Page 162 of With A Little Luck
“Yes.”
“Happiness?” She shrugs. “Love? Some combination of the two. I don’t know. I was thinking how cute you are, and how grateful I am to have you. So yeah, probably happiness and love.”
My mouth goes dry, and I stretch forward, cupping her cheek in my palm. “I care deeply about you, Quincy. It’s hard for me to express my emotions. Often because when I feel something, it doesn’t correlate to how others explain experiencing the same emotion.”
She pulls her hand from the water and cradles mine. “That’s okay. You don’t need to change any part of yourself for me to accept you. I love you just the way you are.”
She’s far too good for me, but she makes me want to be worthy of the love she so freely gives.
“That’s not to say that I don’t love you, I’ve just never experienced that emotion romantically.”
“When you’re sure, say it then.” She smiles, running her fingers over mine. “I don’t have to hear you say it. I canfeelyour affection in the bond. That’s much more important to me than hearing the words.”
I nod.
All of that sounds reasonable.
“I do love you, angel. The baby too,” I say, staring into her big blue eyes.
“I know.”
“Oh, good.” Then why did she seem angry with me? Perhaps I’ll never know. I am relieved things seem to have returned to normal between us, but dealing with others is always confusing. “Can I ask, do you have any solid feelings about what you’d like to do with your grandmother’s house?”
Quincy laughs. “That’s kinda out of left field. Why?”
I sigh, releasing her cheek and settling back against the edge of the tub. “The night I retrieved your extra belongings from your home, I ran into Pete. He was very insistent about his offer, but I was hoping you might sell it to me.”
“Um, you’re not allowed to live separately from the rest of us, so don’t even ask.” She jabs a short finger at me.
“The thought never crossed my mind,” I tell her truthfully. “However, I’m going to need a new source of passive income. I believe it could be turned into a bed-and-breakfast easily enough, or it could be used for short-term rentals.”
“Did you forget how packed it is?” She leans back against the other edge of the tub and pushes the button for the jets. “I mean, it’s full of old-people stuff, but all of that would have to be emptied if I sold it to anyone else.” She shrugs, wiggling as the water begins to spray against her back. “I hate to take your money, though. If you want to keep it and use it, I’ll just give it to you.”
If she had any idea how much money I have stashed away in multiple different banks in a variety of countries, she wouldn’t make that offer. I suppose it’s irrelevant since we’re bonded. What’s mine is hers.
I just need to get that ring on her finger and the pack commitment paperwork filed.
“You running a bed-and-breakfast?” Quincy laughs. “I kind of love the imagery of that.”
If I hire the proper staff, I think I can ensure it’s a low-effort endeavor. I’m sure I’ll lose money at first, but it’s more of a need to show some kind of income on my future tax returns. And if it ends up being an unwise investment, I can always sell it in a few years.
“These jets are incredible.” She moans, catching my attention. My cock perks up. “But I’m turning wrinkly. Are you ready to get out?”
I nod, but I have one more piece of business to address. “Ridge and I will be away for several hours tonight. Omen and Valor plan to bring Saylor over to keep you and Hartley company.”
Costa took his sweet time—twenty-six hours to be exact—to reply to my message, but he agreed to my suggested meeting location. He was quite haughty, and he made it clear that he didn’t care if I had other Saturday night plans. He stated he would be at the warehouse at eleven p.m. If I wasn’t available athis chosen time or if I didn’t show up, he would decline payment via the website.
That can’t happen because it would once again list Ridge’s contract as active.
“And after tonight, things will go back to normal?” She looks so damn hopeful, and it makes me despise Maloney even more.
“Yes, love. Costa will no longer be a problem after tonight.” I just have to kill off the professional persona that I spent nearly ten years building to make it happen, but that’s a small price to pay to give Quincy the guarantee of safety.
“Just, ya know, don’t die,”was not a comforting last sentence for Ridge to say to me before he split off to stay with Calder in the command van.
Technically speaking, it was sound advice, but isn’t there a phrase in theater about “breaking a leg?” So if he truly wanted to be helpful, he would have said something like, “Get yourself killed.”
Christ.
