Page 77 of Silver Secrets

“She was a lucky woman to have such a thoughtful husband.”

“I’m the lucky one.”

Then, and now.

He worked quickly, letting the hot air dry the ends of her hair as he ran a brush through it time after time. Sloane didn’t say anything else to him, her breathing slowing and the tension in her shoulders relaxing as the minutes ticked by.

Finally, it was time to turn the dryer off and get his girl back to bed.

“Alright, sleepyhead. Let’s get you back to bed.”

“Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

“I just want to see you feel better, Red. Let’s get you tucked in and back to sleep. You don’t have a client until the afternoon, right?”

“How do you remember my schedule better than I do?”

“I might have integrated your appointment schedule into my own calendar.”

“Gage! My client confidentiality?—”

“I’m gonna stop you right there. I know it’s the most important thing to you and the foundation of your practice’s ethos. I would never take that from you. The only information I get is that you have a client scheduled. That way I know not to interrupt you during that time.”

“Oh. Okay. That was very thoughtful of you.”

“I try.”

“Will you come back to bed with me? I mean, it’s okay if you have work to do and can’t. I’m being a big baby.”

“Red?”

“Yeah?”

“Come on.”

He tugged her across the room, pulling the comforter back until she was situated with the heating pad on her belly. Then he laid the fluffy blanket back over her and made his way over to his side.

She rolled so she was tucked into his side, the heating pad radiating warmth onto his hip.

“I know you probably have so much work still to catch up….”

He pressed his lips into her hair, kissing the crown of her head as he wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her closer to him. “Stop worrying and go to sleep. I’m exactly where I want to be.”

Nineteen

“You disappeared on me. Are you okay?”

Sloane reached for the towel to dry her hands and let out a small shriek in the middle of Mae and Hawk’s guest bathroom.

“You just scared me,” she hissed.

“Sorry. I wanted to make sure you were feeling okay.” His eyes dropped to her stomach before popping back up. “We don’t have to stay long. I’m sure everyone would understand if we took off early. I can even say it’s because of me?—”

She reached up to touch her pendant, moving the chain so the clasp traveled to the back of her neck. “We don’t need to go. I’d actually like a bit of normalcy. For tonight, can we just be a couple hanging out with their friends?”

Gage leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Okay. We can do that tonight.”

“Thank you.”