The Lady Next Door - A Sequel to "The Man Next Door"

Chapter 12: Serenity

Taking a deep breath, he knocks on his hotel door before swiping his card and pushing it open. It had been a long day for him, especially now that he had a lot of anticipation to return to his cozy room and have Vera in his arms again.

Patrick smiles as he steps in, only to see that Vera was not alone, standing there with the blonde-haired man that he didn't particularly like. Owen dropped a bag down before they both turned to face him, and with a big smile, Vera ran up to Patrick, hugging him tightly, "hi honey." She smiles, awkwardly pulling back as Owen began to walk toward them.

"What's he doing here?" Patrick asks immediately, observing him for a moment before taking a look around.

"Oh," Vera looked to Owen, "he just wanted to help me move my things from his place."

Patrick locks eyes with Vera, and smiles, "makes sense," he slowly turns to Owen, giving him a warmer look than the one he gave the first time they met, "thanks for that Owen, and thank you for taking Vera in."

"Yeah of course," he nods, "anything for her."

Patrick shakes his hand, "and sorry about what happened at that bar, you brought the dog out in me after taking me away from her like that."

"Ah," Owen waves his hand, beginning to head out of the room, "don't worry about it."

"Wait, Owen," Vera says to him, carefully pulling him by the hand and taking him into her embrace, "thank you so much, for everything."

Owen laughs, smirking down at her as he pulls away, "it's no problem."

They both watch as Owen walks out and closes the door behind himself, and slowly they begin to return to each other's arms. At the sound of the door closing, Vera turns to Patrick and pulls him down into a desperate kiss, only to have him back away.

Patrick looks down at her seriously, towering over her, "so why didn't you kiss me while he was here?" Patrick asks her in a whisper, watching as a worried expression falls over her face as if she had something to say, "I- I'm just teasing Vera," he reassures, smiling at her softly as he wraps his hands around her smaller figure, placing a hand on her soft jaw before anxiously capturing her lips.

Vera kisses him back before gently parting, petting his hair as she looks up at him, chuckling at his look of disapproval, "we should really talk."

"What could be so important to talk about?" Patrick tells her, turning his head and lowering his mouth to her neck, gently nipping her there.

Vera giggles and pulls away from his hold, taking his hand and leading him toward the couch, "sit down." She orders.

"Of course m'lady," Patrick says, sitting down and watching her take a seat beside him, "is... something wrong?" He asks her after a moment of silence, reaching for her hands and leaning in closer to listen.

"No of course not, it's just something about what you said," Vera tells him.

"The thing about Owen?" Patrick asks.

"Yeah," Vera says, "it's- it's not what you said... it's just something that happened with Owen."

Patrick's eyes grow with worry, gently rubbing Vera's leg as he scoots in closer, "go on," he mutters.

Vera takes in some air before looking up, "please don't get mad at him, but he kissed me the other night," Vera says, turning to look into his eyes which no longer showed any concern, "at least he tried to... I didn't kiss him back, in fact, I stormed out."

Patrick turns away from her, facing forward as he leans into the couch, "I thought I could trust him," he muttered, spreading his arms out against the back of the sofa.

Vera looked down sadly, tucking herself into a ball as she leaned into his side. She relaxes as he wraps an arm around her, kissing her head gently, "so you aren't mad?" Vera asks him.

"No," Patrick answers, "it's clear that you forgave him, so I'm assuming he made up for it."

Vera smiles in relief, "yeah, he is one of my best friends after all." She nods, feeling at ease as she comfortably sits in his arms.

"And... since we're talking," Patrick begins, "care to tell me about the night you came to me drunk?"

Vera closes her eyes, wincing, "that was so embarrassing."

"It was cute," Patrick laughs.

She rolls her eyes at him, chuckling to herself, "well, I was just having a normal night out with some friends, until I ran into your friend Emma."

"Emma?"

"Yeah, Emma." Vera grins, "she explained everything, and then she bought us a few drinks. That's when I realized I was in the wrong, I really should have listened to you... and I should have realized Maria was up to no good."

She blushes as Patrick turned to his side to face her, softly cupping her cheek and kissing her on the forehead, "it's okay... how were you supposed to know Morgan was her sister?"

"Is that entire family trouble?"

"Yes!" Patrick says in exaggeration, making her laugh out loud.

"You should thank Emma," Vera says after catching her breath, placing a hand over the one Patrick rested on her face.

"I should," Patrick nods, running his fingers lightly through her silky brunette hair, "maybe tomorrow before we leave."

Vera smiles, her blue eyes fixed on him as he inches closer, fidgeting with the buttons of his shirt, "that sounds good."