Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Van
I scrubbed a hand down my face and stared at my computer screen.
For the last week, we hadn’t touched each other.
We’d gone to sleep after the bathroom interlude and pretended everything was normal the next morning.
Then we returned home, pillow wall in place, and acted like nothing had changed. Perhaps it hadn’t for her.
To me, everything had changed. I could compartmentalize before. I could tell myself my brother’s ex was a beautiful woman, but I wasn’t attracted to her. I could concentrate on work despite Clover being under the same roof.
Having her come in my arms shattered all that.
I was attracted to my brother’s ex. Worse, I craved her.
Thoughts of her consumed my time. Yesterday, I had nearly missed a call with a potential investor because I’d been listening to her on the phone with her team.
I’d been hanging on her melodious laugh and recalling how tight she’d gripped my fingers when she’d climaxed.
Fuck.
I had it bad.
My screen blinked out. How long had I been doing nothing? It was Saturday, but I had taken refuge in my office.
I checked the time. We were set to leave in a few minutes for Bismarck. I had accepted that I’d lose every Pokémon match and call it quits early.
There was a light knock at the door. “Hey. Ready?”
“Yeah.” My backpack with my card decks and play mat were packed. Part of me hadn’t wanted her to see that the hobby my brother used to tease me about involved supplies and organization and meticulous research into card types and value. She’d been accepting, but what if there were limits?
Once we loaded up, she glanced in the back seat. “A backpack is all you need?”
“That’s it.”
“I thought there’d be more.”
“Well, it’s a card game.”
She crossed one leg over the other. “There’re only cards?”
Despite wanting to hide it from her, I also couldn’t wait to talk about it. “Most of us keep the more valuable cards in a binder, and sometimes we trade those.”
“It’s like baseball cards? My dad talked about collecting those.”
I nodded, relieved there was no criticism in her voice. “Exactly. My card boxes are full of my playing cards.”
“You have a lot?”
“Yes.” When she didn’t react to that, I continued. “I’ve collected them since I was in middle school. I kept those and continued over the years, then the gatherings started at game shops and grew. It was a fairly cheap hobby to stick with when I was broke as hell.”
“I like that.”
Pleased and more than a little relieved, I hit the highway, and it went quiet again.
Her phone started buzzing. For the next several minutes, she tapped away at her screen.
Finally, she tucked it away. “I’m meeting Violet next weekend to go maternity clothes shopping.”
Maternity clothes. She looked the same, but there were outfits she no longer wore. How much was her belly growing? My curiosity would skyrocket if I let it. “That’ll be fun.”
“I think so. Poppy’s gone for a soccer tournament, and Daisy’s there, too, with Laila. So it’s me and Violet.”
“That’ll be nice.” I slid a gaze toward her. My conversation skills sucked today.
“Yeah. I honestly haven’t spent much time with just me and Violet. It’s like I’m getting to know my bossy older sister.”
“But you miss Poppy?”
She blinked rapidly, and I turned my attention back out the windshield. My fingers twitched to reach for her, but she might shut down.
“Yes, but we each have our own lives. I’m sure it’s pregnancy hormones.”
While that might be valid, her feelings were still legitimate. “Have you told her that you need a little me time with her?”
“No, it’s a busy time for her.”
I filed the Poppy topic away for later. “So. Maternity clothes?”
Clover smiled and ducked her head. “Yeah. She asked about baby furniture, but until I have a place, there isn’t a point. And it’s early yet.” She reclined back and linked her hands over her stomach. “A lot of people don’t know they’re pregnant at this point, and I feel like I’ve known forever.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No. I’m glad I knew at our wedding. Made it easier, I think. I would’ve had to move on all over again.”
Not the wedding. Our wedding. “I knew I was getting a two-for-one deal.”
She chuckled. “Yeah. For a little while.”
Her words echoed in my head. Our time was almost up. “Have you changed your mind about finding out what you’re having? My money’s on a baby, but it could be a kitten.”
Her laughter filled the cab. “As long as there’s only one and not one that was hiding from the ultrasound. I’m not sure I’m ready for the stress of multiples. Especially if it’s puppies.”
“Oof, not multiple puppies.”
“No.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m going with the surprise. Why not keep the trend up? Get dumped at the altar? Marry his brother? Only get the house for three months? Surprise, it’s a pony.”
“At least one good surprise.”
“Maybe one of those other ones hasn’t been so bad.”
The adorably sexy woman was wiggling her way further into my chest wall, and at times like these, she reached out and tapped on my heart. My brother’s ex. No matter how many times I repeated it to myself, the effect wasn’t as strong as it used to be.
“Have you looked at the apartments yet?” she asked like she wanted to move on from the topic.
I gladly took the exit strategy. “Not yet. I lined up a few in-person investor meetings right away after the holidays. Next week, I can tackle a place to live.”
“In person? Is that normal?”
“Sometimes, but I think with my background it’s more crucial. Right away in the new year, I’ll head to Denver first, then Dallas, and to keep the D theme, DC.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of traveling.” Her tone was even. Was she relieved I wouldn’t be hanging out? We could make a clean break, and she could be done with all things Wagner?
“Yeah, but I figured I was risking it at that time of year anyway. Never knew when it would blizzard.”
“Speaking of that, do you have plans for Thanksgiving?”
I shook my head. Our time was up that Sunday. A nice set date that would leave December open for Clover’s aunt to rent it out.
“Alder’s having a big gathering. You should come. It’s the house I was raised in until we moved to Billings.”
“No kidding?” I’d see where a young Clover ran around, attached at the hip with Poppy.
“I can show you the space under the stairs that Lily always used to hide in during hide-and-seek, and I would get so upset because it scared me.”
“She was playing dirty?”
“My siblings were the dirtiest.”
“I guess I have to go. If any of your nieces and nephews rope you into a game of hide-and-seek, I have to be there to go under the stairs.”
Her brows lifted. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course.” There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for Clover. She just had to ask, but after what happened in the hotel, she hadn’t asked for a thing.
Clover
Pokémon matches included a mix of mostly guys of all ages. This tournament was for adults and held in a rented room. Participants came from all walks of life, but most of the clothing they wore had some sort of fandom on it, and dark colors were a favorite.
The whole thing was sponsored by local game shops and another group.
I hung out by the snacks, watched Van play, and made small talk with some players.
When he laughed, all my insides lit up. When his brow furrowed in concentration, I couldn’t tear my eyes off him.
People responded to him, opening up and joking around.
There was nothing about this hobby I found dull or repulsive if he enjoyed himself like this.
One girl, just a little younger than me, was there with her girlfriend, and she was a nurse. We chatted about school and where we’d lived before ending up at the gathering. It was a few hours of people-watching and light socializing aside from that.
I needed the reprieve after riding in an enclosed cab with him. We’d been sleeping on either side of the pillow wall. Did he want to cross it, or did he decide the hotel was the first and only time we were messing around?
I didn’t want more. I shouldn’t want more.
I did though. Badly.
Each night that went by, I was minutes away from hiding in the bathroom again. But I couldn’t risk falling over and summoning him. What if he laughed the second time? What if he was disgusted that I had to get off again?
Had he done his thing in the shower since then? I could’ve been a massive libido killer.
Acting like everything was normal was both a blessing and a curse. Still, his growl from the night he helped get me off rang through my head at least hourly. Twice an hour. Every second.
Van rose from the table, nodding and smiling at the guy across from him who had to be in his early twenties. They laughed, and then Van’s gaze went directly to me, landing on my skin like the sun’s summer kiss.
I waved, and he wandered over. “Ready to get something to eat?”
People still filled the tables. Did he get out? How did that work? “Are you done?”
“Yeah, I’m getting tired of sitting.”
I rose, but my gaze jumped around the room. “Feels a little unfair that I got two nights of fun, and you only got a few hours.”
His smile was reassuring. “I’m not keeping score, Clover.”
I believed him. Could it be that simple? He did something over the top for me and didn’t expect exactly the same or more for himself? “Okay.”
“Where do you want to eat?”
On him. I’d like to climb right onto his lap and get a mouthful of him. Mind out of the gutter, Duke! “This is your weekend. You pick.”
“Chinese.”
I groaned. “I’ve been craving that.”
His gaze intensified. “Then let’s sate it.”
I suppressed a shiver. I was looking too hard into his reaction.