The Healing Touch - Apryl Baker Page 0,84
were growing up, and she’d always one. Her apartment now didn’t allow pets either.
“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get inside and find you a warm jacket. I have something I want to show you.”
He rummaged through his hall closet until he pulled out a jacket that would swallow her, but she’d be warm. He led her through the house and out the back door to the private beach. It was what drew him to the house to being with. He’d bring his laptop and a six-pack out here some nights and write until dawn. It was peaceful.
And deserted.
Other than the Coopers three doors down. They were out on their patio. The smell of steak reached his nose, and his stomach grumbled.
Becca giggled at the sound.
“Maybe you should call Mason and have him get you something that’s not Mexican?”
She was right, and he shot a quick text to his brother to swing by Sonic and bring him a double cheeseburger and strawberry shake. He told him to bring Becca a chocolate one.
He pulled her down to the shore and watched her face transform from laughter to wonder. She’d never seen the ocean before, and he knew it was the one thing she really wanted to see. He’d always wanted to be the one to show her, and the feeling of contentment was just as wonderous to him as the ocean was to her.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered as Ollie splashed into the water, running through it like a madman.
“Is it everything you hoped for?”
She nodded, her eyes round as she glanced out over the water. He wished it was clearer so she could see the moon shining over the waves, but with smog, it was hard to get those nights.
He wrapped his arms around her, his chin settling on the top of her head. “Welcome home, baby.”
For once, she didn’t argue with him, and Dimitri was content to stand here on the beach, his dog having a grand old time in the water, and his woman nestled in his arms.
Chapter Twenty
The breeze felt wonderful against Becca’s hot skin. The sand she was squishing her toes in was still warm from the sun that baked it earlier in the day, even though the night had cooled. The beach was beautiful at night, but it was even more glorious in the daytime with the water sparkling beneath a cloudless sky.
That didn’t mean she liked it enough to want to stay here, though.
Los Angeles was loud, dirty, and hot. Not that Chicago didn’t get its fair share of heat waves, but it was never this muggy. Dimitri’s condo afforded them some privacy at night when she ventured out to the sand. His neighbors were nosier than hers, though, and that was saying something.
She knew he was going to ask her to stay. And she probably would. She might hate the city, but she loved the man.
After everything that went down in Charleston, LA was a safe haven. Dimitri’s ex had been taken to the hospital, screaming she was going to file charges and sue Becca. Something she wasn’t worried about. The woman had attacked her, after all. She’d been booked for assault and battery. Even if she somehow managed to get out of those charges, she was still facing a bench warrant in Philadelphia, where they had her dead to rights on embezzlement. And thanks to her jumping bond, she was currently being held without bail. She wouldn’t be seeing the outside of a prison cell any time soon.
The signing was something she’d remembered only after she’d woken up the next day. Sara Jane had taken care of everything. She’d left a note on Dimitri’s table telling readers to pick his pre-orders up at her table, and her assistant packed up his things for him. He’d collected them later that day and arranged for UPS to ship them.
Sheila, the event coordinator, had been very understanding, as had his readers. Becca still had people talking about how she deserved it for breaking up the crazy ex’s relationship with Dimitri, but they could keep on hating. There would always be those who wanted nothing more than to believe the worst and gossip about it. Her true friends had shown themselves in their defense of her. That was all a person could really ask for.
Since she’d been here in LA, her anxiety had calmed down quite a bit. She still had attacks, but they were shorter, and she was able to get a handle on them a little quicker.