Please Don't Take Her

Brennan

I frowned at my computer screen as alarms started to go off. I quickly pulled up the surveillance program so I could silence the noise before it woke Leah up. It was only 8:30 AM, and I knew she hadn’t fallen asleep until almost 6 AM, because when I woke up, she was still awake. I narrowed my eyes on the computer screen. What in the hell? Why were they here? I opened the first gate before checking on Leah and hurrying down to the last gate to let them in. As Joey parked, Maddie jumped out of the car to dash over and hug me, making me uncross my arms so I could catch her.

“GODDAMMIT, MADISON! YOU’RE PREGNANT!”

She giggled as she looked up at me. “He’s really bossy.”

I smirked over her head at my furious brother. “Yes, he is. Why are you guys here?”

Joey raised his eyebrow at me. “She didn’t tell you?”

I stiffened as Maddie pulled away from me to wander into Eden. “Leah asked you to come?” He nodded, making panic set in. Had I upset her the night before, and she just didn’t tell me? “Why? Is she leaving me? You can’t take her! You need to leave! MADISON, COME HERE!” I yelled, even more anxious than before.

I spun around, only pausing when Joey’s hand landed on my arm. “She’s not leaving you, Brennan. Calm down. I can’t tell you why she asked me to come, but it’s not because she’s leaving.”

“Why can’t you tell me? She’s my fiancé, and we don’t keep secrets—”

“Hold up! Wait! Fiancé? When did that happen?” Joey said, cutting me off.

“Last night. And—”

“Aaah. That makes sense. I can’t speak to you about why I’m here, because as of last night, mine and Leah’s communications are protected by the attorney-client privilege,” he told me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. That information wasn’t helpful at all, and he knew it. He mainly worked in family law but still worked in the business and civil sectors on occasion. Not only that, but if Caleb was the one really working with her for something criminal, which I doubted, but it was still a possibility, Joey could be here to gather information for him.

“Joey, please, don’t take her. I can’t lose her. She’s everything to me,” I whispered.

He patted my shoulder. “Relax, brother. She’s not trying to leave you.”

“OH MY GAWDDDDDDD!” Maddie squealed, making me spin around.

My heart immediately sped up when I saw Leah’s hand in Maddie’s while she turned it every which way to thoroughly examine the ring on Leah’s finger. I rushed over to them, instantly pulling Leah into my arms while my heart pounded hard in my chest.

“Baby, can we talk?” I asked, anxiously.

She smiled up at me. “Yeah.”

I picked her up, carrying her back into my office building, not fully trusting her to actually follow me at the moment before setting her down, keeping my arms wrapped tightly around her. I tipped her face up to look into her eyes.

“I need to know why you asked Joey to come here. If you want to leave—”
Her eyes widened before she put a finger over my lips, silencing me. “I’m not leaving you, Brennan. After you proposed last night, I lay awake for hours, trying to decide how to make you as sure of our relationship as I am. I wanted to meet you halfway and show you that I’m willing to do things to help our relationship progress. I know how hard it was for you to propose to me. And I just wanted you to know that I see your progress. I asked Joey to come here to help me file for divorce from Will. It’s the next step I need to take to be free so I can be fully in this with you. Without my being married, holding us back.” She stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to my lips. “I want this with you. I want to be married and start a family. I want everything that being with a good man entails. Even if we have to wait for a year or two to actually do it. I just want to be ready when you are so we can take the next step together.”

I cupped her face, my thumb moving over her cheek. “Leah, I was so scared when Joey and Maddie showed up. Maddie has never been here before, and I thought he brought her to keep you calm while you left me.”

She smiled as she covered my hand. “I’m not leaving. I promise.”

I nodded as I tried to calm my anxiety. “Okay, baby. You can use my office to talk with him. But I’m just letting you know I might be clingy for the next few hours until I’m sure that you’re not trying to leave me.”

“Oh, no! Never that! Clingy. Ewwww,” she teased as her eyes lit up.

“Shut up,” I chuckled before kissing her again.

“After they leave, how about we spend the rest of the day in bed, so I can reassure you how I feel?” She asked.

“God yes. Please.”

She patted my cheek. “I promise you that we will be okay. Let’s go get them, so we can finish.”

I followed her back outside, cursing under my breath when Sugar was waiting for us at the door. I was so focused on Leah possibly leaving me that I didn’t even notice that she was downstairs to use the bathroom. Maddie hugged Leah before leading her past me with her arm draped over Leah’s shoulders, already talking about wedding planning. Joey paused beside me, and we both stood still for a moment, watching our women.

“Do you feel better now?” Joey inquired quietly.

“I do. I’m sorry that I accused you of trying to take her.”

“Don’t worry about it. I understand how you feel. I’ve had similar reactions over Maddie. That’s how you know it’s true love and not just lust.” He patted my shoulder. “Come on, Brennan. I promised Maddie that we would stop and eat dinner at the fresh seafood place we saw 45 minutes away, which means that I have to get these papers drawn up in 4 hours. I do not intend for it to even take that long, but I know Maddie is going to want to talk to Leah for a while before we leave.”

I nodded. “I agree. Let’s go.”

We all got into the elevator before letting it take us up to the main office floor. I kissed Leah again before sitting behind my desk as Joey led her to my other office. Maddie dragged a chair to my desk so she could sit across from me. I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Can I help you?” I questioned her.

“I’m proud of you.”

I blinked in surprise. “You’re proud of me?”

She nodded. “I am. That woman loves you so much. I saw it at the wedding for that brief time that I spoke with her. I was worried that you would take so long that she would give up on you before you gave her any type of inkling that you care about her as more than a wet hole.”

I groaned. “I never thought that Leah was just a wet hole. The woman drove me crazy from the moment I saw her sleeping in her car outside of our gates. There was never any hope that I wouldn’t fall for her.”

“Do you love her, Brennan?” She asked. “Like really love her? Or are you going to wake up one day and think that you can’t do this with her?”

I sighed as I leaned back in my chair. “Did Joey tell you what I told him about how I felt about her?”

“Of course, he did. I am his wife, Brennan. But I want to hear it from you. Do you love her?”

I glanced down the hallway to the other office, relaxing a little when the door was shut. “Yes, Maddie. I do love her. I can’t imagine my life without her, and asking her to marry me is the way I am choosing to make sure I never have to be without her.” I looked down at my desk to fidget with some of the papers on it. “We talked about having kids.”

I didn’t have to look at her face to know she was shocked. “Did you?”

“Yes.”

“And what did you two decide about having kids? Do you want more kids? Is she pressuring you to have kids?” She fired off questions so fast that I was sure I missed one or two.

“We decided that we were going to wait until we were married to try to start a family. I wasn’t sure if I would be okay with having more kids, but now, having a family with her is all I can think about,” I confided softly.

She smiled as she leaned across the desk to take my hand. “I’m happy for you, Brennan. You deserve to have everything you want.”

I returned her smile. “And I do. All I want is Leah, and she is here with me, trying. That’s all that matters to me. That is all I need.”

She squeezed my hand. “Like I said, I am proud of you.”

“Thanks, Maddie. Now, when you two are planning our wedding, remember I’m poor.”

She grinned at me. “You will be afterward. That I promise you.”

I groaned. “Joey’s spoiled you.”

She winked at me. “Just like you are going to spoil Leah. Don’t even try to deny it.”

I sighed dreamily. “I won’t. I promise.”