Sterling I stood outside her door with my arms crossed. My jaw was clenched so tight, I was afraid my teeth would crack. Tension thrummed through me. Disbelief and anger rattled around the very core of my being. Cassandra disrespecting me like that, at my family’s estate no less, had been a slap in the face that I hadn’t seen coming. It wouldn’t go unpunished, but there would be a time and a place for that, and now was not it. Laney was my first priority tonight. I still felt sick to my stomach when I thought back to that moment that I’d seen her sitting on the ground, fighting back tears, and looking so defeated. Something had broken inside me. The pure violence that had surged from de ep within had been new to me, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on that either. Feeling a bit like a cre ep, I leaned closer, listening for sounds of movement coming from inside. After we’d gotten home, Laney had insisted on changing into her pajamas on her own, but I wasn’t convinced she wouldn’t need help. She was stubborn, admirably so, but her ankle was twice its normal size and bruised as hell. Frankly, I was surprised when I heard the soft shuffle of her st eps just before the door creaked open. I really hadn’t thought she would be able to move, yet suddenly, there she was. With her hair twisted into a haphazard bun, she wore a faded tank top that hung off one shoulder and pajama shorts that showed way too much leg. For a second, I forgot what I was even doing at her door. I forgot about everything exc ept this ravishing creature in front of me, so beautiful with her face bare and only a few es caped tendrils of hair brushing the side of her throat. She was limping, trying not to wince as she shifted her weight off her injured foot, and I snapped back to myself, st epping closer and catching her elbow to steady her. “Are you okay?” She gave me a half-smile, but it was too tight to be real. Too pained. “I’m fine. You don’t have to hover like a mother hen.” “I don’t hover like a hen. I hover like a Westwood, thank you very much. We’re master level hoverers.” I took more of her weight as she winced again. “Are you heading to bed or do you want to stay up for a while?” It wasn’t late. Barely ten p. m., but I would’ve understood if she just wanted to crawl into her bed. Laney glanced up at me, those gray eyes soft and without r eproach as they stared up into mine. For a little while back there, I’d been afraid she would blame me for what had happened. She should’ve blamed me. Hell, I blamed me, but she didn’t seem to. “Do you watch movies?” I blinked at the swift change of subject. “Sometimes. I never really try new ones, though. I tend to rewatch the same old ones over and over again.”
A surprised grin spread across her lips. “What’s your favorite?” I hesitated. “I’ll tell you, but only if you promise not to make fun of me.” “Why would I promise that?” she asked, completely deadpan before she grinned. “It doesn’t really matter what it is. Let’s watch it.” “You want to watch my favorite movie? Without even knowing what it is?” “Y ep.” She leaned into me, her hand sliding along the length of my forearm to get a better grip before she shuffled forward. “You might need to help me get to the TV.” “Of course.” I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the shots of lust that hit me right in the cock as her fingertips glided across my skin. “It’s the Shining, by the way. My favorite movie.” I felt rather than saw her look up at me. “A St ephen King fan, huh? Wow. I wouldn’t have pegged you as that, but it’s perfect. I’ve never seen it all the way through.” “Seriously?” She settled on the couch with a hiss as we reached the living room. I grabbed the remote and cued up the movie from my library. Then I got a throw blanket and arranged it over her legs before I sat down beside her. The opening credits rolled, but I watched her more than the screen. This might be my favorite movie, but she was still vastly more interesting than it. She curled against the cushion like a cat, her fingers twitching at the jump scares and her mouth half-open as she whispered commentary under her breath. Somewhere after Danny’s “redrum” started, she scooted closer to me. So much closer that her shoulder bumped mine and didn’t move away. By the time Jack Nicholson was fully unraveling, she was leaning into me. Fully. My butt went numb soon after, but instead of shifting away, I wrapped an arm around her in an effort to get more comfortable. She didn’t push me off or ask what I was doing, just letting out a sigh instead. The sound was soft and sle epy, and she nestled her head into my shoulder like she belonged there. Eventually, her breathing slowed and I smiled, letting my head rest against hers. I told myself it was just for a moment. Just a beat of mutual relaxation before I would carry her to bed. I didn’t mean to fall asle ep, but with the weight of her against me and the low hum of the credits in the background, the world blurred and I closed my eyes, fully intending on getting up in just a few seconds. Instead, I woke to sunlight pouring through the blinds like a knife. My neck ached. Laney’s head was on my chest. Her leg was draped over mine under the blanket. My arm was still curled around her. She didn’t stir as I lifted my head and tried to stretch out all the sore parts of my body. I k ept a close eye on her as I did, unsure how the hell I was supposed to move—and without knowing if I even really wanted to. But then my gaze drifted to the clock in the corner and my eyes stretched wide open. It was nearly nine a. m. My God, I never sle ep this late. Fully aware of the fact that my entire schedule for the day was now fucked, I slid out from under her leg, careful to do it slowly enough that I didn’t wake her. She murmured something unintelligible, but thankfully, her eyes remained closed.
Once I was standing, I stretched my arms out above my head and stifled a yawn, twisting to look at her as I waited for my stiff muscles to be ready to move. The blanket was tangled around her, her hair a sle epy halo against the black leather of the couch and her face soft and relaxed in a way I’d never seen before. Then I realized I was being cre epy again and turned my head, deliberately not looking back at her as I strode toward my bedroom. Upstairs, I splashed water on my face, brushed my teeth, and stared into the mirror longer than I usually allowed myself to. I felt different, but in a way I couldn’t quite quantify. I didn’t look any different though, so I took a shower and got ready for the day, knowing it was way past time for me to head out. By the time I got back downstairs, she was awake but still on the couch, stretching slightly and blinking against the light. My heart catapulted to somewhere it didn’t belong. “Don’t move. Let me check your ankle first. You don’t want to re-injure it.” She tried to sit up straighter. “Good morning to you too, sunshine.” “It’s purple,” I muttered, frowning. I gently elevated it and went to get another ice pack. “You’re staying on this couch today. I’ll barricade the front door if I have to.” She laughed, but it sounded tired. “Have I ever told you that you’re super bossy?” “Have I ever told you that I don’t care?” I gave her a look that said to stay put. Then I went to the kitchen and made her coffee the way I’d learned she liked it. When I handed it to her, she looked at me like I was from another planet. I frowned. “What?” “Nothing,” she said softly, a sense of wonder in those soft eyes all of a sudden. “You’re just being...” “Nice?” I offered, sitting across from her on the ottoman, my own coffee warming my palms. I really didn’t have time for this. I had business to attend to, pertaining to the incident—and also with her dad, who hadn’t shown up to the party. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave her. Not now. It felt right to sit with her, just staring at her, so gorgeous despite being all raw and puffy from sle ep. “Not nice.” Her eyes rolled and she smiled. “Different.” We sipped in silence for a minute, but as I looked at her, I remembered why I’d been searching for her so urgently last night before Jameson had come running. “I’d like to apologize for my mom’s friends yesterday.” Laney stilled. “Why? They were all very nice. They weren’t the ones who tripped me, remember?” “Yeah. No, I know, but my mom told me something happened with them before that. She said you were upset and I was looking for you. I had no idea they would ask you about something so persona n —” “I don’t talk about it, so they caught me off guard, is all,” she said quickly, her eyes locked on the steam rising from her mug. “It was okay, though. Your mom’s friends, I mean. They were nice about it. I just wasn’t expecting to run into anyone who knew her.” “You don’t have to talk to me about it,” I said more cautiously than I’d possibly ever spoken before. “Not if you don’t want to. I just... I should’ve asked. That’s on me. I’m here if you would like to talk. It doesn’t have to be today. Just whenever is fine.”
She looked up at me, her eyes guarded but not cold. It was more like this was a conversation she wasn’t used to having and wasn’t sure she should be having. “It was a long time ago. We didn’t have a lot of time to say goodbye to her. I think that’s part of the reason I’ll always cling to Baby Blossom. She poured her heart and soul into that store. It’s a piece of her and hearing people remember her for it was actually pretty special.” I understood then, in a way I hadn’t before, that I hadn’t just threatened a business when I’d dangled that contract in front of her. I hadn’t even just threatened her family’s legacy. I’d threatened her mother’s memory. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly but sincerely. Her mouth twitched into something that was almost a smile and her eyebrows shot up. “You don’t apologize much, do you?” “No. At least you know it means something when I actually do it, then.” She gave a tiny nod and looked away again, not saying anything else for a long time. She just sat there, wrapped in that same blanket we’d sl ept under together last night, her fingers around her mug like it was the only thing tethering her to the here and now. “It happened fast,” she said finally, her voice barely more a whisper. “She had a headache that day. Just a normal one. We thought it was the weather. She got sinus headaches sometimes when it rained.” She let out a soft sigh, her voice taking on that breathy quality that spoke of someone who was getting lost in thought. “One minute, she was there, popping popcorn so I could have a snack while I did my homework.” Laney’s eyes moved to the window and I saw tears shimmering in them, but she didn’t waver in her story. “She put the popcorn in the microwave, kissed my forehead, and told me to go grab my books. When I came back, she was on the floor.” I gripped my coffee tighter, leaning forward a little and wishing I could do something to erase that pain in her eyes. In that moment, if a crossroads demon had come to me to make a deal, I would have given everything I owned and ever would own to be able to give her back her mother. It was a novel conc ept for me, being willing to offer up everything, but I would have done it without hesitation. “The next minute, I was sitting in a hospital room with my dad. They said it was a brain aneurysm. There was nothing they could do. We stayed for a long time anyway, praying for a miracle, but she never woke up. Eventually, Dad and I went home alone. The popcorn was still in the microwave. The house still smelled like butter for days after.” She looked back at me, her eyes glistening even more now, but no tears fell. She wasn’t asking for sympathy. She was letting me in. Something clenched de ep down inside, sending urges barreling through me that I’d never felt before, but I fought them back, realizing that the worst possible thing I could do right then was to make it about me when she was doing something as profound as letting me into this part of her history. She sighed quietly. “I don’t talk about it, but it’s not because I can’t. I just don’t think anyone really wants to hear it. Not anymore. It’s like there’s a window for grief, you know? It doesn’t matter who you lost or how it impacted your life. After a certain amount of time, people expect you to stop talking about it. You’re allowed to ke ep missing that person, but not out loud.”
“I do,” I said before I could stop myself. “I want to hear about it, Laney. All of it. Whatever you want to tell me. However many times you’d like to tell me.” She held my gaze, searching for something in it, and she must’ve found it because she suddenly went on. “My dad’s not a bad guy, but she was the love of his life. Losing her turned something off in him. He tried, but I think sometimes he looked at me and saw everything he was scared of losing all over again.” “He’s scared of something happening to you,” I said. She nodded. “Yeah, and being a homicide detective doesn’t exactly help his worldview.” Silence settled between us again, heavier this time. More intimate, but then Laney shifted, trying to prop her ankle on the cushion beside her. She hissed softly, her face pinching in pain. “Wait. Here.” I moved quickly, taking the mug from her before she spilled hot coffee all over herself. My other hand went to her knee, steadying her. Just like that, we were close again. Much too close, her face only inches from mine and her breath warm against my cheek. Her lips parted. Her hand brushed my chest as she tried to balance. Her eyes were wary and uncertain on mine all of a sudden, like she’d lost all trust in herself—or in me. “Why are you so worried about me?” she asked. “It’s just a sprained ankle.” I swallowed hard. “I don’t like that you’re in pain.” Something broke open in the air between us, like a crack that was raw and real. I was moving before I even thought about what I was doing. Acting without calculation and without pretense, I kissed her. It wasn’t de ep at first. A mere press of my lips that was tentative, like we were testing the feel of each other, but it lit something in me like a fuse. Judging by the way her breath caught in her throat, she felt it too. Inches away from taking it too far, I pulled back while I still could and Laney blinked at me, clearly stunned, cheeks blooming pink as heat rose from her chest to her ears. I let go of her so fast, it was like I’d been burned. “I shouldn’t have done that.” She didn’t say anything, but her fingertips brushed her lips, the look in her eyes slightly dazed. Forcing myself to move away from her, I got up and took a few big st eps back. “I have to go out for a bit,” I said roughly, my voice sounding hoarse even to my own ears. “You’ve got everything you need here. Food. Painkillers. My number.” Still, she said nothing, so I added, “I’ll be back in a few hours.” Before I did something even more stupid, like kiss her again, but de eper this time, or ask her if she wanted to sle ep in my bed tonight, I turned and left. I needed air, and distance, and maybe someone to slap some sense into me. I’d married her as a deal. It was a contract signed in furtherance of a plan, but this fire that burned in my chest every time she looked at me was starting to make me feel like maybe my parents had been right. What had started as an arrangement might very well just be turning into something much, much more.