Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

CARA

I roll over as Rhett's alarm goes off, stretching my legs out and arching my back. Rhett's arms circle around me after he turns off the alarm, pulling my body closer. His musky scent hits my nose, and I inhale it deeply, letting myself get lost in him for a moment. He's so warm. So comforting.

We set an alarm for 9 a.m. before going to sleep not more than a few hours ago. A few hours of sleep is better than none, so we cuddled up together in my bed after finally having sex last night. It was everything I was hoping it would be and more.

"Good morning," Rhett yawns, his voice still sleepy as he plants a soft kiss to the side of my face.

"Morning," I smile, holding his arms around me tightly. "I don't want to get up."

He lets out a laugh. "I don't either, but Friendsgiving dinner isn't going to cook itself, and we need to pack our bags."

I roll onto my side so that I can see his face clearly, propping my head up on my hand. "Pack our bags?"

"We can't stay here," he frowns as he pushes stray hair away from my face. "It's not safe. It won't take more than a few days for the Don Leon cartel to put the pieces together. They've got people everywhere, and they'll be able to figure out that it was us at the warehouse. They're going to come looking for us, and we need to be long gone when they do."

My heart sinks. I've never thought about leaving Hallow Grove. This town and the people here are all I've ever known. The idea of leaving almost pains me. Not necessarily because I have many ties here, but because I've made myself comfortable. But Rhett has shown me it's okay to be pushed outside of my comfort zone. It's okay to not know what's going to happen next.

Maybe what I've been needing is a little more excitement. Since the moment Rhett walked into my life, I've felt alive. Like I've been born again into a new, more confident body and mindset. The thrill of being reckless has given me more happiness in the last few weeks than I've felt in my entire life.

A lot of the past few weeks have been extremely fucked up, yes, but I survived, and I feel stronger for it. Rhett did this. He pushed me past my limits, showing me there's more to life than binging monster smut and tattooing the same ten people in this small town.

So instead of arguing, I nod. "Okay," I sigh, rolling to my back. "Where are we going to go?"

"I don't know yet," he admits. "My boss is going to handle everything for us here, and we'll hit the road as soon as Friendsgiving is over. My bike can't carry much, so we can only bring one bag each."

"That's fine," I say as I roll out of bed, padding across the room to my bathroom. "I'm going to shower, then I'll get started on the food."

I half expect Rhett to follow me into the bathroom, but instead, he gives me a sweet smile, then picks up his phone and begins scrolling. "I'll shower after you."

I savor my shower, not knowing if I'll ever shower in this bathroom again. After today, everything is unknown. We don't know where we're going or how long we'll be gone. For all I know, we'll never come back to Hallow Grove. We might not even come back to the state of Iowa. I don't know.

Turning the faucet off, I grab my towel and dry off, then slip into a burnt orange dress and black tights. I throw some makeup on, then head downstairs while Rhett showers.

It feels weird as I step into the kitchen without him. Normally he'd be trailing me, making sure I'm not about to make another desperate attempt to escape, but not this time. He trusts me. We trust each other.

Opening the refrigerator, I'm shocked to find all of the ingredients I need to make my homemade pumpkin spice lattes sitting together on one shelf. There's a note on the pureed pumpkin, so I pluck it off the can and read it.

Now you won't have to go to Rustic Roast and see that annoying barista with the stupid fucking smile.

I laugh to myself, rolling my eyes. Of course he'd be jealous of Juan. I'm not even sure Juan is into girls, so Rhett had nothing to worry about to begin with.

Pulling the ingredients out, I head to the stove to make pumpkin sauce. I measure out the ingredients one at a time, following the recipe I know by heart. Pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin spice extract, and a few other things that I bring to a boil in a small pot. Once it's bubbling, I take it off the heat, then drizzle a hefty spoonful inside a coffee mug. Past me was thinking ahead last night when I programmed my espresso machine to go off at 9:30 a.m. I grab my double shot of espresso off of the machine, then pour it over the pumpkin sauce with a splash of milk, mixing them together with a little tea spoon. The espresso turns orange as it blends with the pumpkin sauce, and the smell of the spiced espresso hits my nose. I inhale deeply, savoring the calm moment.

I hear Rhett approaching me from behind, so I don't jump when he wraps his arms around me from behind, kissing down my neck. He smells so fucking good mixed with the fragrance of my pumpkin spice latte.

"Thank you," I say, tipping my head toward my latte. "I needed this today."

"You're welcome." Rhett slaps my ass abruptly, then turns toward the refrigerator to retrieve the ingredients I had planned on getting before I was distracted by his little surprise.

I turn around, leaning against the counter while I watch him work. Bringing my latte to my lips, I sip it slowly, letting the rich, sweet flavor roll over my tongue. I moan softly, letting my eyes close while I swallow a mouthful of the liquid.

"It's so much better than what I get at Rustic Roast," I say, watching for his reaction when I bring up Juan's place of employment.

He glances at me, but gives me a soft, sleepy smile. "Once we figure out where we're going, I'll make sure you have everything you need to make them every day if you'd like."

I take another slow sip, then admit, "I'd love that."

We spend all day prepping and cooking the food for Friendsgiving. Rhett does most of the work, letting me jump in here and there when small tasks arise. He seems like he genuinely loves cooking and being in the kitchen, like it's not a burden for me to sit on a stool and watch him.

Today, our small talk easily extends into deeper conversations. We laugh and tease each other, telling childhood memories and genuinely taking the time to get to know each other. I've learned a lot about him the past few weeks, but he hasn't opened up and relaxed much until today. I know it's because of last night, but a small part of me thinks we were already pointing ourselves in this direction.

The night we spent tattooing each other made me see a whole other side to him. Something I hadn't expected. And now here, with him in my kitchen, I'm seeing a domesticated side of him. He actually washed his hands before he started touching the food, which is something most men don't do. They don't care. But Rhett does.

He thinks of the little things. Like the pumpkin spice lattes.

And I love that about him.

We spent about an hour taking down all of Rhett's locks and boards on the windows, making the house look like it did prior to his arrival. No one will ever know what happened here. And the reality is, they don't need to.

I'm so excited to see my friends for the first time in weeks, especially Sloan, but I'm also feeling heartbroken knowing it's the last time I'll see them for who knows how long. I can't leave Sloan forever, and no matter where we go, I'll find a way to stay in contact with her. When she gets here, I already know she'll have a million questions. Where have I been? Why am I acting like I'm distancing myself from her? The reality is, it was Rhett's doing and I had no say in it, but now everything is different. I want to go with Rhett. I need to see where we end up and what kind of life we might have together. It's not traditional or expected, but that's what I like about it. I've turned over a new leaf, and this is the new me.

The rest of my friends I can go without seeing again. Most of them are closer with Sloan, anyway. I've always been the more loyal type, with only one or two people I hold close. Her friends are fun to be around and make me feel like I have more of a social life than I actually do, but I'm okay saying goodbye.

When Sloan gets here, I plan to tell her that Rhett and I have decided to travel and I'll be taking some time off. Jeremy will run the shop, and I'll check in from a distance. She'll be suspicious, of course, but that's how Sloan is by nature. All I can do is my best, and that'll have to be good enough.

Rhett plants a quick kiss on my cheek as he reaches behind me, grabbing one of the giant spoons out of the utensil holder. I grab his face, twisting it toward me as he leans back, then pull him into a soft, sweet kiss. Our lips move together, and my hand moves around to the back of his head, drawing him into me, letting him know I'm here, and I'm his.

When I let go and he pulls back, his pupils are blown, and there's a hungry look in his eye. "I need to get this casserole in the oven, but you're doing a phenomenal job distracting me."

I bite my bottom lip, smiling up at him from my chair. "Better hurry up, then."

Rhett shakes his head, grinning as he turns back to the half-made green bean casserole waiting for him in a mixing bowl. "Something tells me you're going to get me into a lot of trouble at work."

"Why's that?" I press, already knowing his answer.

There's a twinkle in his dark eyes as he says, "Because I'm going to want to spend most of my time tangled up in bed with you rather than working on my next assignment."

Shrugging as I cup my third steaming hot pumpkin spice latte in my hands, I ask, "Would you have it any other way?"

Rhett laughs, turning to look at me. "No, little nightmare, I wouldn't."