Page 108 of Indecent Ventures

He sighs and turns back to me. “That’s where you come in. Reagan wants to sleep at home, not here with Darian. She’s uncomfortable and wants to sleep in our bed. Skylar is going to stay with her. The kids will stay with Darian. Can you sleep at our house with them? I’d feel more comfortable if you were there.”

“Sleep with her? To keep her sexually satisfied in your absence? Ugh, I would have totally done that for the past five years, but now I can’t. I’m taken.”

“No, dipshit.”

I laugh. “Are you sure? She might need the power of my vitamin D. I hear pregnant women are very horny.”

“Reagan is always horny, pregnant or not.”

She nods in agreement. “True story.”

I scratch my chin and pretend to consider it. “Hmm. What about cuddling? Does she require that? I may be able to accommodate that.”

“Skylar can cuddle with her.”

“What are the logistics of two heavily pregnant women cuddling? Their stomachs must get in the way.”

He thinks for a moment. “She’ll survive two nights of no cuddling.”

“Hmm.” I wink at Reagan. “If you change your mind about the cuddling, you’ll know where to find me.”

Carter gives me a hopeful smile. “So you’ll do it? You’ll stay with her? With them?”

I roll my eyes. “Of course I’ll do it.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE

JADE

Iwalk into Mom’s house and she’s standing there with her arms open. I fall into them and mumble, “You heard?”

“Yes, Melissa called me. She figured you were on your way here.”

I pull away. “Are you two besties now?”

“No, but we both love you and care about you. It sounds like we’re not the only ones.”

“She told you about that?”

“Yes. Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing someone?”

I blow out a breath. “We were supposed to be casual.”

“Him professing his love for you in front of everyone doesn’t sound very casual to me. Why did you leave?”

I put my head down in shame. “It was too intense.”

“He told you he loves you and you walked away?”

“Yes, I’m fucked up. You know this about me. That’s why you’ve had me in therapy since I was eight.”

“I had you in therapy to deal with the anger you had for your father. You wouldn’t talk to me, so I hoped you’d talk to her. Jade, you could have stopped at any point. Certainly, once you became an adult. Whether you admit it or not, you want to get past whatever ails you. Whatever has held you back all these years from being in a real relationship. Do you love him?”

I sigh. “I might. But what if he leaves me?”

“What if he doesn’t?”

The damn tears hit my eyes again. I’ve turned into a fucking cliché crybaby.

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