Page 118 of Fall to Me
Lowering the mug, she says, “I was mid-bite into a turkey sandwich the other day, and Cal snatched it out of my hands and said deli meat was bad for the baby. Doesn’t he know not to take food out of a pregnant woman’s hands?”
“He’s a brave, brave man.” I giggle and head to the fridge. “Speaking of . . . where are our husbands?”
“They just left to pick up Tucker from Mom’s.”
She sets her mug down on the counter, then pulls a loaf of bread out of the bread box as I grab the vanilla creamer out of the fridge.
When we went back into the ballroom last night, I told Carter I didn’t want to bring my problems to my sister’s doorstep, but he was adamant that she deserved to know. Worrying Aspen about the shitshow that is my life right now was the last thing I wanted to do. She’s done too much for me already. But after putting up a good fight, I finally caved and let Carter tell Cal and Aspen what’s been going on. Ruining their good time was where I drew the line though. I made him wait until the end of the night to say anything. Aspen and Cal were insistent that we stay with them, arguing that with the level of security here in the estate, I would be safer. So, here we are, with me standing in a pair of my sister’s pj’s and watching her as she pops four slices of bread into the toaster.
I pull out the stool on the other side of the bar and plop down on the seat. Aspen bends at the waist over the counter, and clasps her hands together, as she stares at me. Uh-oh. I know that look.
“What?”
“You know what,” she says with a little attitude, lifting a single brow.
The toast pops up out of the toaster, making me damn near fall off the stool. I fucking hate toasters for that very reason. They should come with a little, five-second countdown warning bell, so the damn thing doesn’t startle someone and give them a heart attack.
Aspen plates our toast, slides my plate across the bar to me, then moves back to her spot across from me, resuming her previous position. She takes a bite of her toast and chews, her eyes never leaving mine. Well, shit. I’m getting the ol’ Aspen Miles stare down. I’m not caving. Nope. She can stare me down all she wants. I’m not saying shit until she?—
“I don’t know why I thought handing the seating arrangements over to you was a wise idea.”
And there it is. I grin, then take a bite of my dry toast, giving my brain a few more seconds to compose my response while I chew.
“You remember that night at the Sapphire Lounge a year ago?”
“Yes?” she drags out.
I bet she’s wondering where I’m going with this. I’ll get there.
“And what happened that night?” I ask, shoving another bite into my mouth.
She dusts the crumbs off of her fingers onto the plate.
“Cal got into a fist fight,” she points out.
“I mean, that happened too, but the big picture here is that Cal hated the way it felt seeing another man dancingwith you. Seeing another man touching you. He was extremely jealous, and I think that night may have eventually led to him confronting his feelings for you.”
She sighs. “I’m sure your meddling ass is going to tell me that Sean was jealous after seeing Hannah and Spencer together.”
“Would Sean have tossed Hannah over his shoulder, spanked her ass, then carried her out the door if he wasn’t jealous?” I raise my brows.
“What?!” she screeches in surprise. “He did that?”
“Yep, he sure the hell did.Andhe acted like he didn’t give a fuck who saw it too.”
She releases a groan. “I love Hannah?—”
“I do too,” I shoot back quickly.
Hannah is one of the sweetest souls on the planet. I know where Aspen’s going with this, but I see the way Sean looks at Hannah when he’s standing across the room from her. The longing in his eyes. It’s painful to watch, even though he has been an ass the past couple of months.
“I don’t want to see her get hurt,” she argues between bites. “Things are heating up between my mom and Luke, and I already view her as another sister. It’s very possible that she may become that soon.”
“Oooh. We’re making this entire organization a real family business, aren’t we? You really think your mom and Luke are gonna take the vows?”
“I do.” She nods, and I snort a laugh.
“Nice pun.”
