Moving On

Chapter 23 - Part 1

Kate sat at the desk; the drawings of the attic, living room, and master bedroom lay in front of her. She flipped through the drawings, checking the designs again.

As promised, she had stayed in the house as much as she could. Everyone who needed to see her regarding work or wedding preparations came to the mansion. She felt as though she was under house arrest, but she couldn't complain.

She wasn't the only one stuck in the house.

Since she had received the stack of threats, everyone had practically moved into the mansion. Tyler was there with her every day, solving whatever problem he had at work over the phone.

The rest of the guys and Evelyn were at the mansion once they were off work. At night, Evelyn would check on her, making sure that all her windows were locked before going to bed.

Her car had been rendered useless, sitting and wasting away in the front driveway. The few occasions when she had to leave the house to look at wedding venues, and her sole trip to the office were chauffeured by Tyler.

Even with Evelyn in the office, Tyler still insisted on hanging around, citing the excuse that he had nothing else to do anyway.

He spent most of the time lounging on her couch, reading on his iPad. Sometimes, he would get up and go over to the pantry to get himself a cup of coffee.

His presence was not only distracting Kate but everyone else in the office.

He walked around the office like it was his own, not realizing that all the staff were staring at him whenever he passed by their desks.

Oblivious would be a better word for it.

At first, she had thought that everyone was staring out of curiosity, that even though he had accompanied Kate to the office more than a couple of times, it was the first time he stayed.

It wasn't until she overheard the gossip in the pantry that she realized they were ogling rather than staring.

She hadn't noticed the reaction Tyler caused the people around him. His attention had always been solely on her. Whenever she was around him, she always had his attention, and he had hers.

She returned to the office and told Tyler what she'd heard.

He shrugged and pulled her onto his lap, asking her if she was done with work, ignoring what she had just told him.

Lydia had also returned Kate's call. She swore that she hadn't been back to Detective Cooper's house and hadn't found anything else about their parents' case. Lydia did ask Kate in detail about the notes and what she was going to do about them.

Kate told her about the arrangement with the new bodyguards she now had, but before she could update Lydia on her wedding plans, Lydia told her that she was busy and had to go.

That was when Kate realized that she hadn't even told Lydia about her engagement.

"Still working on the attic?" Ryan, her bodyguard for the day, asked, bringing her attention back to the drawings in front of her.

"No, I'm thinking about what to do with the current study."

"Get rid of everything, then put in a pool table."

She chuckled as she shook her head slowly. Joseph and Dan had each suggested that she could change the study into a games room as well, but she couldn't quite bear destroying anything inside.

She had spent so much time with the late Mr. Hayes in there.

Sometimes, she would pass by the room and still expect to see him sitting on the black leather chair, flipping through a photo album.

"She's going to keep the room as it is," Tyler suddenly said.

"Why would you need two studies?"

"Because she isn't ready to change the room. Leave her alone."

She understood that rationally, there wasn't a need for two studies. But she couldn't make herself change anything.

Tyler was right. He had said it before she could admit it.

"We'll talk when he isn't around." Ryan winked. "Goodnight for now."

Ryan went back to the guest room while Tyler continued. "Ignore them. Keep whatever room you want. It's your house."

"Actually, it's yours. What do you think?"

"I think I want my fiancée to stop thinking of herself as a guest."

"I don't. I just want to make sure that you like what I'm changing."

"I do. I'll tell you if I don't, I promise."

"And you don't mind leaving the study alone?"

"I don't think the guys need another excuse to come over."

She laughed and kissed him. "I love you."

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