“Whoa!” Chloe shouts. “If I were human, that would bruise.”
Logan and I exchange a wry look. At least Chloe is right about one thing. There’s not an ounce of anything remotely human in her.
Gage grunts out a laugh. “Honey, that’s going to bruise no matter what you are. Just tell ’em you walked into a wall.”
“Good Lord.” I look to Logan and he shakes his head in dismay.
The door swings open and Gage looks sweaty, hair mussed, clearly post coitus, and I’m pretty sure the odds are excellent I’ll vomit on his bare feet.
“What the hell are you doing?” he growls at the two of us.
My lower lip quivers without my permission.
“I was about to take Logan for a little tryst, but I see that the love nest is occupied. It’s nice to see you’re defiling the room you built for me to full capacity.” My voice shakes and I hate that my emotions choose this moment to betray me—but certainly not more than I hate Gage and Chloe.
Logan slams him over the shoulder with his palm. “You piece of shit. You can’t keep it in your pants one freaking week out of respect for Skyla?”
Gage scoffs. “Like you would.”
“I wouldn’t have to,” Logan seethes. “I would never have gotten myself into this mess to begin with.”
“That’s what you think.” He blows past the two of us. “Stay out of that room.”
“That’s what you think?” I whisper to Logan, shaking my head at the lunacy of it all. “Let’s get back to bed and pretend this never happened.”
Logan wraps his arms around me from behind as we navigate back to the boys’ bedroom. “I wish a lot of things weren’t happening.”
I know it’s true. I know this kills Logan as much as it does me. If only there were some way we could team up and kill Gage.
If only.
In the morning, after I’ve showered, changed, fed the boys, and got them ready for the day, Logan helps haul them into his truck and straps them into their car seats.
“I forgot their diaper bag.” I offer Logan’s cheek a quick kiss as I bolt back into the house. Chloe and Gage have been persona non grata this morning. And believe me, that’s the way I like it.
I head on up and note the door to the master bedroom is ajar. I can’t help but peer in and spot Chloe sitting up in bed, her hand in the air as she flips through channels on the television set Gage and I put in. I thought it would be heaven to sit in bed and watch whatever we wanted while Gage lounged by my side, and now Chloe gets to live out every last one of my fantasies. My feet carry me in that direction as if they were possessed and I’m relieved when I don’t see Gage anywhere near that mattress. Although I fully expect him to step out of the master bath, naked and ready to pleasure his bride yet again.
My stomach does a hard roll. It’s been a vat of boiling oil all morning.
“What do you want, Skyla?” Chloe gravels it out in annoyance without bothering to look my way. “I see you there, spying on me in my bedroom.”
“It’s my bedroom, Chloe. You’re just playing dress-up with my life.” I head into the boys’ room and snatch the diaper bag off the floor before heading back to the mouth of the bedroom I once shared with Gage. “Too tired to get out of bed after your butterfly room tryst last night?” Not sure why I wanted her to know that I knew what they had done, but some petty part of me demanded I do it.
Chloe glares at me a moment. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. But for your information, Gage and I keep all of our dalliances relegated to the bedroom.”
There’s a quip begging to escape me, something along the lines of how woefully vanilla their love life sounds, sure to be followed by the fact Gage took me in every room of this house at some point in time, but I’m too thrown by her lie. Chloe should know more than anyone that the butterfly room is sacred to me. Why would she pass up an opportunity to stab me in the heart?
“You know what they say—a pregnant brain is a very real thing, and you’ve got it Chloe,” I say as I head on out.
“Where are you going? I thought we’d discuss the landscaping in the backyard today!”
“Only if it concerns installing a Bishop cemetery plot. Otherwise, I’m not interested. We’ll never be best friends, Chloe. Deal with it.” I head down the stairs just as Gage heads my way from the kitchen and he grabs me by the waist and twirls me until my back is against the wall, soft and elegant as if we were ballroom dancing.
Those cobalt eyes press into mine. “I want to apologize about last night. And I want to tell you that—I know.” He gives a slight nod, his eyes burning through mine, but there’s a softness to him.
“You know what? That Chloe and I will never be friends? That’s Paragon 101, Gage. Now, get out of my way.” I try to make a break for it, but he places his hand against the wall, effectively caging me in with his body. His minty breath washes over me just the way it did last night.
He nods once again. “Iknow.”
