Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
RORY
Waking up to a Tyler and Caden sandwich was exactly what I needed to start my day, despite my pussy screaming in protest when I sat down at the kitchen table for breakfast once we crawled out of bed.
Breakfast filled me up, and I groaned as I poked my belly. “Living here is making me fat. I was never a breakfast person.”
Tyler frowned, running his gaze over me. “You think you’re fat?”
“I swear I’ve doubled in size. My jeans don’t fit anymore,” I grumbled.
“You barely used to eat. You’re not fat, you’re just getting nutrients now,” Jensen replied as he sipped his coffee.
“So I am getting bigger?” I deadpanned, earning a snort from Caden as he stood.
“Stop trying to pick a fight. It’s Sunday.”
“So? There’s nothing holy about you, Caden Holloway. Sunday doesn’t mean shit,” I scoffed, standing to collect plates. He went to tell me off for it and I shot him a dirty look, his mouth slamming shut.
Yes, there was staff. I was also capable of taking some plates over to the sink.
Lukas started whining about his new school counselor, so I left them to it as I carried the dishes over to the sink to rinse them, not surprised when the chef, Karl, practically ran over to scold me.
“It won’t hurt me to rinse some plates, Karl,” I teased, but he still looked flustered.
“You don’t need to worry yourself with these things. Go and enjoy your day.”
“I will. Once I’m finished rinsing plates. The pancakes were really good,” I said with a smile, and his expression softened a fraction.
“I’m glad you liked them, Miss Donovan.”
I hadn’t really gotten to know the staff much since I did most things myself, but I’d slowly been allowing them to do things for me, which meant getting to know them.
Karl was a single dad. His wife had died in a hit and run on her way to work one day.
He loved working here, and he was starting to sneak me extra things for dessert.
He was the reason I was getting fat. His cooking was amazing.
Josie appeared with an empty coffee cup in hand, giving Karl a kind smile as she gave it to him.
“Thank you, Karl.” She turned to me, seeming amused by my need to clean up after myself. “Once you’re done there, can I steal you for a few hours?”
“What for?” I asked, glancing at the guys to find them still talking among themselves.
“I know you don’t like using your credit card, but you really need some new clothes. I want to take you shopping.”
“My clothes are—”
“Falling to pieces?” she offered, making me huff.
“They’ll last a little longer.”
“I know, but they don’t have to. I won’t drag you through all the fancy boutiques, I promise. We can have lunch while we’re out too. A girl’s day would be nice.”
I eyed her for a second before nodding. “Okay. Girl’s day it is.”
I couldn’t help but smile as she let out an excited squeal that drew the guys’ attention, and she pointed at them. “You’re not invited. Girls only.”
“And I was really looking forward to a mani-pedi,” Caden said dryly, but he didn’t seem bothered by it.
“You boys should study.”
“Why doesn’t Rory have to?” Tyler whined, making her snort.
“Rory is scoring higher than all of you right now. She also spent most of yesterday studying while you all hung out at the mall,” she tsked, pulling her phone from her pocket. “I’ll just go and find a jacket and cancel my meeting.”
“Wait, I don’t want you canceling anything for me,” I said quickly, hating that she was taking time off to do it.
“I’m always working if I’m awake, so the day off will do me some good,” she insisted as she left the room, her heels clicking on the floor as she headed upstairs.
“Buy something cute that I can tear off you later,” Tyler said with a grin, not caring that Karl was right there by the sink. He’d taken my distraction of shopping instantly, taking the dishes from my hands and wiping the counter.
“Cute sounds lacy to me. You know I hate lace,” I scoffed, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Silk exists.”
“So does pegging. Interested?” I said slyly, his grin only widening.
“If anyone could convince me, it would be you, baby.”
I rolled my eyes as he broke out into laughter, and Lukas walked over to give me a quick kiss, cupping my cheek. “I’m probably crashing at Jensen’s tonight. So I’ll text you.”
“Video call me,” I practically cooed, and he shot me a wicked smile.
“I’ll think about it.”
He wouldn’t. He liked the idea of it, but I knew he’d be too shy to mess around with Jensen on camera, which was fine by me. I didn’t want him rushing into things while he was trying to figure it all out.
Josie looked slightly uncomfortable as all the guys gave me a kiss goodbye on our way out the door, and she waited until we were in the car with the privacy screen up before she said anything.
“I really wish I understood your relationship.” I looked over at her, finding her watching me. “I couldn’t be with someone who was seeing someone else.”
“They’re not seeing other people.”
“No, but I’m just confused how the boys are so okay with it. What happens when you want to get married? You can only marry one person.”
“I know you probably have a big dream of me being your daughter-in-law, but I hate marriage,” I said tensely, and she reached out to pat my arm.
“I’m not going to argue with you. I’m just curious, that’s all. I don’t need to see a piece of paper to call you my daughter. Whether you and Caden were seeing each other or not, you’re family now.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I asked, waiting for her to nod. “Did you want to have more kids?”
She smiled, her face softening. “I already have five. I think that’s enough, don’t you?”
“I mean—”
“I know what you mean. I might have only birthed one, but I raised those boys. Tristan wasn’t home a lot, and as much as my career was a top priority, I always made sure to spend proper time with them.
I took them to the park, helped them with homework, and I had to give Tyler and Jensen the sex talk since it was obvious their parents weren’t going to.
They needed a safe place, so I gave them one.
I was a little surprised when Caden brought Lukas home from school though.
I’d been at the school that week because the two of them had been fighting.
A mom knows when a child is desperate for love, and Lukas—” she blew out a breath, her voice getting quiet.
“He needed constant reassurance that he was doing things right. Even now, he just wants his own mother to be proud of him and accept him for who he is.”
“He’s not happy about the therapy,” I said dryly, and she chuckled.
“He might say that to you, but I think it’s helpful that he can spill his guts to a complete stranger that’s not connected to his situation at all. Gives him a different perspective. If he didn’t want to go, no one can physically drag him. He just needed a push.”
“If you do that to me, it’s wasting everyone’s time.”
“I know. Lukas needed someone to guide him. You need someone to stand beside you while you figure it out on your own. You’re all very different kids, and things that work for some won’t work for others. I think Ty would benefit from speaking to someone, but he’s still too angry.”
“He’s not angry,” I corrected, and she tilted her head at me.
“Oh?”
“He’s scared.”
“Of what?”
“Being left behind. He’s got abandonment issues. He lashes out in a panic when he feels abandoned,” I stated, frowning slightly. “I think Jensen has hidden anger though. He’s past the point of wanting his parents to come home, and he’s just pissed off at himself for waiting so long.”
“And Caden?”
I paused, realizing I was talking too much, but knowing she wouldn’t use it against them, she just wanted to understand them more.
“Caden can be bitter sometimes. When he’s angry, he likes to make others miserable. He’s protective of you over anything. Tristan fucked him up, but he’ll be okay.”
She took my hand, giving it a squeeze. “I know I’ve been busy lately, but thank you for being there for them.”
“You did good with them, Josie. They’re good men under all that asshole,” I said with a light chuckle, and she seemed relieved to hear that.
“They test me some days, that’s for sure.”
She changed the subject to school, and once we arrived at the mall, she wanted us to take our time by grabbing a coffee first.
Coffee in hand, we started browsing random shops, my eyes catching on some lace-up boots in the window of the shoe shop.
“Go try them on,” she suggested when she noticed I’d stopped walking.
“They’re expensive.”
“To you, they’re free,” she joked, ushering me through the door.
I was way out of my element as she directed staff to grab my size and guided me to the seating area, my discomfort only rising as she took my coffee and watched me try the boots on.
They’d be stiff for a while, but they fit well.
I thought that would be it for this store, but she convinced me to try on sneakers and even a pair of Ugg boots, almost making me throw up when the woman at the register rang it up.
Hundreds of dollars just for three pairs of shoes. Fucking insane.
We took the bags of shoe boxes back to the car where the driver was waiting, then returned back to the mall to continue browsing.
She somehow convinced me to try on bathing suits, and I couldn’t exactly argue. I used the pool a lot, and I couldn’t exactly swim in my panties and bra forever.
The baby blue bikini was cute, and it thankfully had better coverage than half the suits I’d already looked at. Some didn’t look like they’d even cover my damn nipples, and the bottoms were all in a thong style.
I wanted my nipples and ass crack covered, thank you very much.
We wandered the home decor store before stopping for lunch, where I learned that Sushi was the best thing in the fucking world, then I tried on a million pairs of jeans to find a few I liked, some new shorts, and more shirts and tanks.