“You’re staying?” Sterling arched a brow, but on the inside, he was pleased. “That’s newstome.”
Frustration glinted in Adrian’s eyes, but didn’t infect his posture. “Now’s not a good time to joke around, Sterling. Gabriel and I need a place to stay. Will you help us, or do we need to find somewhere elsetogo?”
The clinical tone of Adrian’s voice sobered Sterling’s joy. He nodded. “I have a spare bedroom he canstayin.”
“Wecan stay in.” Adrian locked eyes with Sterling and held his gaze with steadfast determination. “I’m going to be sharing the room with him. I haven’t… I don’t want to commit to anything morerightnow.”
“That’s fine.” A small step in the right direction was still a step forward. It wasn’t Sterling’s preference, but he wouldn’t turn it down. “Let me show you where you’ll bestaying.”
The penthouse was modest in terms of floor space. As a bachelor, Sterling saw no need to occupy the entire upper floor of his club. There was enough room for a lavish master bedroom with an attached bath, a spare bedroom for guests, a guest bathroom, his office, and his expansive living room and kitchen. Apart from that, he didn’t see the need for more space. But now that he was set to keep Adrian and Gabriel? And now that Adrian was pregnant with hischild?
Renovations would beforthcoming.
One of the closed doors down the far hall opened into the guest bedroom. The sheets were a little musty, but that fact didn’t deter Adrian or Gabriel in the least. As soon as Sterling opened the door, Adrian stepped into the room and laid his duffel bags on the bed. Gabriel followed, much more timid, and stowed his luggage by theheadboard.
“Thank you,” Adrian said with finality. Once his shoulders were freed from the duffel bags, he stood ramrod straight and sucked in a breath. “We’ll pay you for the trouble, ofcourse.”
“Youwillnot.”
Adrian’s expression gave nothing away, but he didn’t argue any further. Instead, he looked away. The weakness was unusual, and Sterling found himself concerned. What had happened that was so bad, Adrian couldn’t even reach out through text? Whatever it was, it put Sterling onalert.
If anyone was threatening Adrian, they were threatening his family. Sterling wouldn’t standforit.
“Once you two have settled, I’d appreciate it if we could have a discussion.” Sterling bit the inside of his lip, aware that he was coming across as stern. It wasn’t his intention, but with his protective instinct woken, he couldn’t help it. “There’s no rush. Take whatever timeyouneed.”
“No. You’re fine.” Adrian nodded at Gabriel. “You stay here and get comfortable, okay? This is our room, so you can rest easy here. I’m going to talk withSterling.”
Gabriel didn’t look so certain, but he nodded and slunk to the side of the bed while Adrian stepped forward and took Sterling by the arm. All business, he led Sterling from the bedroom, nudged the door closed behind him with his foot, and took Sterling into the kitchen. On his way into the room, Adrian flipped on the fans. The kitchen was consumed by low, dull whirring. Gabriel wouldn’t be able tooverhear.
Clever.
“Listen…” Adrian parted from Sterling’s arm and leaned against the counter. The flat expression on his face bled into concern. “I know that we arrived abruptly, and I know that you’re waiting on me to make a decision, but I’m not ready to give you an answer yet. I was only doing what I had to do for the sake of myfamily.”
“Just as I asked what I had to ask for the sakeofmine.”
To that, Adrian had no reply. He turned his head to the side and ran a hand along his belly—it was the first time Sterling had ever seen him physically acknowledge the fact that he was pregnant. Sterling’s lips parted, and he had to choke back an embarrassing, guttural sound. Pregnant bodies had never appealed to him before, but a pregnant Adrian? That was different. Pride and arousal took control, infusing Sterling with a desperate wantformore.
Just as Sterling was about to speak, Adrian cut him off. “Gabriel thinks we’re acouple.”
“Then he won’t mind if you spend your stay in my bed.” Sterling wasn’t afraid to push for what he wanted, and the more time that passed, the clearer it became that Adrianwasit.
“No.” Adrian held fast. “But I want you to know that if I seem cuddly, or if I’m… you know. If I treat you like you’re my boyfriend, it’s only because I want Gabriel to feel secure. I don’t think he’d take too kindly to finding out that I essentially whored myself out to you so I could keep attending the sex clubyourun.”
“That’s unfair of you,” Sterlingshotback.
“That’s thetruth.”
“You were under no obligation to sleep with me. What you did, you did of your ownfreewill.”
Adrian shook his head. “I’m not really interested in fighting about it. All I want you to know is that I’m here for Gabriel, not to play family. Not yet, at least. I still need time tothink.”
“You have all the time in theworld.”
The curt, breathy chuckle Adrian made was sarcastic, but cute. “If by that you mean six months,thensure.”
Six months. Six short months until Adrian delivered the life inside of him. Until they became afamily.
Sterling’s chest puffed with pride, and it wasn’t until Adrian gave him a hard look that he realized he was beaming. Sterling toned it down a notch and drew in a deep, serious breath, as if that could excuse him from being overlyenthusiastic.
