“But I didn’t tell you yet that I love you.”
I narrow my eyes on his angelic face. Angelic my ass. “Yes you did.”
“But I didn’t whisper it so the ghost couldn’t hear me.”
We are in the sitting room. I’m setting out fresh brownies for the guests to have with their wine. Only a few have come down for the wine hour. Rhys is sitting with them.
“There are no ghosts,” I inform Sam with a shake of my head.
“You don’t know that.”
I bite my lip. I have never yelled at Sam over bedtime, and I refuse to start now, but I’m reaching my limit.
“I do know, Sam. I love you, too. Now, go to bed.”
“But I’m not sleepy.”
Rhys and the two guests are watching us like it’s a tennis match.
“Count sheep.”
“But I don’t like to count sheep. They make me puke.”
The guests chuckle. Rhys smiles, the traitor. And I simply hang my head.
“Sheep don’t make you puke.”
“Yep, they do.”
“I don’t care what you count, Sam. Just go to bed.”
“But I—”
“Come on, buddy.” Rhys stands and takes Sam’s hand, then winks at me. “Let’s go find something to count that doesn’t make you sick.”
He leads Sam to his bedroom, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry about that,” I say to the kind couple who are enjoying brownies and wine. “He’s fought me over bedtime since he was small.”
“Ours did too,” the wife replies with a wave of the hand. “He’ll eventually turn into a teenager, and then all he’ll ever want to do is sleep.”
“I’m looking forward to that day,” I reply with a grin.
“Let him be small,” her husband replies with a kind smile. “It’s over in the blink of an eye.”
I nod and leave them in the sitting room. I’m feeling a little better this evening, but now I’m just full of nerves. Rhys has been his usual happy, affectionate self all day, and all I can think is, once I tell him that I’m carrying his baby, is he going to go running in the other direction?
Because why wouldn’t he? He has no ties to me. He doesn’t owe me anything. He’s already gone above and beyond where Sam and I are concerned.
And I’m not even sure that he won’t be leaving to go back to Chicago any day.
Because I’m too much of a pussy to just ask him.
I finish cleaning the kitchen and prepare the food for Eva tomorrow morning. That will save her some time.
Finally, about an hour later, Rhys finds me in the kitchen. He moves up behind me, grips my shoulders in his hands and kisses my head. “You okay?”
I nod and turn in his arms, wrap my arms around his torso, and hug him close. His heartbeat is strong and sure against my cheek. God, he feels so damn good. Safe. Familiar.
He feels like home.
“Come on,” he murmurs and leads me out of the kitchen, flipping off lights as we go to my private quarters. But instead of walking into the bedroom, he sits on the couch and turns on the TV. “Lie down. Put your head in my lap.”
Well, that sounds like a little slice of heaven. So I do. As soon as my head meets his thigh, Rhys’s fingers are in my hair, combing it softly, rhythmically.
“I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong,” he murmurs. I look up at him, surprised to see so much worry in his bright green eyes.
“I just don’t feel well,” I reply quietly. And it’s the truth; I don’t feel well. “I probably caught whatever Sam had the other day.”
“Do you need to throw up?”
“No.” I smile, and without thinking about it, I cup his cheek in my hand, enjoying the way his light stubble feels against my skin. “You are so handsome.”
“You say that to all the guys who play with your hair when you don’t feel well.”
He always makes me laugh. “Only the ones who have green eyes and sexy arms.”
“You like my arms, do you?”
I nod and sigh as his fingertips scrub my scalp. “You’re good with your hands.”
“I love your hair.”
I love you.
“What do you want to watch on TV?” I ask instead.
“I don’t give a fuck about the TV.”
“Well, you turned it on,” I reply with a frown, and he clicks it off. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’d just rather look at you than watch TV.”
“Are you going to stare at me in a creepy way?” His lips twitch, and then tip up in the corner in that way they do when he finds me particularly cute.
“If you think lust is creepy, then yes.”
I laugh out loud, unable to stop the snort that comes along with it. “No, there’s a difference between creepy and lustful.”
“Okay then, just lustful.”
I rest my hands over my belly and the tiny baby sleeping there. I need to tell him. Now is the perfect time. We’re alone, and we’re comfortable.
But instead, I close my eyes and enjoy the way his fingers feel in my hair. No one in my life has ever touched me the way Rhys does.
“What are you thinking?” he asks softly.
“I was just thinking that no one’s ever touched me the way you do.”
His hand pauses for a moment, and then resumes. “I should hope not.”
“Does it bother you that I don’t have a lot of experience with men?”
Why did I just ask him that?
“Why would it bother me?”
“I mean, I’m twenty-seven. Shouldn’t I have had more partners?”
“I don’t think so. It’s been a lot of fun to show you new things. To watch you experience new feelings. It’s been a privilege, Gabby.”
I nod, but don’t open my eyes.
“How old were you when you lost your virginity?” I ask suddenly.
“Sixteen,” he replies immediately. I open my eyes to find him looking down at me with a grin. “No need to lie about that. Or anything else, for that matter.”
Direct hit.
“I was nineteen,” I reply. “And I got pregnant at the same time.”
“That’s crazy,” he replies.
“How many partners have you had?” Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to, Gabrielle!
“My fair share.” He narrows his eyes on me. “You’re acting very strangely tonight.”
“I’m just getting to know you better.”
“Okay.” He tosses his head back and forth. “I guess there have probably been about a dozen women.”
A dozen.
“I guess that’s not bad for a professional athlete. I mean, what’s the average? Fifty?”
“I have no idea,” he replies with a laugh. “Probably more than a dozen, yes.”
“So you’re not a man-whore.”
“No.”
“What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?”
“Wow, your brain is on fire tonight.” His fingers drift down my cheek to my neck. “Cherry Garcia.”
“Favorite sexual position?”
“Any position that includes you in it,” he replies immediately.
“Good answer.” I grin up at him, and try to think of more questions. “What’s your shoe size?”
“Sixteen.”
“Holy shit! That’s a big foot.”
“I have to special order shoes.”
“Do you like to read?”
“I’m a Clive Cussler fan,” he replies and shakes his head. “I think we’re playing twenty questions.”
“I think it’s fun.”
“When is it my turn?”
“Go ahead.” I shift my hips so I’m lying on one side, but I’m still looking up into his handsome face. “Ask away.”
Just don’t ask me if I’m pregnant.
“Are you comfortable?”
“That’s an easy one. Yes.”
He chuckles. “What’s your favorite flow
er?”
“Magnolias.”
I close my eyes and enjoy the feel of his fingers in my hair.
“What’s your favorite dessert?”
“Hmm, that’s a hard one. I guess it’s a tie between Mama’s pecan pie and key lime pie.”
“Favorite alcoholic drink?”
“Margaritas.”
“Are you getting sleepy?”
I grin as he brushes a fingertip down the bridge of my nose. “Yes.”
“Do you want to go to bed?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay. Tell me about the best concert you ever saw.”
“That’s an easy one too. I saw Nash a few years ago, and those guys put on one hell of a show. Also, Leo Nash is my boyfriend.”
“I think he got married.”
“Yes, we’re fighting because he got married without asking me if it was okay, but he’s hopelessly in love with me. I’m pretty sure that the whole time he was singing at the concert, he was singing just for me.”
“I’m sure he was. What’s the appeal of Leo Nash?”
“Have you seen him?” I open my eyes and lift my head, looking at Rhys like he’s grown a new nose.
“Of course.”
“Well, there’s the tattoo thing, and the playing guitar thing, and the man can sing like crazy.”
“Declan can sing like crazy.”
“Declan is my brother,” I remind him. “Declan will never be sexually attractive to me.”
“Point taken.”
“Speaking of celebrity crushes, who’s yours?” I ask.
“I don’t know.”
“Lies! Of course you do. We all have our hall pass list.”
“The list of people we get to sleep with without any repercussions?”
“That’s right.”
“So, you mean there’s more on your list than just Leo Nash?” He’s frowning, but I can tell that he’s fighting a smile.
“Maybe. Who’s on yours?”
“I don’t think I have any,” he says after giving it a moment of thought. “There are some beautiful women out there, but I don’t think I want to have sex with any of them.”
“If you don’t want to tell me, just say so.”
He suddenly stands and lifts me into his arms, walking toward my bedroom.
“I’ll show you who I want to have sex with, Gabrielle.”
“Oh, okay then.”
Chapter Seventeen
~Rhys~
She hasn’t been herself for days and it’s making me crazy. She won’t tell me what’s wrong, and when I ask, she just says she’s tired. Or she doesn’t feel well.
But it seems that she’s backing away from me, and no matter what I do, it doesn’t change. Even during her silly twenty questions game on the couch the other night, I could feel the coldness from her.
But when I took her to bed, she let go, and it was normal, she was normal.
I need to sit her down, right now, and have a heart to heart. I need to know if she’s done with me, because I’m sure as fuck not done with her.
I’ll never be done with her.
My phone rings and I answer without looking at the display.
“Hey, Rhys, this is Eli.”
“Is Kate okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine. I’m calling because I’m just hanging out here with Beau, Declan and Ben, and we’d like for you to join us.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
“Is this an emergency?”
“No, this is a guys’ night in, and you’re one of the guys. We’re at Ben’s house. I’ll text you the address.”
And with that, he hangs up, not even giving me a chance to turn him down.
So much for that talk with Gabby.
Gabby’s in the kitchen with Sam and Derek, just finishing up dinner.
“Did you get Eli’s call?” she asks with a smile.
“Yeah, we just hung up. They want me to go into the city for a while, but if you’re not feeling well, I’ll definitely stay.”
“I’m fine.” She waves me off and sets a bowl of mac ‘n cheese with hot dogs in front of Sam. “Eli called me to get your number, and told me that you have to go. If y’all sacrifice a virgin or something, I don’t want to know about it.”
I chuckle and pull her into my arms, kiss her head, and just enjoy having her against me for a moment. She’s been pulling away from me lately, which also has me on edge.
I need to touch her.
“Are you going to kiss and do gross stuff?” Sam asks while shoveling pasta into his mouth.
“Not right now,” I reply and back away from Gabby. She won’t look me in the eye, and I’m done playing this game. I tip her chin up so she has to meet my gaze. “We’re going to talk later. Something is up with you, and I want to know what it is. I won’t be late.”
Before she can answer, I leave through the back door and head into the city. One way or the other, I’m going to know the score with Gabby before I fall asleep tonight.
***
Ben’s house is in a nice neighborhood in New Orleans. All of the homes are large, surrounded by massive green oaks and tall wrought iron fences.
And Ben’s home is simply impressive. I have no idea what the man does for a living, but whatever it is, he does well at it. I pull into the driveway behind a black Mercedes and cut the engine. I’m not stupid. I’m well aware that this is most likely an ambush.
I’m just hopeful that I can take at least one of them before the others kill me.
I can probably take Declan.
“Hey, man, come on in,” Beau says when he answers the door and leads me through the house and down to the basement, where the others are shooting pool and watching a baseball game on a big screen TV.
Mariners are playing the Angels.
Eli is leaning over the pool table to take a shot. Declan is staring down at this phone while perched on a bar stool and Ben is pulling beers out of a fridge behind the wet bar. They all wave and say hello, looking nonchalant and innocent.
Not one of these fuckers is innocent. I like them all, but they’re not innocent.
“Welcome to impromptu guys’ night,” Ben says as he passes me a beer and claps me on the shoulder. “Sorry for the short notice.”
“It’s totally fine,” I reply calmly. Ben is as tall as the Boudreaux brothers, but a little leaner, less broad in the shoulders. He’s also a solid brick of muscle, and from the stories I’ve heard, he’s no one to fuck with. And he may not be a brother by blood, but he’s been friends with all of them since they were small kids. “Thanks for the invite.”
“Here’s a picture of her!” Declan says and holds his phone up for all of us to see. “Blonde, leggy, pouty lips.”
“Who is this again?” Eli asks as he examines the photo.
“She owns one of the clubs in the Quarter,” Dec replies and sips his beer.
“And she doesn’t fall for your charms?” Beau says with a wide grin. “Good for her.”
“Yeah, it’s a love-hate relationship.” He shrugs as if it’s of no consequence, but I can see that it’s not. He likes her.
And it sounds like she doesn’t like him much.
“Damn it, I’m off my game tonight,” Eli mutters as he walks away from the table and Beau steps up.
“You’re out of practice,” Beau says mildly.
My eyes are on the game on the TV. Mariners are up, three to one, at the bottom of the sixth.
“I can see if the Cubs are playing,” Beau offers. I simply smile and shake my head.
“No, it’s cool. Are you a Mariners fan?”
“Nah, this was the first game I found,” Ben replies. “Would you like a tour of the house?”
“Are you going to kill me and bury me in the basement?” I ask. Declan snickers and Beau and Eli exchange glances, but Ben’s face remains perfectly calm and sober.
“Not right away,” he replies and then a smile slowly slides over his face.
“Not
that that’s terribly reassuring, but sure, I’d love a tour. Your place is beautiful.”
“Thanks.” Ben turns to the brothers, nods, and leads me out of the room.
He’s a man of few words.
“The house was built in 1875,” he begins. “By one of my great-grandfathers.”
“So you inherited it.”
“I did.”
He leads me upstairs and shows me around the first floor, then leads me through the rest of the house. Finally, he gestures for me to follow him outside and to a guest house out back.
He really is going to kill me.
“So, you’re not going to bury me in the basement. You’re going to bury me in the back yard.”
He simply smiles back at me. A cold smile that would make most men’s blood run with ice.
I simply raise a brow and follow him into the building, then whistle at the sight of the exercise equipment and fighting ring. “This is impressive.”
“This is where I find my balance,” he replies quietly. “Look, the other guys might want to kill you, and if you fuck up, I will too, but I just wanted to talk to you alone.”
“Fair enough.” I cross my arms over my chest and wait for the other man to speak. Ben frowns and looks down, then looks back up at me with pure possessiveness.
“I’m sure you’ve already received a few fuck with my sister and I’ll kill you talks.”
I nod, but I don’t smile. It’s not funny.
“So I want to give you mine. Gabby is as much my little sister as she is the others. I’ve known her since the day she came home from the hospital. She’s amazing.”
“No lie.”
The door opens behind me and the other guys walk in.
“We didn’t want you to kill him without us seeing it,” Declan says to Ben calmly. “He’s a big guy. It could be a good show.”
“I want to help,” Eli says.
“You do realize that without me, you and Kate wouldn’t be,” I remind him. “Don’t make me regret encouraging her to forgive you for being an idiot.”
Beau lays on a bench and begins doing bench press.
“As I was saying,” Ben says, glaring at the other guys. “Gabby is important to all of us. She’s sweet, and she has an innocence about her that makes her vulnerable.”
“She’s the strongest person I know,” I reply. She’s not weak.
“She’s been through a lot,” Ben continues. “I wanted to kill the fucker who knocked her up and left her high and dry, but no one would let me.”