“The restructure is a lot of work, and I want to make sure everything’s consistent. I was just running through some numbers.”
He reached over and pulled the pencil out of my sloppy bun, sending my hair tumbling down. Snatching it from him, I gave him an annoyed look. “That took forever to put up.”
“Come on. Put it away and relax.”
I looked over at Reid, whose tongue was halfway out of his mouth while he fought some creature.
“Take Reid up to your place. He’d love that, and it would give you time together.”
He didn’t hesitate to go over to Reid and put the bin of popcorn between him and the game.
“Popcorn! Gabe!”
“Wanna watch a movie with me?” Gabe asked him, and my heart thrummed. He hadn’t argued or convinced me to go. He had instantly invited Reid. “Unless you want to sit around and watch your mom do boring work.”
Reid was up and running to the door in seconds.
“Put your shoes on, young man,” I scolded.
“No need. We’re just going upstairs. He’ll be fine. Besides pajamas and shoes don’t make a good look.”
He gave me a quick kiss, and they were gone before I could argue anymore. I dove back into my work. It wasn’t that the finances were a mess. In fact, Gabe had been meticulous. He had accounted for everything, and the numbers were healthy and solid. But bringing so many separate entities in and folding their finances into one was the challenge.
After weeding through too many systems and spreadsheets for my mind to handle, I checked the time. It was after eleven, and Gabe hadn’t returned. Needing the blood flow to return to my legs, I grabbed my keycard and headed up to Gabe’s floor. A simple rap on the door took longer to answer than I expected. When Gabe’s dreary eyes and rumpled hair appeared, I laughed.
“Couldn’t make it through the movie?” I asked.
He rubbed his eyes and opened the door further. “This one did me in. Something about robots and cleaning up garbage. That’s about as far as I got.”
“Oh, that’s one of my favorites,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek and spying Reid curled in a ball on the couch. I stopped, realizing the two had fallen asleep with each other, and the image was a sweet one I wished I’d witnessed.
“He didn’t make it either.”
“I see that.” I brushed Reid’s hair back. “He’s a lightweight, though. From you, I would have expected more.”
“Ouch, that’s not fair.”
“Time to go, Reid,” I told him as his eyes blinked open.
“Can I stay with Gabe?” The words came out in a broken yawn. I peered up at Gabe, who shrugged.
“Fine with me. I can bring him down in the morning.”
“Are you sure?” I stood, scratching my arm.
“Certain.” He ran into his room and returned a few moments later with two blankets. “We’ll camp out here for the night.”
He spread a blanket over Reid and dropped the other next to him. Excitement shimmered in his eyes.
“That’s not comfortable,” I argued.
“But it’s fun. You’re welcome to join us.” His brow arched, and my grin came effortlessly.
“I left my computer and all the lights on.”
The arch grew. “I can afford the electricity.”
He sat next to Reid and scooped him back into a comfortable position, then patted the seat next to him. I debated for a few seconds before I lost the battle and joined him. Spreading the blanket over us, he turned a cooking show on and scooted me closer. By the time my eyes were closing, I was curled up in his lap, content as a kitten.
