AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We’d bought the entire building, and while we still rented out the first floor, we had the second and top floor converted to a huge home. But it was in Chelsea not Brooklyn, and if we wanted to share custody of Liam, we’d have to find somewhere in Brooklyn Heights.
Hopefully, we’d create new happy memories there.
We went inside, and as I walked up the stairs to the apartment’s entrance, I remembered so many times I’d walked up those stairs to an empty, sterile apartment before I met Kate. I never brought my subs there, wanting to keep my real life and my life as a Dom separate.
Then, Kate entered my life, and I wanted her there. I wanted to come home to her.
I remembered wearing football gear and a helmet, mouth brace, the night she came by during her period and said she would be a hellion because of PMS.
I remembered so many times that Kate and I spent there, listening to music, making love…
“It’s nice to be home with you. When I was here last week, it felt so lonely without my two girls…”
Kate smiled at me and then we kissed warmly. Between us, Sophie was interested in exploring the apartment. “Where’s my room?”
I took her hand and led her to the stairs and to the room that had been her nursery way back when we lived there before. It would take some time to make it hers, but once some of her favorite toys were delivered after they were shipped here from Southampton, we could make it a place she would love to play in, at least for the short time we stayed here while looking for a home in Brooklyn Heights.
Once we were settled, and our suitcases unpacked, we ordered in and the three of us sat in the living room, watching a Disney movie streaming on the flatscreen, and filled our faces with Chinese food.
Sophie fell asleep easily after a bubble bath and a half-dozen stories.
Finally, Kate and I were alone, and both of us were tired. New York was five hours behind Southampton, and by our internal clocks, it was past midnight, although it was only seven thirty.
While Kate undressed and slipped into her nightgown, I stood at the window and glanced down at the street. There, on the other side of the street, was a black sedan. On the dash, I could just make out a red coffee cup.
The sign that Brimstone was there, watching.
“I’m beat,” Kate said after she finished brushing her teeth while we prepared for bed. “I think I’m just going to fall into bed and sleep for twelve hours.”
“I’m right behind you.”
I followed her into the bedroom, and we crept into the huge four-poster bed, pulled the coverlet up over us. After I turned off the lights, we kissed and lay together in our usual way, with her on her left side and with me spooned against her, one arm under the pillow and the other over her waist.
I swear Kate was asleep within a few moments of her head hitting the pillow.
As for me, I lay awake for a considerable time, my mind going over the day’s events, and of course, coming back to rest on the man I’d seen staring at me from down the street.
Thankfully, Brimstone Security had a guard watching over the building, but still, it was unnerving to me that I even had to hire a security firm to feel safe in my own home.
I’d be busy over the coming week as I spent time with Porter to get a clearer idea of what he envisioned for the new paediatric robotic surgery unit at NYP. I’d have George as a driver, ferrying me to and from NYP, and there would be someone stationed outside the 8thAvenue apartment watching over Kate and Sophie while I was away. I knew I’d have to tell Kate about it as soon as possible, so she would understand she was being protected, but I wanted to give her a few days to adjust to life in New York.
Besides, I didn’t want her to worry, just in case my fears were totally unfounded and the product of an overactive imagination.
That was my first mistake…
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
The first few days we were back in Manhattan were a blur of activity, trying to get settled into the 8thAvenue apartment, getting used to Drake being away at NYP after having him home for the past few weeks, and getting Sophie used to not having either Liam or Grandad and Elaine around to amuse her and entertain her.
We spent our time unpacking once the boxes from Southampton arrived, and walking around the neighborhood, visiting the nearby parks and enjoying the warm summer weather. I was honestly too busy to even think about my studio or MA thesis, but I did spend any spare time searching for homes in Brooklyn Heights.
How I wished that Maureen and Chris would just pick a place so we could choose our own…
I kept an eye out on that beautiful brownstone that Drake and I saw — the outrageously priced house with too many bedrooms, but a lovely garden and rooftop patio. With enough bedrooms for all of us, even if my father and Elaine decided to move back in with us.
With room to spare.
So close to the water. Close to good schools for Liam and Sophie…
