Page 78 of Silver Secrets

His fingers reached up, running along her necklace. “When was the last time you charged that?”

“A few nights ago.” She winced, knowing exactly what lecture was about to come out of his mouth. It was normally her top priority, making sure the tracker never went below half-charged. But she wasn’t alone anymore, and always having someone by her side had made her feel safe.

“You know the battery in the tracker is good for a week, but I don’t want to take any chances with it. Let’s charge it tonight and try to do it every night from now on, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good, now let’s get-”

“Oh, sorry!” Courtney’s eyes went wide as she turned into the hallway. “I asked Mae where the bathroom was and she directed me this way.”

“You found it.” Sloane pushed against Gage’s chest so she could step out of the way.

“Thanks.” Courtney slipped past them and shut the door just as Gage wrapped his hand around Sloane’s.

“Here’s to a normal night with our friends.” His lips pressed into her hair before he walked towards the table where all the guys were sitting.

* * *

“Let me get this straight.” Mae stared over her glass of white wine at Sloane. “Gage had supplies on hand, made sure you had a heating pad and medicine to help with your cramps after you showered,anddried your hair for you when you were too tired before you went back to sleep?”

“He did.”

“Oh, Sloane. That man is in love with you.”

Her face grew warm. Love was very much growing between them, but that wasn’t quite something she was ready to share with anyone else. “Well, to be fair, he had pads and tampons on hand for you and Lily should you ever be over and need something.”

“Okay, why is that making my heart all fluttery?” Courtney giggled.

“He’s a keeper, for sure. I’m not sure any man I’ve ever been with would do that for me.” Sloane followed Mae’s eyes as she looked across her apartment towards Stone, who was sitting at Hawk’s round dining table playing poker with the rest of the guys.

“Not even Stone?”

“Shh!” Mae’s eyes went wide with panic. “What are you doing? Trying to get me in trouble?”

“You know everyone knows about you two, right? It’s like the worst kept secret in Silver Springs.”

Mae shook her head. “Hawk doesn’t. He’d kill Stone if he did.”

“See, I don’t understand that. Stone is one of his best friends. Wouldn’t he be happy for you?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Even if I am a grown woman who is completely capable of making her own choices, my idiot brother will only ever see me as his baby sister. I think he’d be worried about Stone taking advantage of me. But let me tell you,” Mae took a sip from her glass. “The only person getting taken advantage of is Stone, and he likes it.” Her wink had Sloane giggling into her water bottle.

“Alright! Who’s ready for more wine?” Lily’s singsong voice called out as she approached the sofa.

“Are you going to have a glass?” Mae asked, and Sloane could immediately hear the unspoken question.

“Not tonight. Probably not for a while. I don’t like to feel out of control and things have been very…”

“Out of control lately.” Lily supplied.

“Exactly.”

“Well, we certainly don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to.”

“Thanks, guys. I think, just for tonight, I’d like to take a pass on talking about me.” Sloane took a sip of water. “Actually, Courtney, I wanted to ask… are things official between you and Elias now?”

Courtney’s face blossomed into a beautiful smile. “We talked about it last night. We’re not labeling it right now… but he’s not seeing other women, and I’m not seeing other men, so…”

---