Page 115 of Severed Rivalry
I can’t stop my grin. That he is.
The man in question is leaning against a wall in the hall with a wide grin across his gorgeous face.
He extends a palm, and I take it, walking back to the living room together. He plops on the sofa and drags me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me.
“Renée likes me, and Rosie thinks I’m handsome. Am I two for three with Ocotea women today or three for three?”
“You know the answer to that.”
His smile is huge. “Three for three. My day just keeps getting better.”
“What took so long?”
“Hospital everything. Realizing I only had my truck so I ran to Ayla’s and grabbed her car so it was less painful for Rosie to get in and out of. Grocery pick-up in the wrong car. Not to mention the interrogation between those last two.”
“The police?”
“Rosie.”
“But why?”
“Baby, we never met before today, and yesterday was shit for her. Renée might get her sense of self-preservation from Rosie. She asked for my driver’s license and wanted to know why I was alone. She needed a full run-down before she’d leave with me.”
“Smart.” I reach for the collar of his shirt and let my fingers play there.
“Yeah, and the hospital was curious why someone she never met was picking her up, so that added a layer of complexity and that was before the vehicular Hokey Pokey. At some point, I need to get my truck back.”
“We also need clothes.” I look down at myself. “Your sweats are too big for us. Are we good to go back to the house to get things?”
He scrunches his eyes shut. “I don’t know. My gut says not today, but the three of you can’t wear yesterday’s clothes much longer. I’m guessing we need everything?”
I nod. “Everything. And heading to the house will lead anyone watching straight here.”
He sighs and stares off, through the floor-to-ceiling story-and-a-half windows that line his living room. “That’s my concern too. Toiletries we can double up on. That part’s easy. A few days’ clothes could be too, but the stuff you love, the stuff Renée needs to feel at home, Rosie’s favorites? What do we do about that?”
I shrug. Those are my thoughts exactly.
“I could ask Liam?——”
I swiftly cover his mouth with my hand. Two things hit me at once. One, my daughter’s sniffles; the second is Eleanor’s whimper.
Cian must hear them at the same time, because he lifts me from this lap to set me on the sofa and moves toward the hall with the guest bedrooms. A quick click and his footsteps sound their return. He rounds the corner, sitting and lifting my legs over his lap. “Eleanor was nose to the door, making a noise every time Renée did. I cracked the door and in she went. She’s not allowed on the bed, but I’ll bet you that’s exactly where she is.”
“She’s taking care of my girl.”
He slides an arm around me. “I was saying I could ask Liam, but I really don’t want him in your underwear drawer. Or Renée’s. Christian would behead me for asking my sister, and I already owe her a coffee bean farm in favors.”
What the hell is he on about?
“Easy things first. What can we get from a big box store to start? Can we place an order? Then let’s move to things that you and Rosie and Renée need that don’t come from there. I don’t know… all the girl crap that you think you need but, in the end, doesn’t make you look any prettier than you do right now. That’s second.”
The huge compliment offered so easily and casually melts me into a puddle of goo.
“That stuff helps.”
His arms squeeze me.
“It doesn’t. It’s all marketing. You don’t need marketing. A little flush in your cheeks from my tongue or my cock. That’s the only thing that ever makes you more than your typical stunning.”
