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21
JACKSON
Aurora heads to bed,telling me she needsspace. That term isn’t part of my vocabulary, but since she hasn’t kicked me out, I let her go.
I focus on what I can do for her.
It’s late evening in LA, and I text Ethan with an update.
She’s still throwing up and barely eats.
Rebound
Bring her home.
My initial thought is: Home is wherever she is, but that’s not accurate.
Home is where the three of us can be together and explore this situationship, a place where she and our child are safe and Kyle doesn’t exist.
For now, that’ll have to be frigid New York with fucking Ricky, not Ethan.
I listen to Aurora move around her room while I clean the kitchen, racking my brain on how to fix the distance between us.Since I’m sleeping on the couch, I search for the thermostat to take the chill out of the air but don’t find one.
Her bedroom light is on, and I figure not having heat is a solid reason to interrupt her space.
Despite myself, I respect her privacy and knock.
She answers the door in an oversized team T-shirt,Coachprinted on the breast. What a possessive asshole. I need to step up my game.
Her nipples peek through the fabric, and with great effort, I look away. I’m already in enough trouble.
“Hey…where’s the thermostat?”
“There isn’t one. There are knobs on the radiators, but please don’t turn them on. They smell.” She crinkles her nose.
“The what now?” I ask with lowered brows, clueless how the fuck a radiator works in a house.
Her face brightens, and she giggles, the sound warming my heart. Maybe I’ll survive in New York after all.
She steps back and points to the wall. “This here, rich boy, is a radiator.”
I enter her bedroom and stare at the painted metal contraption. “In my defense, I’ve seen this before, from afar, probably in a museum, but I didn’t know they still existed in the wild.”
Her laughter fills the air, and I breathe it in, allowing its energy to flow through my veins and bring me back to life.
I slide my phone from my pocket and sit on her bed. “Let’s ask the old man. He lived here, right?”
With an excited grin, she climbs behind me and wraps her arms around my neck. “FaceTime him.”
Jesus, fuck. I would’ve dragged him here if I knew he was the key to getting Aurora to touch me again.
He answers with his typical scowl, but as soon as he sees her, his expression softens. “Hey, baby girl.” His gaze runs over her, ignoring me. “You wearing my shirt?”
Bringing the collar to her nose, she inhales deeply. “It doesn’t smell like you anymore.”
His lips tug into a rare smile. “Come home, and I’ll give you as many as you want.”
My eyeballs might roll right out of my head. “God, I hate you.”