Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
Summer slides onto the stool beside me and flips open a crossword book with a dramatic sigh. “We’ve been stuck on this criss-cross for days. It’s mocking us at this point.”
Scarlet leans in on my other side, resting her chin on her hand. “Every time we think we’ve got it, we realise we’re spelling something that doesn’t even exist.”
I glance down at the half-filled grid. The words come quietly. I tap a spot near the bottom. “That one’s ‘echo’,” I say softly.
Summer’s eyes light up. “Yes! Thank you!” She scribbles it in, grinning. “Okay, okay… this one. Nine letters, starts with ‘R’, clue is ‘bouncing back’.”
“Resilient,” I murmur.
Scarlet lets out a happy little laugh and writes it down. “You’re good at this. We’d been staring at that one for twenty minutes.”
We keep going like that, easy and unhurried. Summer reads out the next clue, I offer a suggestion when I know it, and they both cheer quietly whenever something clicks into place. There’s no showing off on my part, just quiet help.
Lorraine watches from across the island, her expression soft and fond, occasionally sipping her tea while the three of us slowly fill in the rest of the puzzle together.
For a few minutes, everything else fades. It’s just the scratch of the pen, quiet laughter, and the simple comfort of sitting between two kind people who aren’t treating me like I’m broken or dangerous.
◆◆◆
I laugh softly as Scarlet does her best impression of Ray in one of his serious moods, deepening her voice and furrowing her brows in that exact grumpy way he gets when someone interrupts him.
“Listen, I don’t have time for your nonsense right now,” she says in a perfect Ray deadpan, and both Summer and I crack up.
Then I feel big, warms hand sliding around my waist from behind, followed by the press of lips against the side of my neck. My eyes go wide. I stay perfectly still, still watching Scarlet, who immediately stops mid-impression.
Soren’s deep voice rumbles against my skin. “Should I tell my good friend that you’re all impersonating him?”
Scarlet makes a tiny squeaking noise, probably praying Soren doesn’t actually do it.
Soren’s hands keep roaming in slow, possessive strokes under the oversized shirt I’m wearing.
I close my eyes, feeling way too much like the centre of attention right now.
My heart is racing stupidly fast and those butterflies are back, making my cheeks burn hot.
I don’t know how to cope with Soren touching me like this in front of people. It feels too public, too real.
Armen walks in at that exact moment. “Where’s everyone gone?”
Soren kisses my neck again, slower this time, and says casually, “Armen, show them your impression of Ray.”
Armen barks out a loud laugh and immediately launches into it…
shoulders hunched; face pulled into the most comically irritated expression.
“I swear to God, if one more person asks me a stupid question today, I’m going to lose my shit,” he grumbles in Ray’s exact tone, pacing like he’s about to snap at someone.
It’s so spot-on that the whole kitchen erupts in laughter. Soren lets out a deep, genuine laugh. Scarlet sighs in obvious relief, clearly realising Soren isn’t mad at all.
Then Soren’s chin comes to rest on top of my head as one of his large, warm hands slides under the hem of the shirt I’m wearing, palm gliding over my bare stomach. I hide my face in my arms, hoping it looks like I’m just relaxing, only letting the good side of my forehead rest against my forearms.
Just then Ray walks in. “Boss, we’ve got a problem.”
We all look up at him and immediately burst into laughter again because of the fresh impersonations still hanging in the air.
Ray deadpans, eyes narrowing straight at Armen. “You’ve been doing your stupid impression again, haven’t you?”
Armen grins, hands up in mock surrender.
Ray rolls his eyes, then they flick to me, then to Soren, and his expression turns serious. “It’s about… uh… the men.”
Soren’s hand stills on my stomach. “The men? Spit it out, Ray.”
Ray points downward, toward the floor. “You know who.”
I frown, confused why Ray is pointing at the floor, but Soren seems to understand instantly and grunts. “Let’s go.”
Soren’s arms slip free from around me. I think that’s it, but he suddenly spins me on the stool, drops down to my height, and whispers low, “I don’t know how long I’ll be, but you better be in our bed later.” Then he grabs my chin gently and presses a firm kiss to my lips. “Love you, kitten.”
He stands up, and just like that, his boss face is back, cold, sharp, and in control, like someone flipped a switch. He strides toward the door and barks, “Armen, come!”
Armen scrambles after him and Ray, calling out, “Yes, boss!”
The kitchen falls quiet for a beat before Lorraine laughs warmly. “Well… that is something, huh?”
Scarlet grins. “Aww, that was easily the cutest thing ever!”
Summer hugs my side playfully. “Can I call you kitten?”
I laugh, a little overwhelmed. “Oh my god… what is happening?”
Because seriously… what is actually happening? Soren must be possessed or something. That whole interaction from start to finish was a lot.
Scarlet leans in. “I’ve never seen the boss like that with anyone.”
Lorraine hums thoughtfully and looks straight at me. “So, Christopher?”
I turn to her. “Yeah?”
She grins, eyes twinkling. “Do you love him?”
My eyes go wide. I make a tiny, mortified noise before bolting out of the kitchen as fast as my still-weak legs will carry me. The girls’ laughter follows me down the hall. I’m grinning despite myself, but inside my head is spinning… I can’t answer that question, not right now.
For two years I felt like a prisoner here, lonely, used for sex, barely existing. And now…? What? Soren wants some kind of real relationship? With touching and possessive grunting and “Love you, kitten”?
I need to think. I need space to figure out how I’m even supposed to have a conversation with someone like Soren.