My gaze snapped to his, and I realized this was the interrogation I’d kind of been waiting for.
I cleared my throat and took a sip of my water before answering, “Yeah, I feel better, too.” Then I shrugged and went for brutal honesty. “It’s not just about Rey, though.” I looked at him. “Of course, I’m overjoyed about being here and everything.” At his understanding smile, I turned back to River. “But most of why I feel better than I probably ever have is due to figuring out a lot of past shit in therapy. It wasn’t easy, but totally worth it.” I flashed a grin at Rey. “Highly recommended, five out of five stars.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “I know, I know. I’ll find a good one as soon as I get this shit with my dad squared away.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” I told him quietly, then squeezed his fingers.
When I looked around the table, everyone, including Madden, appeared relaxed and even happy. Madden a bit less than everyone else, but the tension he’d held whenever we made eye contact was less now.
“I’m not leaving again,” I said. “If one of my clients who I call a friend absolutely need me for a job for a couple of weeks or something like that, I might take it just out of loyalty, but other than that no.” Privately I thought, that maybe one day I’d get a nice job on a yacht or somewhere other really fancy, and I could take Rey with me. But that wasn’t a discussion for today.
The fact that he could go get groceries and such now didn’t mean he was just miraculously cured from his agoraphobia.
Lake extended his hand over the table, so I shook with him. “Welcome to the full-time team, then.”
I chuckled. “Thank you.”
“There will be salary negotiations in the near future with the owners,” Theo rumbled, his eyes twinkling with humor.
“Yeah, I expect Sierra to be a tough nut to crack,” I joked, making everyone chuckle.
* * * *
Later that night, everyone retired to their rooms. I could hear Mona chatting through the wall, then soon after she quieted, likely falling asleep.
Then the shower went on in the shared bathroom, and I did my best not to imagine Rey under the water. It wasn’t time for that.
Once he was done, he peered into my room. “It’s free.”
“Thanks.”
I showered quickly and efficiently, then dried haphazardly, before going to my room to put on some boxer briefs to sleep in.
“You decent?”
“Yeah,” I called over my shoulder, just as I pulled the underwear on.
Rey was wearing briefs and a ratty old T-shirt, which hung off him.
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that one of mine?”
He tried to look nonchalant, but the corner of his mouth twitched. “Might be.” Then he added, “You weren’t here to wear it.”
I could see he was about to apologize, so I quickly said, “That’s definitely true.”
He relaxed and walked to my bed, then turned around, held up his finger, and dashed back into his room. I stood in the middle of mine, amused at whatever this was.
He came back a minute later with his pillow and a couple of presents in his hands.
“Here, forgot these.” He thrust the gift-wrapped packages against my chest, and then went to plop onto my bed.
He tucked his pillow under his head and sprawled. Then he looked confused for a moment and lifted his head, looking toward the end of the bed.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “How did I never notice before that this bed is huge?”
I chuckled as I went to sit on the other side. “It’s not that wide, it’s longer than normal though. Ruth insisted on getting it for me after a while.”
“Because you’re giant.”
