Page 38 of Born To Be My Baby

Sean nodded. "Thank you so much. We appreciate you." He glanced at Gloria. "I think Gloria would like to take a shower first and change clothes. Do you mind if we wait just a bit?"

"Of course not. Tony and I can go home and give you privacy."

Gloria looked up at him first, then at Livia. "Please stay and eat with us. I'll be as quick as I can."

Sean grinned at her. "Livia and Tony, we'd love for you to stay and take the opportunity to get to know Gloria a bit better. Let me get her situated with her suitcase and where everything is in the bathroom, and I'll come out here while Gloria cleans up."

Livia smiled. "Sounds good to me."

Tony chuckled. "I was about to pout loudly for not getting to eat your lasagna, babe."

Sean chuckled as he led Gloria down the hallway to the left.

He was now a bit embarrassed by his bedroom, the white walls and mismatched furniture. He'd never really cared about what his place looked like. His focus was always on his music. He saw Gloria's suitcase in the corner and lifted it to the bed. He nodded to his right and stepped into the bathroom and flipped on the light.

"You should have everything you need in here. Towels are..." He stopped and opened a cabinet and pulled two towels out and laid them on the counter. "Here. Take all you need."

He opened the shower door, now that he was proud of. This house had an amazing main suite with a huge tiled walk-in shower. He twisted the handles to start the shower warming up. Then he flipped the switch on the wall and turned on the overhead infrared heater. "You should be warm in here and able to do what you need. All you need to do is let me know if you need help with anything."

She smiled at him and it was beautiful. She looked into his eyes for a long moment. "Thank you, Sean. For taking such good care of me and handling things."

He felt his eyes begin to water and blinked away the moisture. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly. Then he deepened his kiss. She tilted her head slightly, and he dipped his tongue into her mouth. Her lips felt like they did all those years ago. Soft, wet, and tender. He'd missed her kisses over the years. Their lips had always fit together so well. His heart beat out a steady tempo. He lifted his right hand and cupped the nape of her head, holding her still for a few moments longer. Loathing the thought of their kiss ending.

Her arms slid gently around his waist, and she took a step closer to his body. Standing together, toe to toe, their bodies touching softly, their lips exploring and reacquainting themselves with each other, he nearly lost his balance. He gently pulled his lips from hers and pulled her head to his chest as his arms then wrapped around her. They stood for a long time like that. Just holding each other. The warmth of the room increased, the steam rolled from the shower and Gloria's body pressed to his in a magnificent way. He swallowed the ball of cotton in his throat and emotions slammed him in all directions. His hands shook slightly, and he wondered how long it would take to stop this reaction every time they got close. God dang, he'd missed this woman so fucking much over the years.

29

Gloria stepped from the bathroom, feeling clean. It felt like it had been weeks since she'd felt clean, when it had only been a day. She'd lived ten years of time in that day though. That alone was enough to give her a headache.

She opened the bag with her bloodied clothing in it, and tucked the undergarments she'd had on in it, as well as the sweatsuit Sean bought her. She put her blow dryer and makeup bag in her suitcase and zipped it all up. She felt so much better after that shower, and the soreness seemed to have lessened.

As she padded down the hallway in her stockinged feet, she could hear Sean, Tony, and Livia in the living room, and they were singing. She stopped and listened. Sean told Livia, "When you sing life just got good, go up a key."

"Okay." Livia sang it again and went up a key and Sean laughed. "That's it. That's it."

They quieted, and she decided not to spy any further. She entered the living room and Livia smiled. "Do you feel better?"

"Oh, so much better. Showers are the best form of therapy."

Livia giggled, and Sean stopped writing on a piece of paper, and stood. "You look gorgeous."

She felt her cheeks heat. "Thank you."

She swallowed. "You all sing well together."

He nodded. "Livia is one of our backup singers. That's how she and Tony met."

She looked toward Livia and smiled. "I'd love to hear all about that."

"Okay. How about over food?"

Livia moved into the kitchen and pulled the lasagna from the oven. Sean took Gloria's hand and led her to the dining room table. "How about you sit here next to me. What can I get you to drink?"

"We're going back to the hospital tonight to see Mina, aren't we?"

"Yes. I thought we'd go after a shower and maybe a short nap."

"Perfect. Then water is good for me."

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