Saint dropped them back at Sloan’s. Two suitcases and a box they’d cadged from the shop downstairs, plus a couple of carrier bags full, and Matty’s skates were now piled in the hallway.
“All my worldly possessions,” Matty said, staring at the haul. “Pretty embarrassing for a thirty-five-year-old woman.”
Sloan slid an arm round Matty’s shoulders. “Just means less to carry upstairs.”
“What if we put Gloria on the lift and stuck a box on her lap?”
“Oi, I heard that,” Gloria shouted from the lounge. “Cup of tea would be nice.”
“I thought you were all independent now?” Sloan hollered back, and Matty giggled at the pair of them. “Come on. Let’s get this sorted. I thought we could run everything through the wash so you’ve got a whole wardrobe of clean clothes.”
“I’d like that. Goodness knows whose hands have been all over my things.” Matty shivered at the thought.
“Maybe we can go shopping one afternoon and pick you up some new things?” Sloan added.
Matty pulled one of the cases towards the kitchen, then through to the washing machine. “I think I’ll be putting all my money towards getting a deposit together and getting out of your hair.”
Sloan followed.
When they were both in front of the machine, Sloan took Matty’s hand and turned her back around to face her.
“I want you to stay.”
“Sloan, it’s too early for moving in together.”
“Is it?” Sloan stroked Matty’s cheek. “I don’t agree. Time is just… I don’t care about time. I know.”
“You know what?” Matty’s gaze softened as she looked at Sloan.
“I know that I love you,” Sloan admitted. “And I know that if you moved in, it would work.”
“Wow. That’s… I wasn’t expecting that.”
Sloan looked away. “I mean, it’s fine if you’re not there yet. I…I think it’s best to say how we feel, when we feel—”
Matty cut her off with a kiss that was slow and deep, and it was answer enough. When they broke apart, Matty whispered, “I love you too. I just… It’s a bit scary how quickly that happened.”
“Then we can be scared together.”
“Won’t it be awkward, though?” Matty asked, threading her arms up and around Sloan’s neck.
“How so?”
“You pay me to be here, and then I come and sleep in your bed?”
Sloan smiled. “I’ve got a few ideas about that.”
“Oh?”
“It would mean sacking you, though.” Sloan’s smile shifted. “I need to check with Mum and run things by her, but I think…like her, you need your life back too.”
Matty grinned. “How much rent do I have to pay… Now I’m unemployed?”
“I guess we can find a way for you to pay it off.”
“Like maybe later, if I let you watch me?”
“Something like that.” Sloan’s lips grazed Matty’s. “I like to watch.”
