Chapter 34
I ndie lay awake, listening to Spencer sleeping beside her.
Something had woken her.
She’d been staying at the penthouse with the guys for three weeks now. Spencer and Rock had started alternating nights in her bed.
The baby let out a kick and she rubbed her belly with a smile, wondering if that’s what had woken her.
She was five months pregnant.
She had another scan booked in a few days and she couldn’t wait to see Button again.
But right now, Button was keeping her awake. She snuck out of bed, knowing she wouldn’t get away with that with Rock. That man woke up the second she moved. She walked over to the chair in the corner and picked up her robe.
It was soft cashmere and the loveliest thing she’d ever owned.
Well, other than the cashmere sweaters she now had. Her wardrobe was overflowing with clothes and shoes.
Spencer had gone on a spending spree. She’d tried to get him to take it all back, but he’d completely ignored her.
He’d gone totally overboard. She really didn’t need three winter coats, four pairs of winter boats, fifteen pairs of socks, most with pompoms on them. Actually, the pompom socks could stay. Same with the pompom scarf he’d bought.
He’d even bought her maternity wear. She now owned maternity pants, jeans, and dresses.
Where was she going to wear all of these clothes?
After wrapping the robe around herself, she headed out of the bedroom. Spencer wouldn’t be happy if he woke up and found her missing, but he spent all of his time looking after her. He needed some time to rest and relax.
Plus, she just needed some fresh air.
Heading toward the deck, she opened the sliding door.
Too late she realized they were probably alarmed. But when nothing happened, she relaxed.
Then as she strode out, she saw him standing by the lap pool. He had a glass in his hand and took a sip, staring at the park below.
Maybe she should leave him alone. He looked like he was in serious thought. Then he turned and saw her. Their gazes met.
It was like something out of a movie.
She cleared her throat and nodded at the glass. “Hope you weren’t contemplating throwing that.”
“I try to throw less glasses these days. I’m attempting to . . . control my temper.”
“Yeah?” she asked, moving closer. “How is that going?”
“It has its good days and bad.” He brought his other hand to his mouth and she saw the cigar.
She frowned. “Smoking? That’s so bad for you.”
“Hmm. I know. I’m trying to knock this habit on its head too.”
“Well, good. You should. We all want you around for a long time.”
“Do you?” Slade drawled. “Why do you need me around, Boo?”
“Um, maybe because I love you.”
He tensed. Was that a surprise to him? She was certain that she’d told him that before.
“Pretty sure I’ve loved you from the moment you found me hiding in cupboard at your house,” she told him. “And I said Peek-a-Boo and you didn’t laugh at me like I was a complete idiot.”
“I’ll admit, it was hard,” he said solemnly.
“Slade!” she chided, but she was smiling, glad the awkward moment was over.
“I think I fell in love with you that day too.”
She sucked in a breath. “You did?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Slade,” she said, moving toward him.
Slade held up his hand. “Stop! Don’t come any closer.”
What? Why?
Did he not want her out here with him?
Ouch.
“Where are your shoes?” he asked. “Why are you out here in just a robe?”
He pressed the cigar against a tray on the table next to him and strode over to her.
Before she realized what he was up to, she was in his arms, pressed against his chest.
“Oh,” she cried.
“You shouldn’t be walking around in the cold and dark in bare feet and a robe. Or breathing in cigar smoke. Definitely need to kick that habit. You do not need to be breathing in secondhand smoke.”
“Is that why you told me not to come any closer?” she asked. “Because you didn’t want me breathing in the smoke?”
“Yeah. Why? Why do you think I said it?”
“I don’t know. I thought maybe you didn’t want my company.”
“Boo, I always want your company. I miss you when you’re not around. God, I’ve missed you these past few months.”
Her too.
He started walking toward the door.
“Wait! Stop,” she cried.
He froze. “What is it? ”
“I just . . . I don’t want to go inside just yet. Can we stay out for a bit?”
“Did something happen? Did you have a nightmare?”
“I’m not sure. I just woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.”
“Poor Little one,” he crooned. “We can sit out here for a while.”
Little one? That was a new nickname. But she wasn’t protesting.
“You don’t have to stay with me,” she told him.
“Ahh, yes, I do. Who is going to make sure that you don’t freeze to death? Remember that time you snuck out of the house to sit on the roof and then you couldn’t get back in your bedroom window?”
Oh God. Yes, she remembered that.
“I had to knock on your window to wake you up so you would let me back in,” she murmured. “And you scolded me and told me I was grounded.”
Slade snorted. “Should have put you over my knee. What if I hadn’t been home? What would you have done?”
Urgh.
“I guess I would have had to wake up Mum and Edward. That would have gone down well.”
He placed her on a lounger and then moved over to a basket, pulling out some blankets.
“Have you heard from her?” he asked.
“My mum?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“No. I don’t expect I will unless she wants something from me.”
“Bitch,” he muttered as he placed the blankets over her until she was nice and cozy. To her surprise, he hopped under the blankets with her and drew her against him so she was lying on her side with her head pressed to his chest.
“I’ve missed you all so much.”
Shit. She wasn’t doing a good job of keeping her heart safe from them. She should have known that the more time she spent with them, the harder it would become to keep her feelings from getting involved.
First, she’d kissed Spencer .
Now, she’d told Slade that she loved him. Although she knew that the love he felt for her was different.
She let out a quiet sigh. The fairy lights around the pool twinkled and she stared at them in fascination.
“I love fairy lights.”
“I remember. You decorated your room in them. Don’t know how you slept at night with all those lights on.”
“You told me off for plugging too many in. You said I was going to cause a fire.”
“You were,” he said dryly. “Remember that big storm that happened a few months after you moved in?”
“We lost power. I was so scared of the dark and the noise that I hid in the closet.”
She did that a lot.
“I ran into your room and found you scared out of your mind. I thought your mother might have checked on you.”
She snorted. Yeah, right.
“You scooped me up and took me to your room,” she said quietly. “And then you dug out some battery-powered lamps and we set up a camp-out in your wardrobe with snacks and ghost stories.”
That was one of her happiest memories. Which was weird considering she hated storms.
“You were mine to take care of from the moment I first found you in that cupboard. I just . . . forgot that for a while.”
“You’ve got to let that go,” she whispered. “I have. It’s not good to hold onto things.”
“I’ll let it go once you trust us again.”
Shoot. She didn’t know how long that would take, but she was starting to trust them more with each passing day. She shifted around and let out a small groan. This was a really comfortable, sturdy chair but her body was still feeling the effects of the beating.
“How are you doing, Boo? Still in pain?”
“It’s not too bad. The occasional twinge when I move too quickly or try to lift too much. ”
“What are you trying to lift?” he demanded. “You shouldn’t be lifting anything. Why aren’t you getting one of us to lift stuff for you?”
“Um, because you all have lives. I need to move around and do things for myself.”
“Why?”
He sounded genuinely confused but he had to know what she was saying.
Right?
“I can’t rely on you guys to do everything for me forever. You have jobs and lives separate from mine. Eventually, I have to move out. Look after myself and Button.”
And wasn’t that terrifying?
She couldn’t imagine being on her own. And this time, Maggie wouldn’t be around.
Was it a stupid move not going to Escana?
Suddenly, Slade shifted them so she was sitting on the lounger and he was kneeling between her now-open legs. Whoa. This was one sturdy lounger. But he didn’t seem to be worried about tipping them up.
No, he was too busy scowling down at her.
The fairy lights around the pool twinkled, giving the dark night a soft glow as she stared up at him.
“Why the hell would you leave?” he asked.
“Slade, I can’t stay here forever.”
“Yes, you can.”
Right. He was starting to irritate her now. Crossing her arms over her chest, she scowled up at him. “No, I can’t.”
“You’re staying here. End of story.”
She groaned. “Slade, be reasonable. Do you seriously think your girlfriend is going to want to live with you, your three best friends, your stepsister and her baby? No. Eventually, we all have to move on. And it’s not like this is my home.”
Ouch.
That hurt to say .
“What the hell are you talking about? What girlfriend?” he asked.
“Um, the woman that you were with at Club Slade a few months ago. Actually, probably more than a few months.”
Wow. Time was going fast.
“Have you broken up?” she asked.
“Little one,” he said, brushing a strand of hair off her face. “There was no girlfriend. Not sure who you saw me with but she wasn’t mine. I haven’t had a proper girlfriend in years. Although there’s always been a girl I wanted.”
He carefully rearranged them so he was sitting on the chair and she was sitting in his lap. He tucked the blankets around her.
“There’s a girl you’ve always wanted?” she whispered in a raw voice.
Who was it?
Did she know them? It was likely that she did, right? Unless it was someone he’d met at college maybe?
“Christ. You’re killing me,” he said as he grasped her chin and gently tilted her head back. Then, to her shock, he pressed his lips against hers.