5. Noah #2
“I wish.” Gabe smirks. “Nah, just couldn’t sleep. It happens from time to time. Nothing to worry about.”
Silas nods, but Clay watches him carefully. He can tell there’s more to the story, but like always, he doesn’t say anything unless he absolutely has to.
“You know if there’s something going on, you can talk to us,” Silas offers Gabe, and by the way Gabe’s jaw ticks subtly, I can tell he’s getting annoyed at having their attention on him. I decide now is the best time to change the subject from him.
“Actually, there is something we wanted to bring up.” They all lean in, waiting for me to elaborate. “Have you guys noticed anything strange going on with Veronica?”
Their brows all furrow in confusion.
“Uh, no. Not really,” Silas says with a head shake.
“Honestly, I don’t pay Ronnie enough attention to notice if something was off,” Grey adds with an apologetic shrug.
“That’s because you’re too focused on Emma to even notice anything else happening around you.” Clay smirks.
“Oh, shut up. Like you guys are any better.” He rolls his eyes as we all laugh. He’s right, though, these guys are all obsessed with their women. I guess Gabe and I can kind of relate.
“But seriously, not even a weird face when she’s on her phone? Nothing? What about your girls? They haven’t mentioned anything?” Gabe questions.
They all shake their heads at the same time.
“If something were going on, Aubrey would probably be your best shot at finding out. They live together after all,” Greyson says next.
He’s right. But I have a feeling that if Veronica didn’t mention it to the girls, then it’s because she doesn’t want people to know. We can relate to that.
“Why, what’s going on?” Silas looks at us with worry.
“Nothing. She just felt off last night and today again. We were just wondering if there was something we should know.” There, that should get them to drop it.
Clay snorts. “That’s probably because she’s now working for you two jackasses.”
“Actually, that’s been going pretty well. We have been nothing short of polite and respectful with her,” Gabe tells them with a proud, glowing smile.
“Ah, you’ve both been bitten by the lovebug.” Silas leans back against the wall, fingers interlocking behind his head as his eyes close. “I swear, that thing is contagious. We went from full-on bachelors to all getting married.”
“What? No, we haven’t. He’s not married,” I say, pointing at Ford. “And we’re not even in a relationship,” I finish, throwing a finger back and forth between me and Gabe.
“Yet. I’m not married yet. But I will be by the end of the year.” Greyson’s eyes light up at the mention of marrying his girlfriend.
“Does she know that?” Burkley laughs.
“She will soon.” He winks back. “And don’t rule out so quickly that you aren’t going down the same path we are. You two have been obsessed with Ronnie since November. And don’t try to pass it off as just wanting to sleep with her, because we all know that’s bullshit.”
“He’s right. I’ve never seen you guys so hung up over someone before. And now that she’s basically surrounded by you two daily, there’s no way nothing’s going to happen,” Silas adds.
“What are you guys gonna do if shit gets serious?” Clay asks curiously.
“What do you mean?” Gabe looks at me with a confused look then back to Burkley.
“Well… there are two of you and one of her.”
Shit, I hadn’t thought about that…
We exit the elevator in our penthouse, and I immediately feel like something’s different; I just can’t place what exactly. Gabe stops beside me and looks around with that same expression, as if he’s waiting for something to pop out that we haven’t noticed.
“Oh! Good. You’re back.” Veronica comes into view with a smile. “Sit.” She points to the couch.
I look at Gabe, and he shrugs, then trots over to the couch and plops down. I walk over and sit next to him, while Veronica comes to stand before us with her hands on her hips.
“So, I’ve changed a few things around here. As you can see, I’ve added side tables to the couch.” Ah, so that’s what’s different. She frowns. “Let me guess, you didn’t even notice?”
“In all fairness, we noticed something was different,” Gabe justifies.
“So, what you’re saying is I could have changed the couch color, and you wouldn’t have noticed? Just felt something was off.”
I lift a shoulder. “Pretty much.”
“Good to know.” She nods with a mischievous smirk, but then it drops.
“But you see, that’s the problem. That’s why you’re so messy.
You guys don’t pay attention to things, so it becomes easy to leave stuff lying around without realizing it.
Which is why I have added some things around the house to help you in the right direction, without pushing too much. ”
She claps her hands together. “First off, I’ve added garbage baskets to every single room, except for those that already had them.
Like, for example, there’s one right beneath the side table right there.
” She points to said basket. “You know, so you can put your trash in it, since the kitchen is too far of a walk.” She narrows her eyes at us with disappointment.
“Next, I’ve added a recycling bin and a clothing basket in the gym.
One for your water bottles, and the other for your dirty towels.
There are also new baskets in your personal bathrooms for your dirty clothes, so no more leaving them in a heaping pile.
Just throw it in the basket. That’s all I’m asking.
” We both nod. We can do that… probably.
“Okay. I’ve also installed three hooks behind each of your bedroom doors. Those will be used for anything you might want dry-cleaned. Just hook it up and I’ll take care of the rest. Hmm, what else…”
She taps a slender finger to her pretty lips. “Oh! Noah, thank you for putting your dishes in the sink.” She smiles at me, and fuck if my heart doesn’t do a somersault in my chest.
“Gabe… we need to work on putting things away. You left everything on the counter, so I’ve added a little bin that hooks to the lower cabinet door. I placed it right below where you use the blender, so when you’re done with your ingredients, just slide them right into the bin. As easy as that.”
“Wait, you did all that while we were gone? You even built the side coffee tables?” I ask, now realizing how much she’s done.
“I did. It was pretty simple, actually. I had planned on cleaning up the outdoor area, but I forgot to ask you how to open that damn door.”
“I’ll show you later. But you don’t need to clean out there. We never really use it,” I inform her.
“That’s a shame. It looks beautiful, and the view must be magnificent. With the right outdoor furniture and decorations, it could be spectacular.” She sounds almost dreamy as she says it.
“Well then, you have the go-ahead to do whatever you want with it,” Gabe offers.
“Oh, I had already planned to,” she says matter-of-factly, which makes us both chuckle. “That reminds me.” She holds up a finger and walks away, coming back seconds later with a bag in hand.
She opens it up and retrieves what looks like bed sheets. “Here, I got these for you.” She hands them over to Gabe for him to look over.
“Umm… there were extra sheets in the linen closet. You didn’t need to buy new ones.” He looks uncertain of how to react and slightly uncomfortable.
“I know. But these are cooling sheets. They’ll help keep your body cool and not sweat as much.
And apparently, they’re very durable too, less likely to rip.
” The tiniest hint of a blush forms over her cheeks.
This is the first time I’ve seen Veronica blush, hell, I’m not even sure you can consider it that, but it’s a beautiful sight I didn’t know I needed.
“Oh… well, thank you,” Gabe says with a nervous smile.
“You’re welcome. Anyway, I think that was all for now. I hope you’ll both make an effort with what I’ve asked of you. And well, if you don’t, there will be consequences.” She smiles, but it looks diabolical.
“Wait, wait. What do you mean by consequences?” Gabe sits up and scoots to the edge of the couch.
“Well, Gabe, if you don’t at least try, I’ll make you eat an unhealthy meal every time you leave stuff around. That should motivate you.”
His mouth gapes. “WHAT!? No way.”
“Then start picking up after yourself, Pretty Boy.” She folds her arms under her chest.
He grumbles something we don’t catch, then sighs. “Fine! What about him?” He nods my way.
She looks me up and down, thinking. “Noah, can you cook?”
I go to answer, but Gabe scoffs beside me. “No, he can’t cook for shit. Why do you think I’m in charge of every meal around here?”
She smiles wickedly now. “Good. Then every time you leave something lying around, Gabe will not cook for you, and you’ll be in charge of making your own meals for the day. No takeout, no leftovers. Seems fair?”
Now it’s my turn for my jaw to drop. “How is that fair?!”
“Well, you boys know what to do if you don’t want to deal with the consequences. Now show me how to open the patio door so that I can continue working. Gabe, just leave the sheets on your bed, I’ll set them up before leaving.” She turns and heads toward the outdoor space we have.
“How did we go from hiring a housekeeper to having a mother?” Gabe asks while staring at her back.
“I was wondering the same thing.”
“You should have expected it!” Veronica calls out.
We really should have.