Page 25 of Her Billionaire Hero
Sloan followed me, pulling a wine glass off the rack. Wiggling her fingers at me, she gestured for me to hand her the bottle of wine. “I need a drink like I’ve never needed one before.”
“I bet you do.” What she was going through couldn’t be easy. “Pour me a glass too, please.”
After filling the glasses, she took them to the dining table and took a seat. “Dad’s going to want to meet you.” Propping her elbows on the table, she held the glass, gazing at the red wine. “Is that cool with you?”
“The coolest.” I would have to meet him sometime anyway, since I’d fallen in love with his daughter and wasn’t about to let her get out of my life in any way whatsoever. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
Swirling the wine around the glass, she smiled. “He’s a pretty good guy. Not hard to get along with at all.”
That much was obvious, since he’d managed to get along with the guy who’d been porking his wife when she’d disappeared. “Yeah, I’m sure he is. We’ll get along great.” After all, he loved Sloan and so did I.
She finally put the glass down as I slid the plate in front of her. The steam made a loopy trail up to her nose where she inhaled it. “It does smell scrumptious.”
“It looks good too.” Just warming the food up had been enough to bring back my appetite. I came back to put the bowls of salad and bread on the table. “Here we go.”
Taking the seat across from her, I noticed the frown on her face, provoking me to take her hand. With just that touch, her frown turned into a smile. “Thank you, Baldwyn. You are truly special to me. I’m so lucky to have you.”
“I’m lucky to have you too, Sloan.” Picking up her hand, I placed a kiss on top of it before letting it go. “This is a rough patch for you, but you’ve got me to help you through it.”
“I know I do.” Cutting the lasagna, she took a bite, moaning as she chewed it. “Yummy. Thank you so much for making me eat.”
“You’re very welcome. Someone has to watch out for you right now. No one can be strong all the time.” I took a bite too as I watched her eating and smiling.
Shaking her fork at me, she swallowed her food. “Stop watching me eat, silly.”
“I’m just so happy to see you smiling.” I couldn’t help myself. “Your happiness means everything to me. If you’re not happy, I’m not happy.”
An impish grin curled her pink lips as her eyes sparkled. “You know, Baldwyn, that sounds like I mean a hell of a lot to you.”
“You do.” She meant everything to me and then some. “So, keep yourself safe. Stay with me and don’t wander off alone. At least not until your ex is dealt with.” I wasn’t going to let him get by with hitting her. “I’ll have a talk with him about what he’s done to you.”
“You will?” Her grin intensified. “Like, you’re going to defend my honor, hero?”
“I am.” Her short pink nails tapped the table, beckoning me to take her hand again. Linking our fingers, I felt like a new man. I’d never felt the connection I had with her with anyone else before.
I’d loved and lost in my time, but no one had ever grabbed a hold of my heart and held it so tightly. And I had no idea if she realized the effect she had on me.
The time wasn’t exactly right to fill her in on my love for her. But soon enough, it would be. For now, I had to be okay with our friendship.
Chapter Fourteen
Sloan
Even as tired as I was from one of the most hellacious days in my life, I had trouble falling asleep while lying in the bed just across the hallway from Baldwyn. My legs moved restlessly underneath the blanket as I bit my lip while fantasizing about us being in the bed together.
I imagined his leg draped over mine as his fingers moved up and down my side, trying to entice me into turning over and giving him a goodnight kiss. “Just one more kiss, baby. I can’t live without those yummy kisses.”
“Just one more, babe. We’ve got to get some rest.” Leaning up on my elbow, I looked into the endless abyss of his eyes. Slowly, I moved closer to him until our lips merely grazed together, causing a rush of adrenaline and blood straight to my love zone.
The sound of my panting pulled me out of the fantasy. I couldn’t let Baldwyn hear me doing that.What would he think of me?
All the things he’d said to me earlier that night came rushing back to me. He’d said he would kill for me. And that meant, to me at least, that he cared about me very, very much. I mean, who would do a thing that could send them to prison for life, or even worse, get the death penalty, unless some real feelings were involved?
I knew we had a close friendship. I knew he cared about me. But did he love me the way I’d grown to love him? And would he want to take things to a romantic level?
My chest heaved as I sighed. Who was I kidding?
My current situation didn’t exactly put me in the best place to be moving forward with any relationships. And if Preston really did murder my mother, I had no idea what that would do to my mental state.
