Chapter 28
STERLING
I stood outside her door with my arms crossed. My jaw was clenched so tight, I was afraid my teeth would crack. Tension thrummed through me. Disbelief and anger rattled around the very core of my being.
Cassandra disrespecting me like that, at my family’s estate no less, had been a slap in the face that I hadn’t seen coming. It wouldn’t go unpunished, but there would be a time and a place for that, and now was not it.
Laney was my first priority tonight. I still felt sick to my stomach when I thought back to that moment that I’d seen her sitting on the ground, fighting back tears, and looking so defeated.
Something had broken inside me. The pure violence that had surged from deep within had been new to me, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on that either.
Feeling a bit like a creep, I leaned closer, listening for sounds of movement coming from inside.
After we’d gotten home, Laney had insisted on changing into her pajamas on her own, but I wasn’t convinced she wouldn’t need help.
She was stubborn, admirably so, but her ankle was twice its normal size and bruised as hell.
Frankly, I was surprised when I heard the soft shuffle of her steps just before the door creaked open. I really hadn’t thought she would be able to move, yet suddenly, there she was.
With her hair twisted into a haphazard bun, she wore a faded tank top that hung off one shoulder and pajama shorts that showed way too much leg.
For a second, I forgot what I was even doing at her door.
I forgot about everything except this ravishing creature in front of me, so beautiful with her face bare and only a few escaped tendrils of hair brushing the side of her throat.
She was limping, trying not to wince as she shifted her weight off her injured foot, and I snapped back to myself, stepping closer and catching her elbow to steady her. “Are you okay?”
She gave me a half-smile, but it was too tight to be real. Too pained. “I’m fine. You don’t have to hover like a mother hen.”
“I don’t hover like a hen. I hover like a Westwood, thank you very much. We’re master level hoverers.” I took more of her weight as she winced again. “Are you heading to bed or do you want to stay up for a while?”
It wasn’t late. Barely ten p.m., but I would’ve understood if she just wanted to crawl into her bed.
Laney glanced up at me, those gray eyes soft and without reproach as they stared up into mine. For a little while back there, I’d been afraid she would blame me for what had happened. She should’ve blamed me. Hell, I blamed me, but she didn’t seem to. “Do you watch movies?”
I blinked at the swift change of subject. “Sometimes. I never really try new ones, though. I tend to rewatch the same old ones over and over again.”
A surprised grin spread across her lips. “What’s your favorite?”
I hesitated. “I’ll tell you, but only if you promise not to make fun of me.”
“Why would I promise that?” she asked, completely deadpan before she grinned. “It doesn’t really matter what it is. Let’s watch it.”
“You want to watch my favorite movie? Without even knowing what it is?”
“Yep.” She leaned into me, her hand sliding along the length of my forearm to get a better grip before she shuffled forward. “You might need to help me get to the TV.”
“Of course.” I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the shots of lust that hit me right in the cock as her fingertips glided across my skin. “It’s the Shining, by the way. My favorite movie.”
I felt rather than saw her look up at me. “A Stephen King fan, huh? Wow. I wouldn’t have pegged you as that, but it’s perfect. I’ve never seen it all the way through.”
“Seriously?”
She settled on the couch with a hiss as we reached the living room. I grabbed the remote and cued up the movie from my library. Then I got a throw blanket and arranged it over her legs before I sat down beside her.
The opening credits rolled, but I watched her more than the screen.
This might be my favorite movie, but she was still vastly more interesting than it.
She curled against the cushion like a cat, her fingers twitching at the jump scares and her mouth half-open as she whispered commentary under her breath.
Somewhere after Danny’s “redrum” started, she scooted closer to me. So much closer that her shoulder bumped mine and didn’t move away. By the time Jack Nicholson was fully unraveling, she was leaning into me. Fully.
My butt went numb soon after, but instead of shifting away, I wrapped an arm around her in an effort to get more comfortable.
She didn’t push me off or ask what I was doing, just letting out a sigh instead.
The sound was soft and sleepy, and she nestled her head into my shoulder like she belonged there.
Eventually, her breathing slowed and I smiled, letting my head rest against hers.
I told myself it was just for a moment. Just a beat of mutual relaxation before I would carry her to bed.
I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but with the weight of her against me and the low hum of the credits in the background, the world blurred and I closed my eyes, fully intending on getting up in just a few seconds.
Instead, I woke to sunlight pouring through the blinds like a knife. My neck ached. Laney’s head was on my chest. Her leg was draped over mine under the blanket. My arm was still curled around her.
She didn’t stir as I lifted my head and tried to stretch out all the sore parts of my body. I kept a close eye on her as I did, unsure how the hell I was supposed to move—and without knowing if I even really wanted to.
But then my gaze drifted to the clock in the corner and my eyes stretched wide open. It was nearly nine a.m. My God, I never sleep this late.
Fully aware of the fact that my entire schedule for the day was now fucked, I slid out from under her leg, careful to do it slowly enough that I didn’t wake her. She murmured something unintelligible, but thankfully, her eyes remained closed.
Once I was standing, I stretched my arms out above my head and stifled a yawn, twisting to look at her as I waited for my stiff muscles to be ready to move.
The blanket was tangled around her, her hair a sleepy halo against the black leather of the couch and her face soft and relaxed in a way I’d never seen before.
Then I realized I was being creepy again and turned my head, deliberately not looking back at her as I strode toward my bedroom.
Upstairs, I splashed water on my face, brushed my teeth, and stared into the mirror longer than I usually allowed myself to.
I felt different, but in a way I couldn’t quite quantify.
I didn’t look any different though, so I took a shower and got ready for the day, knowing it was way past time for me to head out.
By the time I got back downstairs, she was awake but still on the couch, stretching slightly and blinking against the light. My heart catapulted to somewhere it didn’t belong. “Don’t move. Let me check your ankle first. You don’t want to re-injure it.”
She tried to sit up straighter. “Good morning to you too, sunshine.”
“It’s purple,” I muttered, frowning. I gently elevated it and went to get another ice pack. “You’re staying on this couch today. I’ll barricade the front door if I have to.”
She laughed, but it sounded tired. “Have I ever told you that you’re super bossy?”
“Have I ever told you that I don’t care?” I gave her a look that said to stay put. Then I went to the kitchen and made her coffee the way I’d learned she liked it. When I handed it to her, she looked at me like I was from another planet.
I frowned. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said softly, a sense of wonder in those soft eyes all of a sudden. “You’re just being…”
“Nice?” I offered, sitting across from her on the ottoman, my own coffee warming my palms. I really didn’t have time for this. I had business to attend to, pertaining to the incident—and also with her dad, who hadn’t shown up to the party.
But I couldn’t bring myself to leave her. Not now. It felt right to sit with her, just staring at her, so gorgeous despite being all raw and puffy from sleep.
“Not nice.” Her eyes rolled and she smiled. “Different.”
We sipped in silence for a minute, but as I looked at her, I remembered why I’d been searching for her so urgently last night before Jameson had come running. “I’d like to apologize for my mom’s friends yesterday.”
Laney stilled. “Why? They were all very nice. They weren’t the ones who tripped me, remember?”
“Yeah. No, I know, but my mom told me something happened with them before that. She said you were upset and I was looking for you. I had no idea they would ask you about something so persona?—”
“I don’t talk about it, so they caught me off guard, is all,” she said quickly, her eyes locked on the steam rising from her mug. “It was okay, though. Your mom’s friends, I mean. They were nice about it. I just wasn’t expecting to run into anyone who knew her.”
“You don’t have to talk to me about it,” I said more cautiously than I’d possibly ever spoken before. “Not if you don’t want to. I just… I should’ve asked. That’s on me. I’m here if you would like to talk. It doesn’t have to be today. Just whenever is fine.”
She looked up at me, her eyes guarded but not cold.
It was more like this was a conversation she wasn’t used to having and wasn’t sure she should be having.
“It was a long time ago. We didn’t have a lot of time to say goodbye to her.
I think that’s part of the reason I’ll always cling to Baby Blossom.
She poured her heart and soul into that store.
It’s a piece of her and hearing people remember her for it was actually pretty special. ”
I understood then, in a way I hadn’t before, that I hadn’t just threatened a business when I’d dangled that contract in front of her. I hadn’t even just threatened her family’s legacy. I’d threatened her mother’s memory.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly but sincerely.