“I’m in here,” I call out.
The sound of her shoes echoes through the large foyer, and then she’s before me. She’s in a rumpled linen dress, but her face gives absolutely nothing away. Sitting up straighter, I give her a genuine smile before setting my drink down and patting my lap.
“Sit.”
I swear her cheeks tinge with color at my command, and I watch her carefully, waiting for her to confess. For a second, I think about blurting it out—did you fuck him?—because I need to know. I force myself to sit still, but it feels like my entire body vibrates with anticipation. Patience feels like a luxury I wasn’t built for. Even now, the need to interrupt her claws at me, to skip ahead to the parts I don’t know yet.
ADHD doesn’t care about propriety—it demandsnow. I’ve learned how to fake patience, but sometimes I’m just holding my breath, pretending to wait.
She sets her handbag down and steps out of her boots. Smoothing her hair, she gives me a shy smile before walking over to me. When she’s a foot away, I reach out and pull her down onto my lap. She inhales sharply as I twist her around, pulling her face down and pressing my lips against hers.
She moans as one of my free hands moves up her skull, fisting her hair and pulling it just the way she likes it.
When I pull away a few seconds later, she sways as she watches me with glazed-over eyes.
That’s my girl.
“How was your day?” I ask, running the hand that was in her hair down her spine until it’s resting on her lower back.
“Good. I signed the contract—Jake said he’d get back to me next week, but he didn’t foresee any obstacles. The place is a wreck, and it’ll need a lot of work, but Stella painted a vision I can’t unsee now. I… I think this is going to be a really amazing thing,” she tells me, grinning. “And I can’t wait to show you.”
Lifting one of her hands, I kiss the back of her palm, and then I lay it against my warm cheek.
“That’s incredible, pet. I’m so very proud of you.” Her eyes flick between mine, and she pulls her lower lip between her teeth. “Was there something else you wanted to tell me?” I ask, keeping my voice smooth as I attempt not to laugh at her uncomfortable expression.
“Umm…”
Pressing a finger to her lips, I tilt my head as I look her in the eye.
“What’s wrong, Soph? Are you worried I’ll be mad?”
She pulls her lip farther into her mouth before looking down. “No, it’s just… it’s always been you and me against the world. It feels strange to tell you that I was intimate with another man.”
My lips twitch with the threat of a smile. “Sophie, I’ve watched you with plenty of other men before.”
“No, I know. It’s just that you weren’t there this time, and I guess I just have to get used to the idea that Kai and I will have something just for the two of us. Like the two of you do. It’s the first time I’ve felt separate from you.”
Separate.
The word lingers like an echo in the room. I’m not sure why it bothers me—maybe because I’ve never feared losing her to anyone else. But hearing her say it now, I wonder if I’ve been so focused on managing my own feelings for Kai that I forgot to check in with hers. Maybe I assumed she’d follow my lead, but she’s stepping ahead of me, isn’t she?
It makes me think of all the times she seemed bored, or restless. All the times she’d latch on to a detail for the housewarming party, and now the bookshop…
She had questioned her place in our life, and I’d dismissed it.
But now?
Now, I can feel the shift—subtle but undeniable. The quiet confidence in the way she talks about Kai, the way her eyes spark with something more when she mentions him. I recognize that look. I’ve worn it myself.
For the first time, I wonder if this isn’t just about sharing her… but about watching her grow beyond me in ways I didn’t anticipate.
And strangely, I don’t feel threatened. I feel something else—something softer. Pride, maybe.
I cup the back of her head, brushing my thumb over her jawline, grounding both of us in the space between words. “I understand completely. But I think it’s a good thing that we’re all compatible together, in many different configurations. It bodes well for whatever this is, don’t you think? The fact that we all have chemistry together and separately is rare. Now, are you going to tell me what happened?”
She snaps her eyes back to me. “Well, Stella had a meeting at Saint Helena Academy, and she asked me if I wanted to say hi to Kai. I said yes, but when I got to his office, he wasn’t there.” She takes a deep breath. “A very nice woman showed me to the pool, and he was in there swimming laps.”
She shifts on my lap, and I have to wonder if she’s aroused just thinking about it.
