought she betrayed me, but it became pretty clear pretty quickly that I never got over her. Don’t even think it’s possible to get over her. I fell in love with her when I was sixteen, and I'm going to love her for as long as I live.”
