Keep Driving [h.s]

twenty-four

Ella

I don't make a move to pull away from him. If he needs this I'm not going to be the one who takes it away from him. So I wait until he decides to part his lips from mine and rest his forehead against mine for a few moments just to gather himself together.

Once he's got enough strength to move on from what happened, he lets go of my hand. At first, I'm unsure if he's going to join me in the kitchen while preparing Soleil's dinner but then I see that he remains seated where he is, keeping his eyes on his daughter.

I notice how he slightly bounces his knee to imitate horse riding and it earns a giggle from her. She loves spending time with Harry. Anything they do together makes her happy. And so it makes Harry happy also.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I clear my throat and ask shyly. I don't want to overstep or freak him out but I also can't act like nothing's wrong. Something's off with him and I really hate being in the dark.

It could be something about those thugs who keep threatening not just my life but everyone else's who is a part of Harry's life. The only luck we have with that is that they don't know about Soleil and we intend to keep it that way.

I don't want to talk about how I just used we for the past few sentences, okay? It slipped. We both care about her a lot. Let's move on.

"Just a bad day at work." He shrugs it off like I thought he would. As I wait for the water to turn warm I glance over at them on the couch. Harry's gently brushed her little hair out of her face and Soleil reacts to his touch. She immediately finds comfort in him.

"I'd still like to hear about it. It might help if you let it out." I'm careful with how I word myself because the last thing I need today is him snapping at me. We've grown so much in this odd relationship we have and I'd hate to go back to square one again. I've got to be careful.

He stops bouncing Sol on his leg. I hold my breath, preparing for the possible reaction I'm about to receive.

I don't want him to see how nervous I am so I turn my back to him and continue preparing the bottle of formula.

I take the lid off the can and grab the small spoon, measuring the powder with it and scooping it into the bottle of water.

"I got bad news today."

His exclamation only increases my anxiety and I force myself to take a short breath in to relax.

I don't respond to that I just wait for him to continue when he's ready. It's already a huge step forward that he's willing to talk about it without nagging.

"Do you remember the woman who was throwing a fit at the salon the day we met?" I know he purposefully skipped the fact that he and I met for the second time that day. I wouldn't consider the first one a proper meeting anyway. He didn't even know my name.

"Mhm," I hum. How could I forget? She's been stuck in my head for a few days after that. She looked absolutely terrified and even angrier. I knew something was off with that place but I hadn't known what. Now I do. Well, I sort of do. I know enough.

"She works with them." I pause screwing the cap of the bottle on and turn back around. He's looking at me now, brows drawn together. He's stressed out, angry even. But he keeps himself together for the sake of his little girl.

Them? Does he mean those guys who tried to kidnap me?

"Yes, them." He answers my unspoken question, grasping my attention again. "She's been delivering information about my company to them. They know a lot more than I thought."