Chapter 10 Maggie
MAGGIE
Theo gathered the Chinese containers, while I stayed frozen on the spot. He lifted Jaycee into his arms, as he spoke to Hayden. “Kiddo, you want to get into the shower. Your sister can go with Zoe and use her bathroom and your mom can have a night off.”
“That won’t be necessary.” My limbs felt like lead and I didn’t want to move from the couch but I needed to take care of my kids. “I can put Jay in the bath and get her ready for bed.”
Zoe smiled at me. “No, really. Let me. Maybe Jaycee wants a sleepover with me tonight.”
“Yes.” My daughter hopped on the spot. “Mama, can I. Zoe can read me three stories and we can watch videos on her phone and go to bed late.”
I shook my head but smiled. “One video.” I looked over at Zoe. “A short one. And one story.”
I lifted two fingers to let her know that I’d allow two stories if Jaycee did manage to manipulate her.
Jaycee followed Zoe up the stairs, singing as she went.
I turned to Hayden. “You need to shower, as well.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Hayden slid off the chair and looked over at Connor. “Can we still play our video game later?”
Connor nodded. “Of course. I need to kick your… behind. If it's okay with your mom, we can continue after your shower.”
“Only until bedtime, okay.” I smiled as Hayden followed Theo up the stairs.
The food had calmed my nerves. The comfort of having my children around, helped as well.
But mostly, having Theo take the lead so I could freak out internally, meant the world.
Hayden kept giving me strange looks all through dinner, but he never asked questions.
Zoe was concerned as well. She never said anything, but I could tell by the way she handled everything with Jaycee.
What was I going to do about Fred? I needed to pop in on the weekend staff at The Reverse Cowgirl. Make sure everyone knew what was going on, sort out any lingering problems.
I also needed to warn the staff that none of the Rippers were welcome. Not that I thought that would stick but I needed to take a stand.
What about my parents? I still hadn’t let them know what was happening. Harry, my foster father, was a former Marine and hated being kept out of the loop.
My thoughts were still spiralling from one thing to another when Hayden came downstairs. My sweet boy kissed me on the cheek. “I’m going to Connor’s room. Uncle Theo said we can talk about making a model earthquake tomorrow. He said he had some ideas. Isn’t that cool?”
My gaze moved to the man leaning against the staircase railing. “He has his moments.”
Hayden kissed me once more then left in search of Connor. Theo walked over and made himself comfortable next to me.
I wanted to address what had happened earlier. The kiss, the undeniable tension that was about more than just protectiveness. It felt possessive. Not in a bad way, but still, it was there.
At least, I thought it was. Maybe it was all in my imagination. Maybe I didn’t know what protectiveness looked like since I’d never felt it. Well, not from anyone other than Harry and Tess. I should make time to visit them.
Theo shifted next to me. “Maggie—”
“Not tonight.” I shook my head and stood.
“It pisses me off that both things happened on the same day. That was the best kiss of my life and it got ruined by Fred. So no, I will talk about Fred all you want. But I will not be tainting that kiss with anything else that happened today. Tomorrow. We can talk about it tomorrow.”
“Okay. But then you need to doomscroll or play games on your phone or something to calm your mind.” Theo frowned but never left my side.
We sat in silence, the hum of the fridge down the hall, and a ticking clock, the only soundtrack to our thoughts.
I was aware of each breath he took. We never spoke, each of us content to absorb the silence.
Those quiet moments with him meant so much.
No words, no actions, just us dealing with the best and worst thing that could’ve happened.
Between saying goodnight and my night time routine, I allowed my mind to wonder once more.
But I wasn’t thinking about Fred or any of the aftermath of his stunt.
Instead, I took a long hard look in the mirror and remembered that kiss.
I meant what I said, I didn’t want to taint our kiss with how the day ended, but I couldn’t help thinking about it.
It was ssoooooo good. Those lips were firm but so fucking soft at the same time.
And, of course, Theo Snow knew how to use his tongue.
The idea made me smile thinking about all the ways he could use that tongue.
Then there was that piercing. There had to be a story there. And I wanted to know all of it.
Surprisingly, I didn’t take long to fall asleep. The knowledge that Fred could not get to me did wonders to my state of mind. What wasn’t a surprise was my phone ringing just after midnight.
Tiff’s name on the caller ID had a surge of protectiveness flow through me. “Hey.”
She took a moment then spoke. “Hi. Did I wake you?”
“Yeah, but it’s fine.” I knew I didn’t need to whisper but I always did. “Same dream?”
Her voice was softer than usual, then I remembered Hunter was in the house with her. Her nightmares were a secret, not even Theo knew about them. “But instead of Cat in that cage, it was you.”
I expected the call from Tiffany. Trauma manifested in bad dreams for her. Something not even her brother knew. According to her she’d always been prone to bad dreams especially since high school, but it got worse when she found out how evil her dad actually was.
“Where’s Hunter?”
Another long pause. “He’s sleeping in Grace’s room. He said the whole point was to be close to me in case something happened. So, he took the one directly across the hall.”
“Do you think he heard you?” I pulled the phone away to check the time. “Sometimes you call out.”
I’d shared a house with Tiffany long enough to know how bad the dreams could get. There were times when I needed to wake her up and found her drenched in sweat. Then there were times when the only reason I knew about the dreams was because I found her in my bed the next morning.
“So. You and my brother, huh.” I could practically hear her smile. “About fucking time.”
I didn’t answer right away, not sure what she meant by that statement. “We kissed. That’s all.”
“Maggie, that man has been in love with you since that first halloween your senior year.” The rustle of sheets echoed over the line. “He tried to respect that you were married, but you know. Fred does not engender respect.”
“Please.” That couldn’t be right. “He has hated me since I announced I was pregnant with Hayden.”
Tiffany let out a chuckle. “He doesn’t have the capacity to hate anyone, least of all you. I’ll admit he allows his hurt to look like anger, but he cares about all of us. It’s just…”
“It’s just what?” She couldn’t say all that and then not finish her thought.
“I don’t know.” She was silent for several moments and I pictured her twisting her mouth as she gathered her thoughts. “I never understood why he took over Snow Enterprises. I think he’s hiding something. Has been for a long time.” A muffled knock sounded through the phone. “Come in.”
“Hey Princess,” Hunter’s voice was not nearly as sleepy as one would expect. “I thought you went to sleep hours ago.”
“Maggie and I needed some girl time.” Her voice had perked up a little. “She kissed Theo.”
“Took them long enough.”
I waited for the earth to open up and swallow me. Or maybe I was the one having a nightmare.
That was the problem with Tiffany. The woman could gossip and had an inability to keep a secret. But from what I can tell, everyone was expecting it to happen.
“Actually, he kissed me.”
I hadn’t even mentioned the part where he was naked and had a piercing but I knew there was only so much Tiffany was willing to hear about her brother.
“He’s gone.” She whispered back into the phone. “So, I’m not sure I want any details about my brother. But tell me you at least enjoyed the kiss.”
“The man has me wondering what else he can do with his tongue.”
“Ewww.” Her high pitched voice rang in my ear. “Why’d you have to say it like that? Bad friend, Maggie.”
We joked for a little longer, talking about the fact that Layla would be back in town and would likely stay at Forte Femme. That everyone was trying to get home for her birthday and the Fourth of July celebration. All easier topics than focusing on her nightmares.
“Do you think Shi’s going to ask all of us to be her bridesmaids? I mean, you’ll definitely be Maid of Honor, but do you think she’ll have four more bridesmaids?”
The thought made me smile. Tiffany had been the last to join our little group in high school.
At first, we thought she hated all of us.
But she wanted what all of us wanted. A place to belong.
A tribe that accepted her. I started out thinking she was an entitled rich bitch, but she became one of my closest friends.
“She promised, remember.” It wouldn't be the first wedding in our friend group. That honor went to me. But we each had a file on what we wanted for our engagements. “It’s not like you haven’t been a bridesmaid before.”
“Not the same. Your wedding to Fred doesn’t count.” There was another pause. “There was no way I would’ve worn a meringue taffeta confection for that wedding. Now if you were to marry my—”
“Finish that sentence and I will put this phone down on you.” I rolled my eyes.
The heartiest laugh echoed over the phone and I knew I had done my job. “Maybe she’ll make us wear pink pants suits or something. Those could be cute. Oh, I have some ideas for her.”
Gone were the shadows of her nightmare. She was thinking about clothes and designing.She was smiling and happy and looking forward to trying on hideous bridesmaids outfits.
“You ready to go back to sleep?”
“Yes.” She let out a yawn as if to emphasize her point. “Thank you for this Mags. I really miss living with you.”
“Anytime, honey.” I smiled even though I knew she couldn’t see it. “You know you can call me.”
“I hope you don’t answer when you’re in the middle of fucking my—”
“I’m ending this call now.”
I could still hear her cackle as I ended the call. I smiled as I thought about everything she’d said. Could I picture myself married to Theo? Living in this house?
That was not a thought I wanted to entertain. Not yet.