Page 28 of Risk (Gods #3)

“ I ’m sorry.” It’s the next morning, and Kaden is at my door with two cups of coffee in his hands and a contrite look on his face. “I steamrolled you last night, and I shouldn’t have.”

I step back, allowing him to come in, and shut the door behind him.

He holds out one of the coffees for me to take.

“Decaf?” I check.

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.” I blow on the steam rising from the sippy hole before taking a sip and then walk over and take a seat on the sofa.

Kaden sits down beside me. “I handled last night badly,” he says.

“I don’t think I’m wrong in what I said—” He holds a hand up, stopping me when he sees I’m about to interject.

“I do think it would be the best for all of us if you moved into my apartment. But I shouldn’t have come at you the way I did—telling you it was happening instead of putting my suggestion forward.

It was stupid and shitty of me, and I apologize. ”

I chew over his words for a moment before putting him out of his misery. “Thank you for apologizing.”

“So…” He drags a hand through his hair, mussing it up. “Can we have a conversation about living arrangements and what the future will look like for the four of us? Or is it too soon after me acting like a caveman?”

The four of us.

I like the sound of that way more than I should.

Even though he pissed me off with what he said, I did spend the rest of last night thinking it over, and logistically, it does make sense for me and the twins to live with him.

There’s barely enough room for me in this studio, let alone two babies, and financially, I’m not in a position to rent another place—a place outside of university housing that would fit the three of us would be well out of my price range.

Babies might be small to start with, but the amount of stuff they need in the beginning is staggering, and I’m going to need double the number of things.

Just the thought of the cost of what they’ll need makes me start to sweat.

Putting my coffee down, I shift in my seat so I’m facing him. “We can have a conversation about it.”

He lets out a breath. “Good. Okay. So, do you want to start, or should I?”

“You.” I want to hear how he’s going to put this—hopefully a lot better than he did last night.

“Right.” He holds his coffee in his hands, between his spread thighs, as he looks over at me.

“Okay, so my thoughts are that, for practical purposes, you moving into my apartment would be good because I can be there for you to help with anything you need throughout the pregnancy, and when the twins are born, it will save us from shuffling them between our places. Also, you moving into my place will mean the twins will have their own room, and so will you, obviously.”

“Obviously.”

There’s a beat of silence, and then he says, “So, what do you think?”

I have a sip of my coffee, just to drag it out. “I think you make good points. But I have concerns.”

“Tell me them, so we can iron them out.”

“Well, it’s not my place. It’s yours, so you could kick me out.”

“That would never happen.”

“It could. You might find you don’t like living with me. That we’re incompatible as…roommates.”

His brows go up at that. “I don’t see compatibility being a problem with us.”

My cheeks warm at his words. “Living with someone is a lot different from having sex with them once.”

“I’m aware. But we’re both adults, and we’d make it work for the sake of our children.”

“Okay. But I’d still feel…” I search around for the word. “Unsafe.”

He frowns at that. “You wouldn’t feel safe living with me?”

“I’d feel safe living with you. I wouldn’t feel safe living in a place where my name isn’t on the rental agreement, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to afford half of whatever the rent is that you pay at your place.”

“I own my apartment.”

Of course he does.

“Well, that’s worse.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. It just is.”

He chuckles, and it’s deep, and I feel it tug at my lower belly.

“Look, if it makes you feel better, I can have my lawyer draw up an agreement to make you feel safer.”

“How much rent would you want me to pay?”

“Nothing.”

“Kaden, I’m paying my way. If you want me to live with you, then that’s how it has to be.”

He lets out a sigh. “Fine. Just pay me whatever rent you pay for this place.”

“It’s not much.”

“I don’t care. I’d be happy with nothing, remember?”

“Okay. So, if I live with you, I’ll pay rent. What about utilities and food?”

He looks like he’s getting frustrated with me—I can see it in the tightening of his jaw—but if he wants me to live with him, then it’s going to be on my terms.

“What do you pay for utilities here?”

“It’s all included in the cost of my rent.”

“Then, that’s the same at my place.”

Guess I can’t argue with him on that, but I’ll find ways to give him a little extra.

“What about groceries? Should we just buy our own?”

His jaw moves. “Whatever works best for you.”

I don’t know why he’s getting annoyed. Just because we’re having twins together doesn’t mean he has to pay for me. His children, yes, but he owes me nothing.

“What are your other concerns?”

Should I bring up the dating other people thing, like I did last night?

Truthfully, I only did it to poke the bear.

He’d pissed me off, and I had wanted to do the same to him.

But I’m not a child. Hell, I’m a soon-to-be mother of two children.

Acting like the adult I am is the only thing to do right now.

So, no mentioning of dating other people.

Or what he said about wanting me.

Nope. Definitely not discussing that right now. Or ever.

Do I have any other concerns about living with him?

“No other concerns I can think of right now. Just…”

I worry my bottom lip with my teeth. I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel his large, warm hand cover my knee. He gives it a comforting squeeze before letting go.

I feel the loss of his touch more than I should.

“I’m just nervous it won’t work out—us living together—and then I’ll be left without a place to live.”

“I think we’ll be just fine. But for some reason, if us living together doesn’t work, I won’t leave you high and dry. The agreement will give you a measure of security, and you have my word too. If things go south, I’ll make sure you and the babies have a place to live. I promise.”

I stare into his eyes and feel myself starting to get lost in them. Blinking away, I take a deep breath, feeling like I’m about to step off a ledge into darkness, with no safety harness.

“Okay.” I exhale the breath I took.

“Okay?” The slight confusion in his tone makes me look back at him.

“Okay, I’ll move in with you.”

I’ve seen Kaden smile before, but never like the blinding smile he’s giving me right now. It makes him look even more beautiful than normal. And it makes my heart beat faster in my chest.

“You won’t regret it,” he says, grabbing hold of my hand and squeezing it.

And I just hope he’s right. That I’m making the right choice for myself, him, and our babies.