Chapter 8 #2
I blinked. “What?” I asked, apparently not having fully been paying attention.
The girls laughed, and I set down my fork, wondering perhaps if I’d had too much wine.
“My brother Ford? He and his spouses have their nine-month-old son Micah. And I’m going to kidnap him for an auntie day.”
Now I was really confused. “An auntie day?”
“It’s a day where I can be the aunt and spoil him. He’s still a baby, but he has those little biteable cheeks and legs, and I’m going to kidnap him and spoil him to my heart’s content.”
“That sounds perfect,” I said, my heart aching just a bit.
“You’ll be able to do that with Luna once she decides if she wants kids,” Ivy said with a smile.
I nearly choked on my wine. Was this glass three?
Four? It didn’t matter. I was feeling good.
“I would love to be an aunt, and I hope that Luna provides me that recourse sometime, but I’m not going to pressure her into becoming a mom and starting a family.
Of course, she might need to find someone to do that with, but for all I know, she has a secret boyfriend. ”
What the hell was I saying? I was the one with secrets. Not that Hudson was my boyfriend, or mine in any way. But I had kissed him. Did I say that out loud? No. I was still safe.
“We should totally text her right now and see if she has a secret boyfriend,” Harper said as she clapped her hands. “I know she’s coming up soon so we can work on planning the wedding, but I feel like I don’t see her enough.”
“That’s what happens when we all grow up and move to different places,” Ivy said with a shrug. “My home is here, and yet I’m rarely in it. So I don’t know when I’ll have time to start with the whole family and baby-making.”
“We’ll be perfect aunts when the time comes,” Isabella said. “Plus, since Harper’s marrying into the family, we’ll be co-aunties, and because I have one hundred siblings, there’s going to be a glorious number of them.”
“So many little nibblings,” I teased.
“Exactly,” Isabella said with a snap of her fingers. “Aston and Blakely are having a baby soon, and I know Kane and Phoebe are talking about it.” She turned to Harper. “I know you guys are waiting.”
“Yes. Waiting. Probably a long while.”
“And Sophia and Cale had the twins,” Isabella continued, smiling so brightly her cheeks looked like they were going to ache.
“Your family’s growing. I love it,” I said after a moment.
“Me too. After everything that’s happened, it’s good just to know that we’re finding our spaces. And you should know that Weston and I have decided we are not having kids,” she blurted and quickly went to her meal, cutting up her steak as if she was worried what we were going to say.
I met Ivy’s and then Harper’s gazes, before we each turned to Isabella. A pause. “Good for you.”
Isabella’s gaze shot up. “Really? We had been talking about it, and well, Weston practically raised his siblings, and I don’t know, I’ve always pictured myself being an aunt and helping my siblings and doing all of the fun things that comes with that, but I never really thought of myself as a mom.”
“You don’t have to be a parent in order to find your happily ever after,” Ivy said as she squeezed Isabella’s hand.
“You and Weston are traveling more, and it’s not as if Weston’s siblings are completely out of the house since they can come back whenever they need to.
So between them, and all of the Cages, you’re going to have plenty of family.
I’m so glad that you’re making a decision for yourself, not for anyone else. ”
Isabella let out a relieved sigh. “It’s not that I was afraid you guys would judge me, more that I didn’t know anything. I am so blessed with my family. With all of you, and I like the way that things are.”
“That just means you’re going to spoil your little nibblings even more,” I put in.
“Exactly. They deserve all the spoiling.”
“And if Dorian and I ever decide to have kids, I expect all the spoiling. And the babysitting.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “You’ve already mentioned that you want plenty of kids, and Dorian is one of those men that screams breeder.”
I nearly choked on my wine. “Ivy!”
“What? He like gets all growly and protective around her. He’s ready to imprint his DNA all over that.” She waved her finger around Harper, and all of us burst into laughter.
The conversation turned to the upcoming parade, and yet another Cage-like event, and I sank into my wine, finally feeling relaxed after far too many months of hiding.
My mother was safe at home. Luna would be visiting soon.
My job was doing exactly what it needed to, and I wasn’t failing.
At least that’s what I kept telling myself.
And I was doing just fine. My father would get bored of bothering me soon, and Ronin hadn’t been back in a while.
I was surviving and figuring out how to thrive. It was enough for now.
“I see you guys loved your filets and sea bass, are we thinking dessert?” Jackie asked as she cleared away our plates.
I put my hand over my stomach and shook my head. “Oh no, I have zero room. But dinner was delightful.”
“Yes, please tell the chef.” Isabella narrowed her gaze. “It’s not Theo, is it? I never see him, and he continues to hide from me. I think he’s scared of his sister.”
Jackie laughed. “It’s not Theo today, but he does like to show up unexpectedly.”
“You should ask that group chat of yours and force Theo to let you know when he’s here,” I said, hoping my words weren’t slurring. Maybe it was time to get a little more water into my system.
“I do need to head out soon though, I walked here, and I want to get some fresh air,” Luna said as she squeezed my hand. “Do you have a ride home?”
I blinked, feeling warm and happy. “I was going to do a rideshare. I’m okay.”
“You can go home with Weston and me. Or at least, we can drop you off,” Isabella said with a giggle. She’d had nearly as much as me.
“And then there’s Dorian of course. But then, with the way he looks at me, he might be in that breeder mood.”
I burst out laughing, as Isabella groaned into her hands.
“It’s okay, I’ll take her home.” That familiar voice slid down my spine, and I froze.
“What?” I burst out, turning in my seat so quickly the chair buckled. Hudson moved forward, wrapped one large hand around the arm of my chair, and the other on my shoulder.
“Easy there, Scar,” he mumbled.
The girls might’ve been speaking, but I couldn’t focus. Why was he here? What did he want?
“I was just having dinner with my brothers, and they’re here to take their women home.”
“Did I say that out loud?” I asked, my cheeks heating.
“Yes. You did. Did you have any water?”
“Some,” I mumbled.
Hudson sighed and tugged on my arm. “Come on, let’s get you home, neighbor.
” He spoke over my head, but I wasn’t paying attention.
Instead I leaned my cheek against his chest, feeling that nipple ring slightly, and let out a contented sigh.
Maybe I’d had a little bit too much to drink, but in the end it didn’t matter. This was all a very odd dream anyway.
“This is interesting,” Ivy whispered, or maybe she shouted. I wasn’t sure.
Either way, I found myself walking alongside Hudson to his truck.
“In you go,” Hudson mumbled.
“I’m fine. I’m going to call someone.”
“I’m not letting you get in a stranger’s car, Scar.”
“You’re not the boss of me.”
He buckled me into my seat, his breath warm against my cheek. “Maybe you need a little bossing around.”
I tried to say something funny, but instead I just closed my eyes, and the next thing I noticed when I opened them, we were parked in his driveway.
“Wait. Where are we? I thought I was going home.”
“Can’t find your keys,” he grumbled, and I reached for my purse, only to realize it felt half empty.
“Oh no,” I mumbled.
“Woman, you’re going to be the death of me.”
Things were moving rapidly, yet felt like I was four steps behind. Maybe I’d had one too many glasses of wine. It wasn’t something I did. Ever. I needed to be aware of my surroundings, I knew that, and yet I just wanted a moment where I didn’t have to think.
I found myself in Hudson’s arms, my cheek resting against his shoulder, as he carried me into his home.
“Your purse fell in my truck, and your keys are somewhere. I’ll get them in the morning. Let’s get you to sleep.”
“I’m fine,” I pouted. “I don’t want to stay here.” A lie.
He rubbed his beard against the top of my head. “Someone needs to take care of you, Scarlett, even if you don’t want it.”
“I can do it on my own.”
“If you just mumbled that you could do it on your own, we both know that’s usually the case but just let me help.”
With a sigh I let him carry me up the stairs, and then found myself tucked into soft sheets, and my shoes on the ground next to the bed.
I tried to say something to be clever, but there was nothing.
I merely let Hudson take care of me, with giving me a glass of water, and finally sank into the pillows, wondering what the hell I was doing.
Hudson Cage was a menace, but in this moment, he was my menace.