Chapter 29
LANEY
A fter Sterling left, the penthouse was quiet. I stared at the TV, but it was off. Nothing but a black screen, but I couldn’t stop looking at it.
Just a few minutes ago, I’d kissed my husband and I’d liked it. My fingers brushed against my lips again and a shiver ran through me. The kiss hadn’t been hot or out of control, but it’d already wormed its way deep inside me.
For Sterling to have kissed me like that meant something and I knew it. The guy didn’t do anything without having weighed every possible consequence, but he’d acted without a second thought when he’d kissed me.
He wouldn’t have looked so shocked about it after if that wasn’t true.
Which meant that in that moment, he’d wanted to kiss me so badly that he’d lost control of himself—and I loved it.
That was what made it so darn hot that my panties grew damp and I imagined at least half a dozen different positions that he could take me right on this very couch.
Giggling into the silence, I stretched my sore ankle, careful not to tug the bandages too tight, and exhaled. Once this is better , I decided, I’m taking Gwen’s advice and jumping my husband’s bones. Done.
Just because we’d gotten married for the reasons we had didn’t mean we couldn’t have some fun while we were at it—and I desperately needed some damn fun in my life. Especially after yesterday.
The party. CC’s friends mentioned my mom. The run-in with Cassandra and how the Westwood boys had banded around me after. Falling asleep with Sterling last night and that conversation we’d had this morning.
It had all been a lot. The way I saw it, we owed it to ourselves to act on these desires if we were both feeling them—and I’d seen the bulge in Sterling’s expensive slacks when he’d jumped up. He was definitely feeling it.
I was still reeling about that fact when Gwen showed up. We’d seen her before we’d left the party last night, but she’d chosen to stay, apparently having hit it off with Nathan, Sterling’s best friend.
She walked in once I’d hit the button on my phone that unlocked the door. “How are you feeling? I can’t believe what those bitches did to you. Have we got a revenge plan yet?”
“Nope,” I said. “I’m not getting involved with that. They’re a part of Sterling’s world, not mine.”
She ran her fingers through her dark, smooth ponytail and pouted. “Okay, then does he have a revenge plan yet? You might not want to get involved, but I do.”
“I don’t know if he does. I didn’t ask.”
She scoffed and handed over a coffee from the cardboard carrier in her hand. “You don’t deserve that, but you can have it anyway because you’re hurt.”
I chuckled. “Thanks a lot. Do I not deserve it just because I don’t want to bring that level of drama into my life?
I’ve got enough going on. I just got married, remember?
Plus, I have to start trying for a baby soon, I’m trying to save my business and open a second location, and those kinds of women could easily ruin Baby Blossom if I give them a reason to put it in their sights. ”
She sighed. “That’s fair. Everyone at that party was so uber rich, I’m not sure I’d want to mess with them either. I did get five new clients for the studio, though. Isn’t that awesome?”
My eyebrows shot up and I grinned so widely my cheeks started hurting. “Are you serious? That’s amazing. Wow. I’m so proud of you. Make those five clients happy, and you’ll have fifty of their type soon enough.”
She winked at me. “That’s exactly what I plan on doing. Lure the first few in with my charm and keep the rest of ‘em coming because I make them sweat so good.”
I laughed. “Well, I know how good you are at that, so I have the utmost faith in this plan. What about Nathan? You two seemed to have a little thing going between you.”
She pretended to swoon, pressing the back of her hand against her forehead and collapsing down on the couch beside me.
“That boy is the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. Did you see that bronze skin? The black eyes? He literally looks like he stepped out of one of my fantasies. All I needed to do was take his shirt off and splash some water on him.”
“He is very good looking,” I agreed. “I haven’t really spoken to him, but Sterling has mentioned him once or twice and I’ve seen him around their offices. He seems nice.”
“He’s more than just nice, Lane.” She gave me a serious look, but her eyes were twinkling with laughter. “He’s a dreamboat. We’re going out for drinks tonight and I cannot wait.”
“You two make a cute couple,” I offered, grinning at her. “You even kind of look alike, which means your kids will be beautiful little dark-haired angels.”
“True.” She giggled, but finally, her gaze drifted away from mine and she seemed to notice the space she was in for the first time, letting out a low whistle between her teeth. “Damn, girl. I knew he was rich but not homepage of an exclusive realtor’s website rich.”
“What?” I laughed. “You saw his parents’ place yesterday. How did that not make you realize that they’re freaky, stinking rich?”
She shrugged. “Well, that’s his parents’ place. I mean, I kind of expected that from them, but for some reason, I didn’t think their boys were this rich yet.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “It really is freaky.”
We caught up for a while longer and drank our coffee. She told me all about her night with dreamy Nathan and I gave her the details about my exchange with Cassandra and her cronies.
Not ten minutes after she’d left, the intercom buzzed and I hit the speaker, expecting Gwen to be back downstairs. “Forget something?”
“Nope!” came a cheerful voice I didn’t recognize right away, but my stomach did that odd flip of recognition anyway. “Buzz me up!”
I frowned, hesitated, and then pressed the button.
The elevator dinged and out stepped a girl I’d seen once but never would’ve been able to forget. Sadie Shepard from the party. The one who’d completely ignored Jameson but smiled at everyone else like she had sunshine in her bloodstream.
“Sadie,” I said, surprised but not unhappy. “Excuse me for not standing up to greet you. I’ve been told to stay on the couch and not to move.”
She beamed at me, sweeping into the apartment like it was her second home. “Don’t worry about that. I’m just glad you remember me.”
Hard not to.
She wore a sundress with kitten heels and she was carrying a striped, pastel box I instantly knew was too pretty to hold anything disappointing.
“I brought macarons and I have opinions. Also I’ll require caffeine, but I’ll settle for gossip if you have anything to tell me while we wait for the coffee I’ll order in. ”
I blinked, then smiled. “So, you make house calls?”
“Only for girls with sprained ankles and husbands who won’t stop staring at them like they’re vintage art.”
My cheeks warmed and there was nothing I could do to hide it, but Sadie didn’t mention it, simply chatting away as if we’d known each other for years. We fell into such an easy rhythm that it was hard to believe we hadn’t.
She handed me a lavender macaron and immediately launched into a dramatic breakdown of Cassandra and her “posse of bitches,” as she’d so kindly dubbed them. I laughed, actual, tear-sparking laughter so consuming I even forgot about the ache in my foot.
“For them, hazing is a rite of passage,” she said, brushing imaginary lint off her dress.
“I couldn’t get them last night. They disappeared after what happened, which is odd, but I think they heard that Jameson and Callum were on the warpath and left before they confronted them.
Pity. They would’ve deserved to be embarrassed by the Westwoods throwing them out on their asses. I’ll get them next time, though.”
“You really don’t like Cassandra, huh?”
“She once called my dog ‘uncultured.’” Sadie sniffed. “That’s unforgivable.”
I snorted into my cookie. “Absolutely. I’m so with you.”
When I asked how she knew Sterling’s family, she shrugged.
“Our parents are lifetime achievement award winners on the cocktail circuit. We also live in the same neighborhood. Same school. Same parties. I’m the same age as Callum, but Sterling?
He was always the one who showed up. He’s quiet and serious, but he’s loyal as hell and he gives great advice. ”
That warmed something in me. Some tucked-away thread I didn’t know was still worried about how cool and calculated he came across. I tried not to let it show on my face, but Sadie was sharp. She picked up on it without even having known me for twenty-four hours.
“I’m just saying,” she added cheerfully. “If you ever want a second opinion on the broody husband, I’m available, but I like you already, so don’t break his heart or I’ll be forced to unfriend you.”
“I’ll do my best.”
She glanced around the penthouse like it’d personally offended her. “Boy, it’s really gray in here, isn’t it? Do you like animals?”
“Oh, I love them. We had a cat, Peaches. She just arrived at our doorstep one day and refused to leave. Unfortunately, she passed away a few years ago.”
Sadie’s eyes narrowed in that same mischievous way Gwen’s did when she was cooking up a bad idea. Immediately, I shook my head at her. “I know what that look means and whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t.”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said in a sing-song voice, standing up and programming her number into my phone.
“We’re doing lunch next week. I’ll text you, but I just wanted to check in on how you were doing to make sure you were okay.
I’ve got to go, but keep staying on that couch like a good girl, okay? ”
Moments later, she was gone, leaving behind a half-empty box of ridiculously fancy macarons and a much-needed reminder that not every rich girl was out for blood.
I worked on my laptop for a while, planning the upcoming block party I hosted every year for business owners in the same neighborhood as Baby Blossom, and I kept at it until the door clicked open again.
Sterling walked in with a giant tray of sushi and that furrow between his brows he seemed to wear like a watch. He strode right to me, those blue eyes blazing with concern, protectiveness, and perhaps just a little something hotter.
“How’s the ankle?” he asked, setting the tray down on the coffee table in front of me. “Is it still as swollen?”
I smiled as I watched him rake his hands through his hair. “It’s bruised and high maintenance. It takes after me.”
He glanced into my eyes and smirked. “That sounds like a perfect match then. I hope you like sushi, by the way. I got a little bit of everything just to be sure I covered my bases.”
“I love sushi. All of it, so I’m sure we’ll be just fine.” We ate on the couch while I made him watch one of my favorite movies. He pretended to be grumpy about it, but I caught him smiling at the screen. Or maybe at me.
Midway through the end credits, he finally turned fully to face me. He’d paused the movie to go throw on some sweats and a T-shirt just after it started, and he looked normal again. Well, as normal as a guy could while looking like him.
“Can you get away for a long weekend?” he asked.
I stared into those blue eyes, nearly losing myself in them. “This weekend? Or when did you have in mind?”
He nodded. “This weekend.”
“Let me guess,” I teased, eyebrows lifting slightly. “You’re finally taking me back to LA to open our second storefront?”
“Not yet,” he said, leaning forward to snag another piece of sushi. “I want to show you something. Our second vacation home.”
“Second?” I echoed, mouth full. “Wait, our ?”
“Yeah, ours. Mine and yours. In case the painkillers have made you loopy, we’re married.” Another smirk curved his lips. “You didn’t think there was just one, did you?”
My heart fluttered at the sparkle in his eyes and the rare softness of his features. “Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I did. I only recently joined the my-husband-is-filthy-rich club. One vacation home would’ve been plenty for me.”
He laughed, and the sound was low and unguarded. “I like it when you call me that.”
I arched an eyebrow at him, other parts of me starting to flutter. “What, filthy?”
He leaned closer, just a little, that sparkle in his eyes turning heated. “No. Husband .”
As he held my gaze, I realized that if he kept looking at me like that, I was going to start crushing on my husband more than I already was—and it honestly didn’t seem like that would be such a bad thing anymore.