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“I’m the boss. I can go in whenever I want.” He reaches down and caresses my cheek. “What’cha thinking, duchess?”
“Come back to bed. I haven’t slept this well in a few weeks. I’ll text Connor when we get up and let him know I’ll be late.” A smirk I can handle. A big goofy smile, or even the smile he flashes when something’s funny... those aren’t dangerous. But the look this giant of a man gives me is so pure. So potent. So real. I don’t know what to do with the emotions tugging at my chest after seeing it.
So instead of worrying... instead of overanalyzing why... I relax against Cade when he climbs in, pressing his chest to my back. He wraps his arms around Brynlee and me. Instead of freaking out, I close my eyes and let sleep pull me back under.
Four hours, one cranky little girl that didn’t want to get out of bed, one stop at my condo for a shower and a change of clothes, and a quick commute later, I’m finally walking into my office when Lenny sees me.
“Hey. You just getting in?” She glances down at her watch, then back up to me. “Did you have a doctor’s appointment or something?”
I grab her wrist and look around. “Yeah. Or something. Come with me.” I pull her into my office and lock the door behind us.
Of course, Lenny laughs. “The only time my door is locked is if Sebastian comes up here to see me.” Her eyebrows wiggle, and my mind goes back to yesterday afternoon on my couch.
“Scarlet? You okay? You look warm.”
I’m warm all right. My entire body just flushed, remembering how he made me feel. “Shut up. I need to talk to somebody about my crazy fucking morning. And you’re the lucky sister who happens to be here. So, I guess you’ll do.”
“Gee, thanks.” When she drops down onto my leather sofa and sips from the cardboard coffee cup in her hand, I cringe. “Umm... you might want to sit...” I point to one of the two chairs. “Sit over there.”
Lenny manages to switch seats through fits of uncontrollable laughter. “Oh, this is priceless. I wish you could see your face right now. Swear to God, Scar.” She throws her head back and practically howls.
I look her over. “Why are you dressed like that? Did someone forget to tell me we were implementing casual Fridays?” Len’s in jeans and a t-shirt. Her dark hair is pulled back in a messy top-knot.
Lenny shakes her head in frustration. “Hello? Bash and I are taking the red-eye to Hawaii tonight, remember? His best friend, Murphy, is getting married, and we’re both in the wedding.”
“I thought that was next weekend?” I could swear she said it was next Saturday.
She finishes her coffee and starts to finger the lid. “It is. But when the bride’s father is the president of the United States, you book the entire resort for privacy and give your friends a Hawaiian vacation for funsies.”
“Makes sense.” I sit down across from her and cross my legs. Then I proceed to tell her about last night and this morning, not leaving anything out. At the end of my verbal vomit, I finally look up at her face to gauge her reaction, but she’s doing an excellent job of covering her emotions. Imogen should take a tip from Lenny.
“Okay, first things first. How was Brynlee when she woke up in bed with you? How did she react?”
How did she react? “I don’t think it phased her. We were all asleep. Then I woke up to sweaty little hands on my cheeks, and I opened my eyes.” I think back to that moment. I would have thought she’d have been at least a little freaked-out. But she wasn’t. “She told me she wanted pancakes for breakfast and had to pee. Then she jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom.”
“Ooh. Pancakes sound good. I’m hungry.”
“Focus, Eleanor. So... what should I do?”
“Wow. I don’t think you’ve ever asked for my advice before.” She sits back and shifts in her chair, gloating.
“That...” I circle my finger in the air around her face. “That look. That gloating. That doesn’t look good on you, Eleanor.” Although being able to talk to her like this is something I never expected when she was growing up. So if I have to deal with a little gloating, it’s still worth it.
Lenny laughs. “Yeah, well, it feels good.” She gets up and moves to sit next to me on the couch, eyeing it first. Until I tip my head to the other side of me, telling her that spot may be safer. “First, remind me to bring you in some disinfectant wipes. Always good to keep a container of them in your desk so your brothers don’t end up sitting where your man’s naked ass was a few hours before. Second, what do you want to do? I mean, obviously, there’s a tremendous amount of chemistry between you and Cade. It sounds like there are real feelings there too.”
“Yes to the chemistry. He and I are definitely explosive. But what if those feelings are just left over from what we felt as kids and the pregnancy magnifies them? Making them seem bigger and stronger than they are? And what if—”
Lenny cuts me off, “What if it’s the most important thing you ever do? Would that be so bad?”
“Letting myself have false hope? Yeah. That sounds pretty bad, Len.” For years, I’ve convinced myself that I didn’t want this kind of relationship. That I didn’t need it. Because it was easier than hoping I could have more than my parents had, more than I feel comfortable wishing for.
Lenny laces our fingers together and pulls my hand into her lap. “There’s no such thing as false hope, Scarlet. Hope is always real. No matter what, there’s always room for hope.”
“When did you get so smart?” I spin the stunning engagement ring resting on her finger.
She squeezes my hand. “Sometime after I came home from England and started watching my badass big sister. Do you remember what you told me when I didn’t know whether to keep fighting for Sebastian?” I shake my head, but she keeps pushing. “You told me we’re Kingstons, and we go after what we want.” She shrugs her shoulder. “It turned out pretty well for me.”
“There are things he doesn’t know yet.”
