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

Chapter 20: Home

Vera and Patrick step back into their house, and after triple-checking that the front door was locked, Patrick follows Vera into the kitchen.

"How about we go out for some breakfast," Patrick sighs, leaning his hand against the counter, "I don't want you cooking anything after that whole situation."

"I didn't walk into here to make something," Vera says, climbing up on the marble counter to reach the first aid cabinet, "you've got a nasty cut on your lip."

Patrick's eyes widen as he reaches a hand up to his mouth, tapping gently on the area that stung, hissing at the contact. "Don't touch it, babe," Vera whispers to him, holding him by the shoulders and leading him to one of the island table stools, "sit."

Patrick slumps down into the chair, watching as Vera turns in her seat so that she can face him, "Oh... god," Vera mumbles under her breath.

"What is it," he looks at her with curious eyes. After noticing how close they were sitting, with her legs between his, he instinctively placed his hands gently on the sides of her thighs. 

She giggles, "that's so unprofessional of you," Vera mutters sarcastically, dabbing some antibiotics on a paper towel before pressing it onto his lip. 

"Sorry, doctor," Patrick faces toward the ceiling as Vera instructs him to do, "what made you mumble those words?"

"Oh, I don't know... this just reminded me of when I was cleaning Owen's cut," Vera says, opening a small tube of antibiotic cream, avoiding Patrick's sudden glare.

"Oh, right," Patrick chuckles softly, "I guess a busted lip didn't stop him from kissing you." He says in a mumble.

Vera huffs, tapping the cream on, grabbing onto Patrick's knee to steady herself as she leans in, "I'm still so upset with Owen, I don't know what got into him." She shrugs.

Patrick hums slightly, reaching for her hand, "well, he's forgiven now, and it's all in the past. Including Morgan and Maria. That is if they decide to stop bothering us."

"I think they will," Vera says confidently, squeezing his hand, "you said everything you needed to say, and now there's no reason for them to intrude on our lives again."

"You're right," Patrick smirks crookedly, his lip rising on the opposite side of his cut making Vera giggle. 

"Are you hungry?" Vera asks him as she runs a hand through the side of his brunette hair, pecking him on the side of his mouth that wasn't wounded. 

"Not really," Patrick sighs, "just tired."

"Right," Vera smirks, getting up from the stool, "almost forgot it's six in the morning."

"Let's go back to bed?" Patrick asks, standing to absorb her into his arms. 

Before Vera could say another word, they hear a knock on the door. Patrick looks toward the door, clenching his jaw, "I swear if this is-"

"It's not," Vera reassures, walking down the hallway toward the front door after recognizing the car that sat in their driveway, "it's my parents."

Patrick followed her, "your parents?" he asked in a panicked manner, "what if they ask about my face?"

"They won't ask, but if they do we'll say it was an accident," she whispers, opening the front door to her parents giddily standing on the other side of it, both carrying a carton from the farmer's market.

"Hi, honey!" Vera's mom approaches Vera first, putting an arm around her.

"Hey," Patrick smiles sweetly as Marko approaches him, watching as the older man hands him the box he was carrying, "what's this?"

"Blueberries," Marko pats him on the shoulder, "me and Sofia went to a local blueberry farm this morning."

Vera laughs, "at five in the morning?"

"It's a friend of mine," Marko nods, "they let us in a little early."

"Wow," Patrick says in surprise, "thank you. This is quite a lot."

"You'll get through them in no time," Sofia says, waving her hand in the air carelessly, "you're a good cook right? Maybe you can bake a pie."

"I like to cook, but I don't really bake," Patrick shrugs, looking over at Vera as she takes the carton from her mother's hands.

"Guess I'll have to teach you," Vera chimes, nudging Patrick playfully.

-

"This'll make us about an even dozen pies," Patrick says, placing both boxes onto the kitchen counter after Vera's parents had left.

"Well then, we better get started," Vera smiles. She watches as Patrick takes a handful of blueberries and pours them into his mouth, a smile creeping on his face.

"Good?" Vera chuckles, watching as Patrick wraps his hands around her.

"Of course," Patrick says enthusiastically, "I'd start making a pie right now, but I feel like I'd pass out without getting some sleep first."

"No, I agree," Vera nods, "As long as no one else decides to stop by, we can just sleep the rest of the day."

"That sounds perfect," he says, looking down at her lovingly, "but maybe we'll take a break and make ourselves a pie or two."

"You really want some pie, don't you?" Vera giggles, admiring him as he takes a strand of her hair and tucks it behind an ear, out of her face.

"It's your mom's fault for bringing it up," he says, running a hand over his tired face before leading Vera out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and into their untouched bedroom where their luggage sat scattered, "here."

Patrick hands her the remote, asking her to throw on a movie while he checks on something in his office. He watches as Vera gladly tucks herself under the covers, getting herself comfortable on their linen sheets while leaving Patrick plenty of space to join her the moment he got back.

He dashes over to his office, swinging the door open and charging for the small closet that sat on the other end of his messy workspace.

Pushing the doors open, he reaches for a backpack that he had tucked away on the highest shelf, a place where Vera would never think to look.

He unzips the smallest pocket, grinning as he looks down at the little velvet box that he kept there. Quietly, he pulls it out, checking to see if the jewel inside was still intact after their flight back home.

The jewel gleams in his eye as the sunlight from the window reflects off the diamond, Patrick knew Vera would love it.

He quickly tucks the ring back in its hiding spot, reminiscing the moment he bought it at the jeweler during his first night in New York City.

"Patrick?" Vera calls, causing him to jump in response, looking in the direction of their shared bedroom.

"Coming," he replies as he steps out of his office, sighing in relief after successfully stowing the jewel away.

"What took you so long?" Vera smiles as she relaxes under the duvet, giggling as Patrick crawls onto the bed, hovering over her with the drawstrings of his sweats undone.

"Just some work... stuff," Patrick mutters, trying to sound sincere as he looks down into her captivating eyes.

"Fine, don't tell me," Vera scoffs as she slaps Patrick's shoulder, smiling from cheek to cheek as he leans in for a heartfelt kiss, "you could be planning our wedding behind my back for all I know." She giggles, wrapping her arms around his neck in an attempt to pull him closer.

Patrick reciprocates by climbing under the covers, shooting her a satisfied grin.