One Night Only

Part 28

"So, are you going to tell me, why you asked me to get here immediately?" Lindsey got in his car as soon as he'd received Stevie's text. "It sounded urgent, I was expecting to hear that something horrible has happened."

"Uh, no, I just..." Stevie lifted her feet up on the couch and hugged her knees to her chest. "I thought, you'd be waiting by the door for me, but you weren't here. I started wondering if you'd changed your mind and wouldn't come at all."

"Really?" Lindsey gave her a look, unsure if she was being honest.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Forcing a smile, she reached for his hand.

Stevie decided not to tell Lindsey about what had happened with Lauren's father. The man clearly thought he could hold her and Lindsey's affair against her, threaten to tell Lauren the truth, but now that Mr. Lynwood knew the relationship was over, maybe he'd stay away. Lindsey had been going through a stressful time, he didn't need this added to the list of his worries.

"Tell me the truth, Lindsey, about everything." Stevie changed the subject, so he wouldn't dwell on it any longer.

"Where do I began." Lindsey sighed and shifted in his seat. "You already know that I don't have a boring office job, I've been a sort of private investigator for about ten years now. I've done some questionable things." He looked away, scratching the back of his head. "I've lied, I've cheated, I'm sure that I've hurt people, too. Not physically." He added. "I've never been attached to anybody, so it worked for me. My job has given me an opportunity of being someone else; dining at expensive restaurants, driving luxurious cars, wearing designer clothes... I liked it." He shrugged. "I got my latest case about half a year ago, a little less than that maybe. There's suspicion that Mr. Lynwood is involved in some shady business, money laundering, which is closely related to criminal activity. However, I didn't have a lot to go on, so my boss thought the best option was for me to get involved with Lauren." Lindsey continued, without noticing, how Stevie tensed up at the mention of the man. "I was supposed to get romantically involved with her, which happened fairly easily."

"So, she was just a job for you? Don't you feel guilty, toying with someone's feelings like that?" Stevie asked and Lindsey sighed.

"Well, over the years, I learned how to detach myself from the situation, not to think about the person as anything else beyond a key to a task." The look on her face, told Lindsey, she didn't enjoy hearing that, but Stevie remained silent. "But I did like her, she was fun to be with, which made it easier. However, Lauren wanted more right from the start. She was ready to move in with me, to start planning our future together and all that. One thing that I did find difficult, was intimacy. It's not hard, losing your sight, when you've got someone, who believes the relationship is genuine, who wants to spend every minute of every day together. So, I kind of chose to be this gentleman, who doesn't want just the physical aspects of being together. I don't think, Lauren fully believed that."

"She didn't." Stevie shook her head. "Neither did I or Jane, when she told us."

"It didn't help, when I met you either." Lindsey glanced at her. "I was the one, who said, no strings attached, just one night together, but... when you left, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Honestly. I realized that I wanted to see you again. And when I did at that dinner party at Lauren's, I was so confused as to what to do next." Lindsey ran a hand through his hair and moved closer over to Stevie. He felt some resistance on her part, but her hugged her around the shoulders and pulled her closer. "I told my boss that I've met someone and he told me, I should focus only on Lauren. I tried, but... well, you saw me try, when I came to see you and pushed you against the wall. There was this pull right from the start and I know, you felt it, too, but I understand, why you tried pushing me away. I understood that you seeing me with Lauren had to be incredibly difficult. I wish you didn't have to go through that. And I felt like such an asshole, when I left after we'd made love, to go back to her."

"I cried myself to sleep that night." Stevie admitted and her words stung Lindsey, but he couldn't change it now. 

"And I'm so sorry, Stevie." Lindsey tightened his grip on her and pressed a kiss to her hair. "I was ready to drop this case, because I didn't want to hurt you any more. My boss didn't understand. He called me unprofessional, he said, he thought of me as a completely different man. But I realize now that that man wasn't, who I truly am. You made me see, how it feels to care for somebody else, to love somebody else other than myself."

"How did you get yourself suspended?" Stevie moved to lie her head in his lap, Lindsey's arm draped around her middle. 

"I received some pictures of you and I together. I realized that I'm being followed by someone on Mr. Lynwood's orders. Lauren and I went for dinner at her parents' home and he pulled me aside, told me, he knew everything. He threatened to tell Lauren if I don't stay away from you. He... he said that he might pay a visit to you." Again, Stevie held her breath, hearing that. "I was worried, so I asked Greg to be near you at all times, which is how you met him. After that, I made a decision to remove myself from the investigation. I would never risk your safety, I'd hate myself if something happened to you or our baby. So, I walked into my boss' office today and told him that. He wasn't very happy and I understand why, but I just..." Lindsey shook his head. "I can't do this anymore if I want a chance at happiness with you. All of the things, I've mentioned earlier, they don't make me happy, but being with you does."

A smile crossed Stevie's lips and she sat up. Cradling his face in her hands, Stevie gave Lindsey a lingering kiss. "You're serious about us, aren't you?"

"Of course. If I haven't shown you that yet, please, tell me and I'll do anything, so you believe me." Lindsey nodded, turning his head to kiss the palm of her hand. "I'll quit if you want me to. I see, how my job can make you feel uncomfortable."

"You don't have to do that for me. Just please, don't get involved with other women."

"Oh, that's over." Lindsey promised. "Besides, none of them compare to you. You're all I could ever want, Stevie. You've already given me, what I didn't know, I wanted." He pressed his forehead to hers and his hand traveled down and rested on her belly. "Are we okay? You're not going to ask me to leave again, are you?"

Smiling, she shook her head. "I'm not." She kissed him. "We're okay."