CHAPTER FIFTEEN - BELLA
I had messaged Reed as soon as my plane landed, but I wasn’t about to call so soon. I needed a moment to think about what I’d left behind and to what I was returning. So much had changed since I’d left Phoenix and despite my new relationship, which I was determined to take super slow since it was a bit unexpected, I had to find a place to live. Staying with Kayla was temporary, and I had a feeling that she’d be leaving to go back to Dallas for Rick before all was said and done.
She’d talked about him nonstop on the flight home, which was fine with me. It kept her from asking me too much about Reed and even better, from comparing him to Gavin.
As Kayla and I walked into her apartment, my phone let out a ping. “Welcome home.” I read the message aloud, and Kayla’s eyes narrowed.
“What’s that?” Kayla was the first to drop her luggage to the floor and mine soon followed.
“Not what. Who. It’s Gavin. He knows I’m back in town somehow. That’s impossible, right?” I flipped through my phone and scratched my head. He’d never said anything about where I’d been in his past conversations.
“Does he have you on his GPS? He might have a locator on you through your phone.” I’d never thought of that, and the confirmation came through in the next message.
“How was Fort Worth?” I glanced at her sideways not quite understanding how Gavin knew.
“Reed’s house is technically in Fort Worth, not Dallas, so that has to be it.” She crossed the room and took my phone and swiped through it. “Look. This is the ap that he’s using. Let’s delete it.”
“Please. I had no idea. Though now I know why he used to question me so much about my whereabouts; he was trying to catch me in a lie” We sat on the couch as she looked through my phone.
Kayla’s thumbs moved on the screen as she let out a breath. “What a controlling asshole. You’re so much better off with Reed. Even though he’s a bit hard too.”
“He has a soft, gooey center.” I thought of the way he could make me melt inside and warmed a little as the heat of needing him washed through me. He could be very attentive.
“I bet you had a taste of it too, didn’t you?” She gave me a wide smile, and my cheeks reddened as I nudged her.
“You’re disgusting.” I giggled as she nudged me back. “We’re not going there.”
“Oh, we so went there. Rick’s got a nice creamy—”
“Enough, you little freak, I don’t want to know about Rick’s creamy anything.” It was good the two of us could laugh, but I was still aggravated that Gavin knew where I was and had been.
“There, all set.” She handed me the phone, and I let out a long cleansing breath.
“Thanks. I didn’t want to deal with Gavin, and now he knows where I’m staying and where I’ve been. And after Reed’s blow up, he’s probably really pissed off, and this is his passive-aggressive way of letting me know he thinks he knows what’s up.”
She leaned back against the soft sofa and kicked her feet up on her coffee table. “Surely he doesn’t think you were cheating on him. I mean, if he had you on this GPS and he was looking at your phone, then there’s no way he ever found any proof. He must think you’re clever if he believes it.”
“No telling what he thinks, Kayla. All I know is if he tries to start anything don’t tell Rick about it. If Reed finds out, there is no telling what he’ll do to the guy.”
A slow smile spread Kayla’s lips. “That might be fun to watch. Gavin always did piss me off.”
I shook my head. “You can’t sic my new boyfriend onto my old one.”
“Reed is your boyfriend, huh? That’s so cool. He’s filthy, stinking rich and hot. If I weren’t so hung up on Rick, I’d fight you for him.” I knew she was only kidding around. She was head over heels for Rick.
I reached across the distance where we sat and placed my hand on her arm. “You know I owe you a thank you. I know you said things were getting a little deep for you there, but think how they were for me? I needed to get back home if only to cool things down a bit. Reed’s like a locomotive going full speed. And as soon as I’d get my head on straight he’d seduce me. I was no match for that man.”
“Yeah, I think I was scared with Rick. He has so many other women in his life, and I was afraid I couldn’t match up. I want to be the only one for him.”
“You are. He worships you, not to mention he’s extremely handsome and filthy, stinking rich too.” She met me with a wide smile and nodded.
“That he is. How’d we get so lucky?”
She wasn’t kidding. The two of them were so down to earth for a couple of rich boys, and I couldn’t help but wonder what made them who they were. I didn’t know a whole lot about Reed or his family, and I was going to have to remedy that. The longer I sat there, the more I missed him.
“You’re going back to work tomorrow?” Kayla got to her feet and glanced back at me as she crossed the room.
“Yeah, I may as well. I promised Reed in a week to come see him.”
“Rick is going to come here when you do since we’ll probably still be living together by then.”
I felt bad that I had imposed on her in such a hurry but thankful she’d offered. “About that, I’ll try and hurry up and get out of your hair.”
“No worries. I’m glad I can help.” I knew she was genuine, but I didn’t want to take away her privacy while she and Rick were getting deeper. It was her place, and he shouldn’t have to wait until I was gone to stay.
“I think I’m going to go to my room and unpack. I have a ton of photographs to go through, and I think I better check my phone for anything else that psycho might have downloaded.” There was no telling the lengths he’d go to.
“Make yourself at home. I’m going to my room to call Rick.” She gave me a wink, and I wondered what the two of the would get up to. She’d let it slip on the plane that they’d had lots of cyber-sex and that she couldn’t wait to finally meet him and do it in person. I knew one thing, I wouldn’t go into her room without knocking, even if I knew she was in there alone.
I sat on the bed and went through the memory card from my camera and flagged a few pictures that were keepers. While I was going through the images that I’d taken after the storm, my phone sounded out a song, and Reed’s name shown on the screen.
“You can’t miss me already.” I let out a long breath and leaned back against my pillows.
“Of course, I can. I got used to having you around. Did you have a nice flight?”
“Yes, but—”
I pulled my lips in tight to keep from finishing that sentence, but he wasn’t having it.
“But what? Did something happen?”
“No, it’s nothing. The flight was wonderful.” Crap. I didn’t need him being over protective on me.
“Did you see your ex?”
I let out a sigh. “No.” I was content to let it end there, but I couldn’t lie. Maybe he wouldn’t lose his mind as he had before. “I didn’t see him, but he messaged me. It seems he had put a tracking GPS app on my phone. He knew I was in Fort Worth and he knew the minute I got home, and I’m sure he knows where I’m staying.”
“Did he threaten you?” His voice was low and rough.
“No, but I can’t believe he put that on my phone without asking me. No telling how long he’d been tracking my every move. So much for building something on trust.” I had caught myself before I said too much. I didn’t want to vent about Gavin to Reed.
“Right.” He was quiet after that for a moment, and then he changed the subject. “So, what are you wearing?”
A slow smile parted my lips. Kayla wasn’t the only one who could do the long-distance thing, and I let out a soft laugh and answered him.