Page 73 of The Temptation
Stage One: The Stall.
Rome made a quick call to a hungover Liam, asking his cherished love to convince Simon that he had to stay at their penthouse downtown for a couple of days because of a broken water heater at Pierce’s. Liam and Simon had already grown close, making this a comfortable arrangement, and it would put Simon close to Music Hall if he needed to go to work. That at least bought me some time as Edward delivered Simon’s violinand another selection of clothes to him for his stay. I hoped Simon would need to remain with Rome and Liam only a night or two.
Stage Two: Movers
While on the plane ride home from Charlotte, Sebastian hopped on the phone to rustle up some movers who could take all the furniture and decor out of the largest room in my house and place it in short-term storage. I didn’t know what I’d do with any of it, but that was future me’s problem.
Stage Three: The Designer
At the same time, Declan was on the phone with his shopper. While she argued that her expertise was in keeping Declan and his family in fashion, that woman had also decked out Joy’s nursery in a stunning jungle theme. I needed her to work her magic on what I hoped would become Simon’s sanctuary.
Stage Four: Controlling Chaos
My job was to coordinate all these people coming and going in my house with my housekeeper while shopping for the centerpieces of Simon’s new room. Normally, it would take me months of searching and comparing, but I told myself that if I found something better later, I could always upgrade it for Simon. There was no time to waste. The longer we were apart, the more Simon was hurting.
After two incredibly long days of people coming and going in my house, the dust had settled and the gift was ready. Now I could only wonder if it was enough. Should I have done more? Gone grander?
Yet, when Edward brought him home, all I could do was stand on the front step wearing the suit I knew he loved me best in, trying not to wring my hands.
The little devil flashed me a smirk as he stepped out of the car, not even waiting for Edward to open the door for him.
“I can’t stay,” he announced, and my heart plummeted into my stomach. My despair must have shown on my face, because he hurried across the short distance that separated us and grabbed my arms. “No! No! I don’t mean it like that. I have a performance tonight. If I’m not at Music Hall in a couple of hours, the maestro will have a heart attack.”
I pressed my forehead to his and sucked in a steadying breath. He smiled, his bright-blue eyes shining with an inner joy that soothed my soul in ways I was only beginning to understand.
“Parker, Liam, and Byron told me about the whole grand gesture bit,” Simon whispered. “You know that it’s completely unnecessary, right? I’m yours. I’ve always been yours, and I always will be.”
“It’s necessary, Simon—not because I think it will win your heart, but because I need to show you how important you are to me.” I straightened, and my gaze fell on the red-and-gray scarf looped behind his neck.My scarf.Ever since I’d bundled it around him, he always wore it when he stepped outside. He’d kept a little piece of me with him.
“You know you’re never getting this back,” he taunted even as he seductively ran his hand along it.
“I don’t want it back. I was just thinking that I enjoy knowing that something of me is always with you.”
The winter wind picked up, and I shivered. Simon grabbed my hand and yanked me to the house. “I’m keeping your scarf and gloves, but I am going out this weekend to get you some new ones. No more of you freezing your ass off.”
As we stepped inside, Hilda came forward to take away Simon’s coat while Edward went to bring Simon’s bag in from the car. Only after the last of Simon’s things were hung up in my closet would I release a sigh of relief.
“So…did the water heater get fixed?” Simon inquired. Hilda hurried away, doing a horrible job of hiding her smile.
“Oh yes, the water heater works perfectly now. I’m sorry you had to stay at Rome’s. I know he can be a pain in the ass, but I didn’t want you to deal with cold showers.”
Simon shrugged. “I could have just gone home.”
My eyes narrowed, and I captured one of his hands in mine. “You’re not allowed to return there. While it might be nice if you bothered to furnish it, that place in its current state is unlivable. You’re staying here. Please?”
Simon lifted one eyebrow. “Where am I going to sleep?”
“With me,” I answered without hesitation.
“And dinner? Are we going to have dinner together?”
“Every night that our schedules will allow.”
“And nighttime cuddles?”
“You mean with cheese and the rain recording?” Simon nodded. “We’ll do that every chance we get.”
“Then, agreed. I’ll move in here with you.”
