Page 48 of Her Billionaire Hero
Stone came out of the kitchen with a tray of meats and cheeses. “I want you to bulk up on the protein, Sloan. I’m going to see to it that you gain back everything you’ve lost. Spinach wraps are in the oven. You need plenty of iron too. Stress can do a number on your body, and I’ll make sure you eat only the best.”
“You don’t have to do that.” I picked up a piece of thinly sliced turkey and bit into it. “But I do appreciate it, Stone. This is out of this world.”
“I smoke my own meats,” he said proudly. “And I know that I don’t have to do this for you, but I want to do it. I care about you, Sloan. We all do.”
Baldwyn sat across from me, and the smile in his eyes told me how happy he was to have me home. He could hardly take his eyes off me the entire time everyone was over. And when the last person left, leaving us alone, he came and sat next to me.
I’d had a dream about us just before I was woken up by Preston in my hospital room the night before. In the dream, my mother told me that Baldwyn was a trustworthy man and I should be incredibly careful about my decisions where he was concerned.
He just kept proving how much I meant to him too. Rescuing me, protecting me, and even taking care of me until I was able to take care of myself. It all showed me just how trustworthy he was.
Running his arm around my shoulders, he leaned in to kiss my cheek. “I could run a hot bath for you.”
“Can we talk about something first?” I had to know how he felt.
I’d dropped some bombs on him back at the hospital and I wanted him to know that I’d spoken prematurely. I’d been afraid then. I was still worried about my judgment, but not where he was concerned.
“Sure, we can.” He gave me his undivided attention.
“When I asked you to change my name …”
He held up his hand, cutting me off. “I’ve already set that into motion. While the nurses were getting you ready to go this morning, I made a call to the attorney we worked with in Carthage. He can get your name changed back to your maiden name within the week.”
I’d been joking, but now that it was going to happen, I was all for it. “Oh, thanks. That means a lot to me, Baldwyn.” I’d only brough it up because I wanted to make sure he didn’t think I was asking him to marry me in some very awkward way. Even if I had been.
“Not a problem.” He got up, leaving me on the sofa. “I’ll go get that bath going.” He stopped then turned to look at me. “There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Shoot.”
“Did you ask Delia to move in with you so you’d have someone there with you?” His expression was blank, so I wasn’t sure why he wanted to know. “Because I think it’s a great idea to have someone living with you.”
I hadn’t intended to even ask Delia to move in. It was a spur of the moment thing. I’d been contemplating staying with Baldwyn. But his words had me rethinking things.
Maybe I’d already fucked things up. Maybe he isn’t interested in spending his life with a broken woman.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Baldwyn
Jasper Gentry met me at the finished building six months later. “The building is done.” And that meant Sloan’s job was over. It had been a week since we’d closed the contract with her and the other engineers.
We walked side by side through the empty rooms. “It looks great. Your team did an amazing job.” Jasper shoved his hands into his pockets. “How’re things with you and Sloan since her job has ended?”
“To be honest, I have no idea how things are with us. She and her personal assistant left the apartment last week. They’re traveling around the hill country to find a place for Sloan to buy. She wants her own home.” While I was proud of her and her accomplishments, I missed her. I’d missed her the whole time.
We never got back to us—not the real us. She had therapy to focus on. Her work to deal with. The investigation dealing with the body the cops found had ended only a week after Sloan and her father’s ordeal. The body was her mother’s, and she and her dad had to not only deal with that, but mourn her loss too. And I got left in limbo while she dealt with all that.
“That Preston guy is in jail still?” he asked.
“Awaiting trial, yeah.” I didn’t like how long it was taking to get that going. “He’s sitting in county jail right now because the judge wouldn’t grant him any bail. I should be happy with that, but I need more. He did the worst things to Sloan, and her mother and father. It bothers me sometimes that I didn’t shoot him in the heart instead of the shoulder.”
Jasper stopped walking to turn to me. “And what would that have accomplished, cousin?”
“He’d be dead.” I knew that much. “And I’d feel better about Sloan’s safety. I hate to give him credit for anything, but he did manage to take down an armed cop while under sedation and with a painful gunshot wound.”
“Crazy people feel no pain,” he offered. “But iron bars will keep him inside, where he belongs.”
“People escape from jails and prisons all the time.” I’d been researching how many escapes there had been from the facility Preston was in. “Only a few years ago an inmate escaped from the exact place Preston is now.”
