Ciar found out she was pregnant. Tina tore her knee in a fall. Gray agreed to move temporarily into his home and care for his daughteranddecorate, which admittedly, wasn’t a hardship, since it was her second favorite thing to do after hospitality.
He also interrupted her lunch with Cannon, for which she still wanted to strangle him. As though he’d read her mind, Ciar sat up, keeping their bodies connected, and asked, “You won’t talk to your ex again, right?”
“Of course, I will. What the hell, Ciar? Cannon and I are friends.”
“He doesn’t want to be your friend. He was touching you, and as a man who understands men, I can assure you, pregnant or no, he wanted you.”
“Don’t be gross.” Her cheeks felt fiery.
“No talking to anyone we’ve ever slept with. For either of us.”
“Well, that’s a short list for me. You, not so much.”
“I mean it, Gray,” his voice rumbled as he bent to suck on her neck.
She shrieked, shoving him back. “Don’t you dare give me a love bite where my mom and grandma can see.”
“I’ll do what I have to unless you tell me you won’t speak to that dipshit you were going to eat lunch with.”
“You’re being impossible. I would never get back with him. Obviously.” She cupped her belly to make her point.
He didn’t say anything else, but his features were frozen in, not so much disapproval, but hurt. The fact that he had a child with another woman, a child that she was going to be caring for, and he was worried about her letting Cannon know that “All is well. No need to worry. Have a great life.” Unbelievable.
“Ciar,” she began softly, shifting off his lap so that he could get dressed, “you’re being unreasonable.”
He stood from the bed, still gloriously naked, and pulled her to her feet to face him. “I don’t think you understand just how long I’ve wanted you to be mine, Gray, but now that you are, I refuse to share. Even if you weren't pregnant, I wouldn’t want you to spend time with him.”
She expelled an exasperated breath against his chest. “I’ve wanted you just as long, you idiot.”
“So?” he pressed.
“Fine, but we’ll revisit this when you get home.” Then, because she couldn’t help herself, “Hurry home.”
forty-five
CIAR
He triedto sleep on the way to Tokyo. It was an excruciatingly long flight. He managed to sleep a few hours and also work on several of his current deals, especially the upcoming meetings with his picky, Japanese client.
They landed in Tokyo at one in the morning the day after he’d left Dublin because of the distance and time change. Gray and Imogen would be getting ready for supper.
The further he traveled away from Gray, sparks of anxiety began to zap him. Yesterday had given him everything he’d been hoping for. Gray was back, and in his arms and bed, and Gray and Imogen were bonding.
Nothing mattered but those two things, and yet he couldn’t help but think that the kind of euphoria he’d experienced with Gray and having his friends back wouldn’t last. How could it last?
He didn’t want to talk about the past when he got home. Why go backwards? Why couldn’t Gray be happy with now?
They both cared about one another. She admitted last night that she cared for him. He tried not to feel cheated that shehadn’t told him that she loved him like she had before. Surely, she still loved him. Gray wasn’t the type of woman to flip-flop on her feelings.
Dwelling on what she had or hadn’t said was ridiculous. He was self-aware enough to admit that he’d never told her anything. No grand declarations. Only that she was his, and he was hers.
The room he’d be staying in for the week was very nice. He couldn’t be bothered with any of it, though, wondering how Gray and Imogen’s day had gone. Throwing his bags on the bed, he pulled his phone out to see what messages had been missed.
His eyes widened when he saw that he’d been unblocked from his friends’ old group text, Devils & Angels. He hadn’t been mad when they’d deleted him from the group. He’d hurt one of them and didn’t fix it, so he was a casualty and deservedly so.
He grinned, reading through some of the older messages before he got to the current ones. Daniel telling Gray to lay off Murphy’s crab cakes or she would blow up made him laugh out loud. Ciar’s dad would enjoy hearing that.
Thinking about his father, Ciar needed to make things right between them. They’d gotten in a million rows over the years, both of them hardheaded, but never more than a few hours passed before they squelched whatever issue had caused the disagreement.
