Page 31 of Saved By Two

She quietly moves beside me and pulls cutlery from the drawer before grabbing some serviettes as I load the dishes onto the tray.

“What would you like to drink?” I ask, moving to the fridge and opening the door. Maggie always brings some groceries with her even though it’s unnecessary. “We have orange juice, apple juice or some sparkling Elderflower.” When I poke my head back out of the fridge door, I notice her eyes light up.

“Elderflower?”

“Yes, please,” she says, reaching into the cabinet for glasses, but before I can tell her I’ll do it, she lets out a hiss of pain.

The fridge forgotten, I rush to her side and reach over her head for the glasses that are just out of her reach and lower them to the counter.

“I keep forgetting myself,” she admits, her cheeks tinged with a flush.

I wrap my arm around her shoulders and kiss her temple without thinking before stepping away and grabbing the bottle of Elderflower.

“How about you pour, and I’ll get the ice?”

She smiles gratefully and does that before I load up the tray, and she follows me up the stairs and out onto the decent-sized terraced roof garden.

I move to the oval cast aluminium table and unload the tray.

“Take a seat,” I say, tilting my head to the chairs, all with curve back cushions.

Her eyes scan the area. “Wow, it’s lovely up here,” she says as I sit opposite.

Smiling, I grab my fork. “Thank you. Caleb got the hot tub. I got the roof garden.”

Picking up her fork, she looks past me and then to her left and right.

“The hot tub is in the basement, where we also have a gym and a steam room.”

Her mouth gapes open. I nod to her food and load up a forkful of mine. “I’ll show you once we’ve eaten, give you a proper tour.”

I pause with my fork to my mouth, waiting to see her reaction to this gooey goodness, and it doesn’t disappoint when she closes her eyes and lets out a small moan as she chews, her eyes springing open.

“Oh my god, it’s so good,” she says, swallowing and digging back in for more.

“Told you,” I say before diving into mine. It’s good to see her other eye open. Although it’s bruised and the white of her eye is bloodshot, her eyesight seems to be all right for the most part. Mitchel told us to have her gently ice it a couple of times a day. Two days later, we had him come back to check it out. He said her sight appears fine, but if she gets any issues seeing spots or her vision seems impaired at all, she needs to see a specialist.

In a couple of weeks, her bruises will fade, but it’s the emotional damage I’m more concerned about, but right now, it’s a conversation for another day, one I’m hoping she’ll be the one to broach. I want her to know she can trust me and Caleb. I don’t ever want her to feel coerced or cornered.

All I know is in the space of a week, my protectiveness towards her is only increasing. I always knew she was special, but it's something more than that, maybe something I’m not willing to even admit to myself or Caleb, maybe not ever.

ChapterSixteen

JESSICA

Noah wasn’t kidding when he said that Maggie’s mac and cheese was delicious. I devoured it all, and even though my stomach aches, it was worth it. Something about eating food that I love has me feeling nostalgic.

Noah quickly clears the plates and loads the dishwasher before taking me on a tour of the rest of the house, which seems almost daft. I’ve been here a week and visited for Mason’s party, but it seems there's more to see.

That terraced roof garden is so beautiful, and the aluminium slate dining table and chairs set it off perfectly. One thing I can’t deny is these men have style in abundance.

“Okay, you ready to come see Caleb’s pride and joy?” he asks, his voice holding so much warmth, my chest aches. I love the obvious way they’re so in love with one another.

I don’t know what I expected when he brought me here, but it wasn’t this. Being in a basement, I would have thought it would be dark, but there are spotlights in the ceiling and lights lining the outskirts of the long room.

“Weights, rowing machine, running machine, cross trainer,” he says as we begin to walk the length of the room, coming to a stop. “Here is the small boxing ring,” he says, grabbing the rope, a smile curving his lips, one I’m not privy to but has my mind wandering to places I have no business being. I let out a shiver. My nipples harden under the thin material of my t-shirt.

He grabs a remote from the wall. “Let me turn the air con down. Sorry, it can get really hot down here.”

---