Chapter 29

"Shane, have you seen Paul?" Stephanie called out to her brother as she flicked off the light switch and adjusting the strap of her pink leather handbag, she closed over the door behind her.

"Last I saw him he was heading back to his dressing room."

She pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "Then I'd better go chase him up. He promised to take me back to the hotel ages ago."

"Yeah well if he's not there, you'd better come and find me. I don't want you going back alone, you hear me?" warned Shane, his finger pointing in her direction.

Stephanie's mouth curved into a smile. "Loud and clear."

"Good. Nice to know you listen on occasion."

"Ha ha."

"I'll be in the office with Dad if you need me."

Stephanie nodded as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "You guys won't be here that long though, will you?"

Shane shook his head quickly as he pulled at the collar of his white shirt loosening it from his neck. "Well at least I hope not. You know what Dad can get like over contract negotiations."

"In that case, I'm out of here before he realises I'm still around and decides I have to get involved."

"Good idea." chuckled Shane as he watched her turn to leave. "Just remember what I told you." he called out after her.

Stephanie's hand lifted in a wave of acknowledgement as she began to walk along the deserted corridor. Her heels clicked almost eerily in the silence as she flicked her hair over her shoulder and approached Paul's dressing room. It was open just a fraction and she knocked gently on the grey painted wood.

"Yeah?"

Stephanie smiled at his voice and popped her head around the door to see Paul sitting on the chipped wooden bench. His head rested back against the wall with his messy blonde hair pushed back behind his ears. The previously wet strands were now practically dry and a fluffy white towel was draped across his right thigh as his long legs stretched out across the grubby concrete floor. As Stephanie sat down next to him his lips curved up gently in acknowledgement and she could see his brown eyes were heavy. She wasn't surprised. His match with Rocky tonight had been particularly long and brutal with both men giving it everything, even staying afterwards to entertain the crowd. It had been at least fifteen minutes before they'd finally appeared backstage, both men beaten but more than happy with the way things had played out. In fact, Paul had been practically grinning from ear to ear when she had talked to him. That was when he had told her to wait for him so he could take her back to the hotel though by the looks of him now, he wasn't planning on going anywhere anytime soon. She removed her bag from her shoulder and placed it beside her, patting his leg through the towel.

"So you staying in this locker room all night?" she teased.

His deep chuckle made his shoulders shake as he pushed himself slowly up the bench. "I'm seriously thinking about it."

Stephanie heard his laboured sigh and noticed that he'd gotten as far as untying the laces on his boots. He'd just still to remove them not to mention his leather trunks and pads although the tape on his hand and wrist were gone. "Paul, you haven't even changed out of your wrestling gear." she commented.

"Nope and that's because I'm far too tired to move."

"I'm not surprised. That was one hell of a match you put on out there tonight."

She saw the sparkle of pride in his eyes. "Yes it was." he grinned.

Stephanie snorted with amusement. "You don't have to brag on my account."

But her smile faded as she saw Paul try to sit forward and visibly wince. Her blue eyes watched him carefully as he slowly straightened up.

"How's your back?"

"It's fine." he replied stretching and twisting his torso to the left.

"Liar! I saw that bump you took off the edge of that announce table."

"You saw it? Well, I felt it."

"I'll bet you did." Stephanie replied, her tone laced with concern as she rubbed his arm affectionately but her hand fell away as Paul moved forward to hunch over and rest his forearms on his muscular thighs. There was a trace of a smile on his lips as he turned his head in her direction.

"But being a truly manly man I'm going to suck it up and refuse to complain about it."

"Thank God! For a minute there I thought I'd have to try and muster up some sympathy for you." she smirked.

"Wow. You're one cruel woman, Steph."

"Yes I am." she laughed as she cast a glance at the platinum watch on her wrist. "I'm cruel and I'm also absolutely starving. So hurry up and get a move on so we can get back to the hotel and eat."

"I see you've obviously forgotten the tired and can't move part of our conversation."

"And you've obviously forgotten about the sucking it up and refusing to complain."

He shook his head as he watched Stephanie stand up and smooth out the wrinkles on her black dress trousers. "You know it's at times like this that I wonder why we're even friends."

"We're friends?" she grinned as she held out her hand towards him. His handsome face flickered with his amusement as his hot sweaty palm covered hers.

"Barely." he quipped as he pulled himself to his feet and winced again as he felt that nagging pain in his back. The white towel fell to the floor and Stephanie bent over to retrieve it.

"Paul, you did get that checked out?" she asked as she threw the damp cotton down on the bench.

He rolled his eyes pretending to be bored with her concern. "Yes."

"And you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I just landed on it awkwardly that's all."

Stephanie watched him reach into his large black holdall and pull out his black t-shirt. As he pulled it over his head, she absently scratched at her head, confused.
"Aren't you having a shower?"

"Nope." replied Paul as he tugged down the bottom hem and retrieved his crumpled track pants. His body was protesting at the simple movement but he ignored the aches and pains as he pulled them on. "I thought I'd do that back at the hotel while you order me in some dinner."

His laughter filled the dressing room as he saw Stephanie pretend to scowl and place her hands on her hips. His own hands pulled off his elbow pads as he threw them into the open bag.

"Oh is that right?"

"Come on. You know you like looking after me!" he winked as he raked his fingers through his hair.

"Cleaning up your mess, you mean."

"That too." he grinned as he pulled on his leather coat flicking the ends of his blonde strands over the collar. His thick fingers tugged at the zip on his bag before throwing it over his shoulder and turning to Stephanie. "So, are you ready to get out of here? I'm sick and tired of waiting on you."

"Waiting on me? You know you've got a damn nerve!" she scoffed as she picked up her own bag and followed him out of the door.

Two hours later they were settled back at the hotel and Stephanie was stretching her legs out across the small sofa feeling pleasantly full after her late meal of chicken and rice. She wriggled her bare toes as a glass of white wine dangled from her fingertips and she took a sip as she waited for Paul to finish his soak in the tub. She'd run him a bath after dinner hoping it would help ease his aches and pains. His back had been bothering him despite his protests to the contrary. That man was completely stubborn when it came to admitting to any kind of ailment so she had persistently nagged at him until he had snapped and stomped off in the direction of the bathroom complaining that she was even worse at nagging than his mother.

The truth was she just enjoyed taking care of Paul and having someone to fuss over. God knows he would never have gotten that attention from Joanie and she certainly never had that opportunity with Jonathan, well not during the last number of months of their marriage. Stephanie pushed that thought from her mind as she quickly took another mouthful of wine. The last thing she wanted was to think about her husband. Not when she was finally in a place where she was starting to get on with her life again. In fact, during the last couple of weeks she'd even started to feel more comfortable in her own skin. Being back at work had brought her a sense of freedom that she'd struggled to find before. She wasn't constantly checking over her shoulder expecting to see his face in a crowd or answer the phone to hear his voice at the end of the line. Day by day, the fear that had gripped her for so long was slowly starting to slip away but that didn't mean she wasn't still on her guard. Jonathan was out there somewhere and until she found the courage to do something about that, there was still that element of risk, the danger he might find her. She would never be completely safe even with Paul and her family protecting her around the clock.

As she lifted her glass to her lips once more, Stephanie realised it was empty. Frowning slightly, she leaned over to the side and her fingers wrapped around the slim clear bottle as she poured the wine into the lead crystal only to see it dribble down the side of the glass. She stared in disbelief as she realised she'd consumed the entire bottle and throwing her legs over the sofa, she got to her feet. The small trash can in the corner rattled as she tossed it inside. The bottle had obviously been a smaller size than usual. She certainly didn't feel drunk although she had to admit she was a little tired. But then again she always was after a show despite the copious amounts of caffeine she had consumed.

It was while she was opening the second and final bottle that Stephanie heard the bathroom door open. She turned her body round as the liquid poured smoothly into the glass to see Paul standing in nothing more than a pair of black boxer shorts as he pulled a brush through his freshly washed hair. Apparently a couple of months sharing a house together and he felt comfortable parading around practically naked in front of her. Not that she was complaining. It wouldn't be the first time she had caught herself admiring him lately although that right there should raise a couple of questions of their own if she was thinking straight but she obviously wasn't. Swallowing thickly, Stephanie placed the bottle down and taking another mouthful of wine watched Paul pull on a pair of faded denim jeans. "I was beginning to think you'd drowned in there."

"Almost." he smiled as his long fingers pulled up his zipper. He left the top button open as his bare feet sunk into the plush carpet. "You had enough water in there to sink a small ship. Oh and thank you for the bubbles." he chuckled.

"Why are you laughing? What's wrong with bubbles or don't truly manly men soak in them?"

Paul's nose wrinkled as he screwed up his face in disapproval. "Not in stuff that leaves you smelling like some strange exotic fruit."

Stephanie giggled as she lifted her glass in front of her. "I took the liberty of ordering us some wine by the way."

He raised his eyebrow as he followed her to the sofa. "Us? You, you mean. You know I don't drink the stuff."

Stephanie rolled her eyes placing the wine bottle on the table and she sat down on the blue padded cushions feeling them shift underneath her as Paul took the space next to her. "I'm sorry, I forgot. Your body is a temple."

"That's right." he grinned as he raked his fingers through his damp strands. "Nice to see you pay attention every now and again."

"But one little drink is not going to kill you, you know."

"Maybe not but I'm not going to risk it."

Stephanie's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Why? Because you're in my care and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Paul, nothing is going to happen to me."

His brown eyes went wide with emphasis. "Exactly! That's my whole point."

Stephanie smiled as she took another mouthful of wine smacking her lips together as she rested the glass on her lap. "Are you always so protective?"

"Only with the people I care about." he shrugged as he lightly scratched his cheek before placing his left arm over the back of the sofa.

"And what about Joanie? Were you protective over her?"

"Now how in the hell did she end up as part of this conversation?" scowled Paul annoyed at the mere mention of his ex-girlfriend's name. Since they'd broken up, she was intent on making things difficult for him. Her ridiculous rumours of an affair with Stephanie weren't exactly making his life easy at work nor were the letters from her lawyer demanding a settlement for the house. Apparently she was under the delusion that she had some sort of claim to half of it. Well the bitch could swing for her money. The house was in his name and his name alone.

"I guess I'm just curious, that's all." explained Stephanie.

Paul shook his head smiling at her slightly glazed expression. "See, that's why you make me nervous when you drink. You get too damn curious for your own good."

Stephanie stuck her tongue out at him before promptly pouring herself another glass of wine. She sniffed and bit down on her lip as she sat back in the seat. Her blue eyes were thoughtful as they settled on Paul's face and she pressed her lips together in a small smile. "But you must have wanted to take care of her when you were together." she continued.

"Well yeah but Joanie was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. In fact, she used to like to make that fact pretty clear."

Stephanie's expression fell as she felt a pang of guilt in her chest. Her manicured finger lightly traced the rim of her glass as her blue eyes stared into it. "Unlike me, you mean."

She was forced to look up as she felt Paul's finger tuck under her chin and lift it up to meet his serious brown eyes.

"No. That's not what I meant." he stressed.

"But you must be pretty sick and tired of me relying on you for so much." she sighed. "I mean not only are you looking after me on the road but I'm taking over your house and basically your life."

The left hand corner of Paul's mouth upturned in a lop-sided smile as he playfully tapped her nose. "See now you're being dramatic. How much wine have you actually had tonight?"

"Paul, I'm being serious here." Stephanie bent over placing her glass on the table and turned in the seat to directly face him and take his hand in hers clasping it gently as she scanned his face suddenly desperate to know what he was thinking. She hated to think she was this huge weight around his neck and he was just too polite to tell her which is why she wanted to give him the chance to be honest with her right now. God knows it was the least he deserved. "I know I'm a huge burden on you." she began gently.

She smiled as Paul immediately shook his head, his wet strands moving across his massive shoulders. It was the answer she had been expecting. Paul was far too nice to say otherwise.

"It's okay. You can admit it. I won't be offended."

"Steph, trust me. You're not a burden."

Her head tilted to the side as her thumb absently traced small circles on the back of his hand. "You're just saying that."

"No I'm not." he said firmly.

"I just worry that I'm taking advantage of your generous nature. You've got a good heart, Paul and I don't know if I'll ever be able to properly thank you for what you've done for me."

"You don't have to thank me, Steph. I'm just glad that you're safe."

Her grateful blue eyes smiled back at him as she stared at him silently for a moment. "You know we're alike you and I." she said eventually.

"And how do you work that one out?"

Stephanie rested back against the sofa as she let go of Paul's hand and stifled a yawn. Her heavy eyes blinked slowly as she shifted her head towards him resting it on his large bicep. His fingers began to brush through the ends of her hair soothing her. She felt her eyes slowly close with the movement.

"Well we've both been hurt by the people we love. I think that's why you understand me so well."

"Yeah well another glass of wine and I'll not be able to understand you at all."

Her eyes popped open as she looked in his direction. "Why do you always have to make a joke out of everything? I'm trying to tell you something here."

"I'm sorry." he smiled apologetically.

Stephanie nodded acceptingly nestling further into him and breathing him in. "I just don't think I could have got this far without you. You're my angel. You know that, don't you?" Her blue eyes lifted deliberately searching for his as she took hold of his hand once more loosely gripping his thick fingers. "You saved me, Paul."

His brown eyes wore a soft expression as he placed a soft kiss against her temple. "No I didn't. You saved yourself. You were the one that had the guts and the courage to get out of there."

"But I couldn't have done it without you."

"You would have eventually."

"But maybe by that time it would have been far too late."

"Don't talk like that, Steph." he pleaded as his fingers fell from her hair.

"Why not? It's true. Every beating was getting worse. It was only a matter of time."

Paul looked away as a vision of Stephanie lying on the floor battered and bleeding flashed through his mind. She'd been to hell and back and every time he thought about it, it tore a hole inside him. Thank God she'd been strong and found a way to survive otherwise who knows what could have happened. He just wished he could take her pain away. That he could wave a magic wand and suddenly make everything better for her. Licking his lips, Paul wrapped his arm around her and pulled Stephanie towards him suddenly needing to have her close. Her head fell against the crook of his arm and her eyes closed. "You don't have to think about that any more. It's over." he said.

"Is it?"

"Yes because I won't ever let anything happen to you. I'll take care of you, Steph."

His hand moved slowly up and down her arm and he wasn't sure how long he sat holding her like that but when he eventually looked down he realised Stephanie was asleep. Smiling he shuffled towards the edge of the sofa and somehow managed to lift her into his arms without disturbing her. However, she began to stir as he pulled back the covers and placed her down on the crisp, cool sheets of the bed.

"Hmmm, bed time already?" she asked as her eyes blinked open.

"For lightweights like you, yeah." chuckled Paul as he sat down next to her and tucked the covers around her body.

"But we were talking….." she mumbled.

"We can talk in the morning."

"Okay." Stephanie lifted her hand to push a loose strand of hair from her face. Her arm drooped as her eyes fluttered shut once more. Paul smiled tenderly as he listened to her light even breathing and paused for a beat before he tucked the silky locks behind her ear allowing his finger to lightly trail over her jaw line.

"I meant what I said earlier, you know. I'll always take care of you as long as you need me to because I'm not going anywhere. How could I?" he whispered. The mattress shifted underneath him as he bent over to place a tender kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Stephanie."

Paul's fingertips lingered and touched her soft, warm skin for a second longer before he stood up from the bed and walked across to the small recliner chair. He sighed softly and slumped tiredly into the blue padded cushions. As he stretched his legs out in front of him, his eyes settled on her face and the feelings etched firmly into his heart spilled out into his deep brown orbs as he sat there in the silence just content to watch her sleep.