“So stop lecturing yourself. It’s no one’s business how this baby came into the world. You can’t take back the past, and you want this baby. Let yourself be happy about it. Anything else, all the regrets and what ifs, it’s all noise. Don’t listen to it.”
She blinked rapidly. “That’s…Wow. What a…beautiful…thing to say.” A tear trembled on her lower lash line before splashing onto her cheek.
I stared at her in horror. “Why are you crying again?” I demanded. “Everything is fine now. You have a place to live.”
She sniffled. “Baby hormones. I can’t help it. You’re being so nice to me.”
“Would it help if I were mean to you?” I asked, stepping closer. “Because I’d be happy to oblige, princess.”
Her eyes narrowed as she shifted toward me. “Really, Steven? You’re going to be mean to a pregnant woman?”
“If you want me to.” My voice came out low and rough. Somehow the space between us had dissolved. We were at kissing distance now. Her face tipped up to look at me.
“I want…” Her gaze dipped to my mouth and she licked her lower lip. Every cell in my body took note. “I want…”
All I could feel was want.
All I could hear was her breath.
All I could smell was her strawberry hair.
All I could see was that mouth.
I fuckingwhimpered.
The fragile moment splintered. Chloe blinked the lust from her eyes and stepped back. She looked around as though searching for an explanation of how we had gotten here.
“Bread,” she said. “I want more bread.”
Without a word, I reached for the knife. What the hell else was I supposed to do? This woman hated me, and I still wanted to give her every damn thing she wanted.
And now she was going to live with me.
I was fucked.
“Tellme again why we’re moving all your shit into the basement?” Amy panted as we carried the solid pine dresser that had occupied one wall of my bedroom for the last two years down the hall.
“I already told you.” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t about to bump into a wall. Amy was supposed to be steering us, but she seemed more interested in talking than keeping me upright.
“You garbled a bunch of words at me that made no sense. So try again,” Amy said.
I sighed. “Chloe needs a place to stay for a couple months. She’s moving in until she finds something more permanent.”
“Yes, I understand all that. Landlady’s daughter, divorce, blah, blah, blah. Got it. What I don’t get is why Chloe can’t just stay in the guest room since it’s not permanent. Why are you giving up your bedroom?” Her brown eyes lit up and shedropped her end with an unceremonious thunk against the braided rug, making me swear loudly. “Oh, my god. Chloe’s the girl, isn’t she?”
I grunted as my fingers started to lip against the wood and I carefully set the dresser down. “What girl?”
“Thegirl. The one who didn’t want your help. The one ignoring your texts. Although I’m guessing that part changed, judging by that dopey smile you get every time you look at your phone.”
Sisters, goddamn. So gossipy. Never letting shit go. Did I sometimes look back over my text messages with Chloe? Yes, but only because I wanted to watch the animal videos again. That would make anyone smile. “What makes you think it’s about a girl?” I asked.
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Well, it’s definitely not our parents making you smile. And it’s not a guy, either. I’d know if you were gay.” She pursed her lips, thinking, and then clapped her hands to her cheeks. “Oh, god. You’re not getting another pig, are you?”
I couldn’t categorically deny that. “Pigs are social creatures,” I defended. “Stevie needs friends.”
Amy groaned long and loud, the sound bouncing off the cement walls. “Steven,no.”
“Pretty sure it’s a tax write off if we call it a rescue,” I mused.
