Page 74 of Protected Promise

“I’m fine,” I assured her.

Tobi sighed, but she did leave.

“What am I missing?” Kaitlyn asked when she was gone.

“It’s fine,” I said. “Nothing to worry about.”

“You’re really not going to tell me?”

I sighed. She’d opened up to me about everything. I hated talking about it, but I knew I had to.

“I haven’t been in the master suite since my parents died. I just can’t bring myself to go in there. I completely changed the office and it’s been fine, but I continue to sleep in my childhood twin bed in the room I grew up in just to avoid theirs. It’s okay though. I can do this.”

“Do what?”

“Sleep in there,” I said softly.

“Why? If it bothers you that much, we’ll just stay in your room.”

“Did you miss the twin bed part?”

She shrugged, as if it were no big deal that I was an Alpha sleeping in a twin bed when there was a perfectly good king bed right down the hall.

“Twins are better to cuddle in,” she said, but she seemed to be struggling to find that positive spin on it.

I laughed. “You say that now, but wait till you see my Star Wars sheets.”

“No way. Are you serious? How did I miss that?”

I groaned. “You already knew?”

“Suspected. You didn’t say I couldn’t snoop around. There’s a couple inches of dust in the master. It will need to be cleaned if we ever plan to use that room. I figured the kid room was yours.”

I was a little embarrassed by that fact, but only a little. It was a perfectly good room and I only ever slept in there.

“I completely missed the Star Wars sheets though.”

She got up to make a run for it, but I was faster. I grabbed her by the waist and picked her up as she squealed.

“There’s a guest room with a queen bed we can use.”

“No way. I’m sleeping in the Star Wars sheets tonight.”

I knew I was going to regret mentioning that the moment it slipped from my lips.

I tried dragging her down the hall to the guest room, which probably also needed a good dusting, but not as badly as the master suite. Kaitlyn was slippery though and managed to get loose and make a run for it.

“Damn, you’re fast.”

She giggled as she threw open the door and leapt for the bed before I could stop her. She ripped back my comforter and froze.

“Oh my gosh. You weren’t kidding! These are like from the 70’s too.”

I rolled my eyes. “They were my dad’s. Are you happy now?”

“Very.” She got up and removed all of her clothes as I watched from the door and then she slid between my sheets, shielding my view. She sighed. “I always did love Star Wars.”

I shook my head and removed my clothes before joining her.