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Her lips parted like she was going to say something but then she snapped them shut and shook her head. “Nothing. Never mind.”
I moved closer and tipped her chin up with my finger. “What’s wrong, Memphis? Talk to me.”
Her lip wobbled but she didn’t cry as she cleared her throat and spoke. “I talked to my brother today and I just miss him. I’m lonelier than I thought I would be. And…I’m upset. I don’t think I have a right to be, though.”
I knelt in front of her and rested my hands on her knees. Her sadness made me feel like I’d just kicked a puppy. Her eyes were so big and almost scared as she stared at me, and I got the feeling she was silently begging for answers. I just didn’t know the questions. “Your feelings are your feelings. No matter what they are, you have a right to them.”
“I’m an idiot. It doesn’t matter. Let’s just do this.” She forced a smile and gently patted my cheek. “You’re going to lose your light if you’re not careful.”
I could tell she wasn’t ready to talk and I couldn’t push her. I did the only thing I knew how to. I stepped behind my canvas and I painted her.
35.
***Remington***
BooneandIwerewaiting in my office for Wells, both of us feeling like throttling our brother. It wasn’t like we’d explicitly made rules to stay away from Memphis, but we knew we needed to talk about where to go next and we’d made plans to have that conversation. Apparently, that didn’t matter to Wells, though. Coming back from a jog, I’d nearly face-planted because I’d glanced up and spotted Memphis all but naked on a balcony, exposed to whoever happened to be working in the backyard that day. Her bare back was fully exposed and I could tell she was only in a sheet. A fucking sheet. In front of whoever happened to walk by.
Boone cracked his neck and rubbed his hands together. “I definitely remember saying that we’d talk about it today. I definitely don’t remember saying that we should just pursue her and go for it. If I’d known that’s what we were doing, I would’ve gone to her last night. You know? Last night, when we all could tell she was upset?”
I swore. “I know, Boone. I thought we needed time to think. I didn’t like how we left things either, but I didn’t think it was wise to rush anything. She’d just found out she’s pregnant. Fuck.We’djust found out she’s pregnant.”
“Which was the plan, unless I hit my head at some point.” He swung around at the sound of my door opening and let loose on Wells the moment the door closed behind him. “What the actual fuck, Wells? You couldn’t wait for us to talk and figure shit out? You just had to jump on her right away?”
Wells laughed, which was a mistake. He saw Boone’s mood darken even farther and shook his head. “I didn’t jump on her, assholes. I painted her. If the two of you could fucking relax, I’d fill you in on a few things.”
I blew out a rough breath. “Go on.”
Boone sank into his chair but didn’t stop glaring at our brother. “Remy said she was basically naked. I’m supposed to believe you had Memphis naked in your room and you didn’t touch her?”
“Let him talk, Boone.” I grunted in annoyance, missing my simpler life. “I have a fucking headache.”
“I saw her crying in the yard. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, but I semi-bullied her into letting me paint her since she wouldn’t talk to me. Not my finest moment, probably. I only painted her. Did I want more? Fuck, yes. I didn’t do more, though. She was upset.” Wells rested his elbows on his knees and I could tell it was bothering him. “She said she misses her brother and feels lonely, but there was more. She wouldn’t tell me that part.”
“Let’s just go get her and make her tell us.” Boone was already on his feet when I shot his idea down.
“No, we can’t just force her to talk to us.” I rubbed my temples. “Last night didn’t end well. I’m sure that might have something to do with it.”
“She did seem a little more standoffish than normal. Maybe I’m an idiot, but pregnancy hormones aren’t supposed to hit that fast, are they?” Wells rolled his eyes at himself. “Of course not.”
“She walked away from us. Why would she be upset about that?” Boone spoke the painful part out loud.
I jerked open a desk drawer, and then another, to find a bottle of pain medicine. I didn’t want to have the conversation we were dancing around. I had no interest in rehashing our old family shit.
“Were we supposed to ask her not to leave?” Wells sighed. “This is probably why the situation we’re in isn’t one that people put themselves in by choice. Everything’s confused. The point was to get her pregnant and we did. If we keep having sex, it’s crossing into something else. I want to keep having sex, but I don’t want to misread her signals. She may not want to have sex with us until the next time she has to.”
I looked back and forth between them and they did the same for a few seconds before we all started laughing. We were cocky assholes, but we knew when a woman enjoyed herself during sex. Memphis came alive when she was between us. She fucking glowed and shot off like a firework. Of course, she wanted to have sex with us.
“I don’t understand her.” Wells jerked his thumb over his shoulder and made a confused face. “Instead of going back to the guest house, she saw Beatrix dusting and went to help. She’s in the hallway downstairs dusting right now.”
“She’s not like anyone I know. Things must be different in Georgia. She helps out in the yard whenever she can, too. Beatrix told me that she can barely do a thing in the guest house. Memphis doesn’t want her cleaning up.” I thought about her face during our shopping trip. “When she saw the prices of the clothes, she begged me not to buy them for her.”
“What?” Wells sat back in his chair and shook his head. “Sorry, that blows my mind. We’ve all been around women from the golden side of life. They have expectations so much of the time. Gifts, money, trips. I mean, we’re not dating Memphis, but shebeggedyou not to buy the clothes?”
“She told me to donate the money and if I needed to buy her clothes, I could just buy her something cheap.” My senses tingled, but I didn’t trust them when it came to Memphis. My dick was too strong when it came to wanting her. “Maybe she was just raised differently. It’s not terrible. It’s actually kind of refreshing. Seeing her befriend a homeless kid, for no reason other than to do it, was amazing to watch.”
“We can’t let her clean our house, though, right? That’s weird.” Boone shifted in his seat like he was truly uncomfortable. “She’s not our housekeeper. She’s… Fuck if I know.”
“Our surrogate who happens to be pregnant with our kid.” A streak of heat went down my back. There was something about knowing she was knocked up with a baby that might be mine that got me painfully hard. I’d spent the night cursing my dick because of it. “Fuck.”
