Chapter 17 #2
Because if things worked out the way Boone wished, they wouldn’t just be welcoming Mila into their family but hopefully a baby or two in the future.
After that, he’d make sure every damn single buck in town knew that Ms. Mila Storm was his.
“Meet you at the winery?” he asked. On occasion, depending on their daily schedules, they’d meet at different places for lunch, but primarily they sat together in the winery kitchen.
She nodded. “Sure. I’ll make us something special.”
He grinned. “I’m looking forward to it.”
He planned to tell Mila he loved her, and he was ready to take things to the next level. He hoped she was ready as well.
Waving, he left her room, letting himself out of the farmhouse. It was still early, not much after six a.m. If he was lucky, he could sneak into the cabin without Sadie realizing he’d been out all night. If she caught him, she’d ask where he’d been, and he really didn’t like lying to his daughter.
The cabin was dark when he arrived home. He quietly opened the front door, slipping off his boots before making his way to the bedroom. Lena wasn’t on the couch, so he assumed she’d opted to share Sadie’s bed with her.
Walking into his dim room, he shucked off his shirt and jeans and was about to head to the bathroom to take a shower when he spotted someone in his bed.
“Where have you been?”
Boone scowled when Lena sat up, just barely holding the covers over her breasts. She was clearly naked.
“What are you doing in here?” he barked, trying to keep his voice down, because God help him if Sadie woke up and found them like this—Lena naked in his bed, and him in nothing but his boxer briefs.
“You were with her, weren’t you?” Lena spat.
Boone put his hands on his hips, fighting like the devil not to completely lose his shit. “Where I was is none of your business.”
“It is my business when you’re out all night and Sadie’s here at home alone.”
Boone took two steps closer to the bed. “Are you out of your fucking mind? I didn’t leave Sadie home alone. I left her with you, her mother. I’ve never left Sadie alone, ever, and I never would. Now get your ass out of my bed.”
Boone recognized the moment Lena realized her mistake by starting an argument with him. The angry lines on her face faded. “Boone,” she started, more conciliatory, using that sugary-sweet tone she employed whenever she wanted something.
“Get out of the bed,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that,” she said. “It’s just…I was worried about you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Save the bullshit for someone who’s interested in buying it.”
Lena narrowed her eyes briefly but recovered quickly. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep in your bed,” she lied. “I came in here after Sadie went to bed, to wait for you. I wanted to talk to you about us. About our future.”
He held up a hand. “Let me stop you right there. You and I don’t have a future, Lena.”
“Don’t you think we owe it to Sadie to try?”
He huffed out an impatient breath. “I am thinking about Sadie. You and I are the biggest mismatch in history. There’s no way I’d put Sadie through all those fights.”
“We’re older now, Boone. We’ve changed, grown.”
He hadn’t seen an ounce of growth on her part, but he wasn’t going to open that can of worms. “Lena, you’re only proposing this because you don’t have anywhere else to go.”
Boone wasn’t sure what was worse. Lena’s anger, her fake sweetness, or her fake tears.
She made no attempt to stem them, letting them slide down her cheeks. “I can’t believe you think so badly of me. I’m here because I still love you. And I know you still love me.”
He scoffed. “No, I don’t.”
“But you’ve never dated, never remarried,” she said, as if that somehow proved her point.
“Not because I was harboring any feelings for you,” he said, going for bluntness, since nothing else was working. “Lena, get out of that bed, put some clothes on, and try to find some self-respect.”
Her crocodile tears evaporated in an instant. “You’re the same asshole you always were.”
She shoved the duvet down, climbing out of his bed, not bothering to hide her nakedness. Boone had seen it all before and wasn’t looking for another show, so he turned his back and walked to his dresser, grabbing a clean T-shirt.
Lena pulled on the robe she must have been wearing when she snuck into his bed last night.
He gestured toward the door when it looked like she was ready to start the argument again.
Lena, furious, stomped by him.
He started to follow, but pulled up short when he heard Lena say, “Did you let yourself in here?”
Mila stood just inside the front door of the cabin with a canvas tote bag in her hand.
Her gaze traveled from Lena in her damn robe to him in his boxer briefs, pulling a T-shirt on over his bare chest. He grimaced, then braced himself.
He hadn’t been gone from Mila’s bed that long, but the two of them walking out his bedroom like this didn’t look great.
Mila offered him an apologetic smile. “Sorry for just walking in.”
“You don’t have to knock, Mila. You know that.
” Fortunately, there was a pair of lounge pants hanging on the back of a chair near his bedroom door, so he tugged them on, as Lena shot Boone a dirty look over her shoulder.
She probably would have added a few choice words as well, but Mila started for Sadie’s room, distracting them both.
“Sadie called me.”
“What?” he asked, panicking. Had his daughter heard him fighting with Lena?
He and Lena followed as Mila knocked twice on Sadie’s door before letting herself in.
“Hey, Mila,” she said weakly.
Boone hurried toward the bed, placing his hand on Sadie’s forehead. “You sick, Donut?”
Sadie shook her head.
Mila gently moved him out of the way. “Girl stuff.”
“Again?” he asked, aghast. “But didn’t she just… I mean, I thought it was a monthly thing. It’s only been a few weeks.”
Mila huffed out a light laugh at his discomfiture. “It takes a while before it becomes a regular thing.” She looked down at Sadie. “Sometimes a few years.”
His daughter groaned in pain.
“What’s wrong?” Boone asked, hating that Sadie was suffering. The last time she’d gotten her period, Mila had fixed her up in the middle of the night, and the next day, he’d driven her to stay with her mom, so he was flying blind here.
“Cramps,” Sadie replied.
Lena had drifted into the room, perching herself on the opposite side of the bed. “Oh, baby.”
Mila reached into her bag and pulled out Advil and a bottle of water. She looked back at Boone. “Is it okay if she takes a couple of these?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
Mila shook out two pills, giving them and the water to Sadie. Then she pulled something else out of the bag. “I raided Nora’s ‘I am Woman’ shelf.”
Sadie grinned, then imitated a lion, holding her hands like paws. “Rahrrr.” She and Mila laughed, though Boone didn’t get the joke.
Mila plugged in the electric heating pad and placed it over Sadie’s abdomen. “I brought a box of ginger teabags, too. Nora swears by them. I’m afraid there’s nothing else to do. You just have to wait for the pills to kick in.”
“Okay.” Sadie’s gaze slid to him. “Can I stay home from school today, Dad?”
Boone had zero experience with this, so he didn’t know if this was one of his daughter’s ploys to play hooky or not. He looked at Mila.
“Cramps really are painful,” she murmured.
“Tell you what, kiddo. Why don’t we see if the medicine helps? If it does, I’ll drive you in late. If not, you can hang out here today and take it easy.”
Sadie smiled. “Okay.”
“Sadie,” Lena said, leaning forward and taking their daughter’s hand. “Why didn’t you come find me?”
“Last time, when we were in Williamsburg, you just said I’d learn to get used to the cramps.”
Boone’s jaw clenched. Of course she did. Their daughter had been hurting, and Lena hadn’t offered her any real help at all.
“Well, you will,” Lena said, as if that was some sort of defense. Then his ex looked at Mila, as if expecting support.
Mila, bless her, the sweetest woman on the planet, nodded. “It does get easier to deal with, Sade. Because you’ll know what to expect and how to minimize the pain. Advil and heating pads will become your best friends.”
“Thanks, Mila,” Sadie said.
Boone could practically hear Lena gnashing her teeth from here. And he fucking loved it.
“Can we have meatloaf tonight, Mila?” Sadie asked softly, and this time, Boone could tell his daughter was laying it on thick. Not that he blamed her. Mila’s meatloaf was the bomb.
“Yeah, sure. Of course. It’s the perfect comfort food, isn’t it?” she replied with a wink.
Sadie nodded. “Were the kittens born?”
Mila reached into the back pocket of her jeans. “I got a text from Remi as I was on my way over here.” Flipping her phone toward Sadie, she showed her a picture. “Four kittens.”
“Aw,” Sadie cooed. “They’re so cute!” Then she frowned. “But that’s not enough.”
“Not enough for what?” Boone asked.
Sadie lifted her hand, counting out a kitten per person. “Nora, Kasi, Gretchen, Mila, me.”
Boone put his hands on his hips. “When did I say yes to getting a kitten?”
Mila and Sadie simply exchanged a glance and giggled like he was spouting nonsense, which he probably was. He’d known the second Remi found that damn pregnant cat, they were getting a kitten.
Sadie slipped deeper under the covers, yawning. “I think I’m going to go back to sleep for a little while.”
Mila ruffled her hair affectionately. “Feel better.”
Boone walked over and placed a soft kiss on Sadie’s forehead. “Call if you need anything, Donut. I’ll be here a little bit longer. After that, I’ll just be in the vineyard, and you can text me.”
Lena patted Sadie’s hand but didn’t say anything else before leaving the room.
He and Mila followed, and before he closed the door behind them, he looked back toward Sadie’s bed. She was already fast asleep.
Lena dropped down onto the couch, heavily, looking strangely vulnerable. Something he’d never seen in her.