Page 37 of Nothing to This (Nothing to… #8)

“Knock, knock.” The call raised her head to Roxie, clutching the door, hanging into the office. “I heard a whisper you were looking for me.”

“Stone is fast.”

“Let’s hope his wife doesn’t say the same. Can I come in?”

She gestured. “Yes, of course. Sorry.”

Roxie strolled across the office, absorbing the features. “No Dyce glass?”

“Dyce?”

“I’ll make a call.” Rox descended into the guest chair opposite with cool elegance. “Not a bad setup.”

“We’re still settling in.” Pulling her chair into the desk until it dug into her torso, she laid her hands on the tabletop. “I can’t express how much we thank you. I know JD would—that footage, it came from you.”

“From a guy who watches my stream.” Roxie’s head bobbed. “He monitors birds or squirrels or something. It didn’t occur to him to check the historical feed until the appeal.”

“Your appeal.”

Modest in her smile, Roxie shook her head. “This was not me. This was JD and Stone, his people, and Rourke wrote the program. Don’t worry about him, Roux will thank him for you… maybe. She might punish him instead, who can tell with those two?”

The woman was too kind, humility was unexpected. Roxanna Kyst was more than the cover she projected to the world.

“Can I ask you something personal?”

“My favorite kind of something. Go on.”

“Zairn Lomond…”

“I think he’s seeing someone, but I can ask.”

That quick wit endeared her. “Right,” she said with a quiet laugh and picked up a pen to distract her fingers. “It’s none of my business, but…”

“No, we don’t swing.” Shock took her eyes to Roxie’s smile. “I’ll have to keep guessing if you don’t spit it out.”

“Do people actually ask you things like that?”

“You’d be amazed how brazen people can be. To most of them, we’re not real people. Gives them the impression they’re entitled to us.”

“And that doesn’t upset you?”

“You know what would upset me? If Zairn asked that question. If he asked it seriously, anyway. In our world, our life, there are strong boundaries. We know what’s important: each other, our friends, the people we care about.

Everything else is bullshit; it’s theater.

Fun that allows us to prioritize our true reality.

What we are doesn’t belong to them, and who cares if they think it does?

I get to fall asleep in my man’s arms any time I want.

I can pick up the phone and pour my grief or stress into him without question or judgment.

We’re one unit. Completely open, completely safe.

Your guy has to be your safe space. JD seems decent, like he’s in it with you. ”

“We’re not together.”

“I heard that about you. What did you want to ask?”

“You made a comment about, a joke, about 3D kids.”

Roxie cringed. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

“No, it’s fine, I… Have you talked about it? With Zairn? Having kids?”

“Yeah. We have embryos on ice, just in case. We’ll get around to it sometime.”

“Doesn’t it scare you? Until recently, people didn’t know JD was the twins’ father. As soon as we go public…”

“His ex would’ve been crazy, public or not. But I get it, you’re worried his wealth makes targets of your kids. It does. I won’t lie to you.”

She swallowed. “How do I minimize that threat? Counter the massive imbalance between what he is and what we are.”

Another smile from Roxie. “Don’t look now, but I think ‘we’ is growing to include ‘he,’ or the other way around.

There’s no imbalance when he’s standing on your side.

I don’t know Dawes, at all, but I saw it this weekend.

The way he looks at you, how he was with Kye.

Jamison Dawes knows where his family is.

In good times, in bad. What you faced this weekend is probably the worst thing any parent can go through.

” Short of a negative outcome, but she wouldn’t give that thought a platform.

“You did it together. Didn’t you notice? ”

“I wouldn’t have got through it without him. He saved our little girl.”

“And jeopardized her too.”

“No,” she said, unwilling to accept that. “It’s not his fault Gabby is insane. We can’t be held responsible for someone’s actions just because we used to sleep with them. Would you blame Zairn for the same?”

“Oh, please, we could write a book about that. A whole series on his exes.” She sighed. “I’m crazier than most of them.” The blonde pointed a straight finger. “Most.” She faltered to a grin and whispered, “but I have it on good authority that he loves my crazy too.”

“Sounds like quite the guy.”

“Yours is too…” Yeah, was that enough or was she being selfish in justifying her desire?

“What do you say to going for a drink tonight? No Crimson clubs in Seattle, but we own a bunch of bars and other clubs. We can tear up the town … I’ve never been arrested in Washington.

Not yet anyway. Commits misdemeanors, will travel. Z will be thrilled.”

Whatever that meant. “Uh… Thanks for the offer, but I have two little ones to go home with.”

“Right. Sure, sure. We can stay indoors; I can have fun anywhere. You got music?”

“Music? Yeah, we have music. Brenna’s coming over tonight.”

“Girls’ night! I want to get to know her better too.”

“Not much fun, keeping things clean for the little ones. They could get up any time and Kye—”

“He can hang with us,” Roxie said. “We’ll give him the inside track on the opposite sex before he hits his teens.

” God, what a thought. “You don’t want to hang out, that’s fine.

But we’re happy to include the kids. Lilya’s pregnant, so we take it easy for her.

We’re almost all guy-less up here, why shouldn’t we celebrate the sisterhood? ”

With the women who’d saved her little girl.

“Okay,” she said. “If you’re ready for two inquisitive five-year-olds.”

“Jane will melt, I swear to you. They’ll have a lot more aunts before the night is over.”

“Jane? Collier?”

“She lives to care for people. Don’t be surprised if she cries.”

“Why would she cry?”

“She’s… too pretty. We’ll bring the party if you bring the babies.” Roxie showed both palms. “No liquor, no strippers.”

She laughed. “Are those Zairn’s rules?”

“God, no, he’d never put restrictions on me. And I’d never put them on him. We respect each other enough to know the boundaries. Boundaries, boundaries.” Roxie sucked in a belabored breath. “Listen to me, his words in my mouth. Don’t ever tell him I said that.”

Not much chance of her running into Zairn Lomond any time soon. She could see the appeal of Roxie though, how she won friends and brought a light, joyous air to the room. Not something she’d processed the day they met.

***

“It’s about the man, genius!” Roxie declared, seated on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. “Pick the man. Everything else gets worked out… Toria told me that.”

“You put up all kinds of barriers for Zairn, but he was there, waiting,” Jane said. “When you were ready.”

Jane, Roxie, and Lilya brought party food and decorations perfect for the kids.

The little ones ate it up and loved dancing around the room with their new friends.

Still, unfortunately, time marched on. As much as the twins would love to stay up all night, responsibilities waited for them tomorrow.

Brenna nabbed bedtime duty and was currently watching a movie with them in Kye’s bed.

The music was turned down, and the group had become more reflective, giving her a chance to get to know the women better.

“Z was in Tokyo when I was ready,” Roxie said, “or mid-air, whatever time zone. My man, the mind reader.” She sighed. “I rag on it, but I love it.”

“You love him,” Jane said. “The wedding will be spectacular! I can’t wait!”

“It better be. Most expensive favor I ever gave.”

A favor? What was the favor?

“I’m planning it,” Jane said, answering her unasked question. “No budget, no boundaries, just the perfect wedding.”

The front door opened and their, temporarily absent, last guest came rushing in: Roux Radley.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I’m back.” They all gestured to quiet her and she cringed. “Sorry.”

Kicking off her shoes, the woman came to the living room and dropped onto the couch.

“That was quick,” Jane said.

“Yeah,” Roxie agreed. “How did you get all the way to the apartment and—”

“We did it in the car downstairs.”

“He drove over here?”

Like it was no big deal, Roux shrugged and picked up her virgin wine from the end table. “He doesn’t do well by himself.”

“Rourke loves solitude, he hates people, though not as much as K2. You’re his exception, Roux, honey.”

“I’m not exactly another person in his view, in our view, it’s… complicated.”

“Never seen anything simpler.”

“You relegated him to the apartment,” Lilya said. “Why aren’t you staying in the Grand with us?”

A sly, smug smile lit the woman’s lips. “We have memories in that apartment… And I like to watch him take out the trash.”

“Make him work for it, huh? It’s because he’s the only guy, isn’t it? We’re intimidating, I get it. With Z, Knox, and Zach in California, JD too, Rourke can’t handle all of us.”

“He can’t handle Roux when they have an audience,” Lilya said. “Just standing next to the two of you feels X-rated.”

“Xavien,” she said. “Xavien Rourke, that’s who you’re with?”

“Yep. Begrudgingly. He’s rich and hung, that’s really what it is. And he buys wine, lots of liquor actually, keeps me lubed so I don’t wander off. I don’t know how I put up with him.”

She laughed. “Your secret’s safe.”

Brazen, Roux blinked. “Oh no, he knows it. I can’t stand him; the feeling is mutual. If it wasn’t for the sex, we’d murder each other.”

“Or yourselves to prove a point.”

Uh, okay. That was a setup probably impossible to figure out. Roux disappeared into her phone, so she moved onto the other women.

She pointed at Lilya. “Zachary Kintyre.” And got a nod, so switched to Roxie. “We know you’re with Zairn.” Everyone nodded along. “You know who I’d be fascinated to learn more about?”

When she landed her attention on Jane, the others followed.