Page 34 of Rogue’s Path (Sweet Chaos #1)

Rogue

The farther we get from the jewelry store, the more somber Peaches’ face gets. She’s barely spoken a word, and there’s no point in pushing her right now. Whatever is going on in that mind of hers isn’t good.

Did she see something that triggered her to think about the stalker? There haven’t been any updates yet, but my brothers are working hard to follow any leads they can find.

I hate this. I hate not knowing what’s hurting her. I hate not being able to fix everything for her.

Peaches’ face doesn’t change when I lift her into the truck. There’s no flirty thank you. Or any soft sighs. There’s no tempting grin. She doesn’t hold on to me until I want to break the promise I made to her. It’s like I put a zombie in my car.

This has got to end, or I’m going to go find someone to help her.

After closing her door, I run around the front of the truck and hop into my seat.

Quiet little sobs paralyze me for a minute.

What did I miss? What could have possibly done this to her?

The jewelry store had flowers sprinkled around, but I made sure there weren’t any red roses before we stepped in.

Those little whimpers of pain destroy me. I lift her up and settle her in my arms. “What’s wrong? Tell me what hurt you?”

Tear-filled eyes lift up until they’re level with mine. “No one hurt me.”

I brush away a tear and hold it up for her to see. “What’s making you cry?”

“You are.”

What? What did I do? She seemed to be enjoying lunch and even picking out the jewelry. She even insisted on wearing them out.

Her hand lands on my face, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Thank you. Do you know I can’t remember the last real gift that I’ve gotten that hasn’t been examined and discussed to ensure it was appropriate?

When I said they split everything, that included gifts.

From the day they got divorced, every gift was always from both of them.

They each bought half of my school clothes, half of my allowance, and college tuition.

” She takes a slow, deep breath. “You just walked in and bought me something because you wanted to. You didn’t care that it was an absolutely ridiculous amount of money to spend on someone you barely knew.

You didn’t even blink. Why didn’t you blink? ”

“Because I haven’t had anyone to spoil in forever. And I’ve never had someone that I want to make happy as badly as I want to make you.”

Her fingers dig into my beard until they make contact with my skin, gently pulling me closer to her. “Thank you.”

This is it. She’s going to kiss me. It’s been far too long already. “You’re welcome.”

“Do you think love can be split in half?”

That is such a painful question to answer because I know she didn’t get enough of it. “No. Real love doesn’t get split in half. It doubles.”

“That’s what I always thought it should do, but it never did.”

Her parents deserve a good throttling. “If we ever have kids, our love would double regardless of what might happen between us.” Havoc has so destroyed my mind with all his kid talk.

“We won’t let it happen.” Peaches snuggles into my chest.

No, we won’t.

***

“This isn’t a motel,” Peaches states the obvious when we pull in for the night to rest.

“It’s definitely a hotel.” One with all the bells and whistles in case she needed a massage or something after sitting still for so long. I’d be happy to offer her one, but I doubt Peaches is ready for that physical of a relationship yet.

“Thank you.” She grins at me. “I have a weakness for nice hotel rooms.”

“There are a few places we won’t have an option of anything but a motel.” I don’t want her to think we’ll be able to find this nice of a place for all our stops.

“I can deal. Why don’t we call for room service and watch a movie in bed?” Peaches practically claps her hands with glee.

“You don’t have to ask me twice to get in bed with you.” Then I wait to see how she reacts. Most women would blush. My Peaches doesn’t.

She gives me a flirty smile and says, “You wish.”

“Wishes come true all the time.” I had to get the last word in.

Another thing I love is that she’s carried everything she needs for weeks on end in two suitcases. There’s nothing high-maintenance about her.

We walk right up to the check-in desk without waiting.

“Our reservation is under Chaos Custom Rides. They should be connected suites.”

“I’ve found your reservation. We’ll need a credit card to secure the rooms.”

Before I can get my credit card out, Peaches is handing hers to the Front Desk Clerk. “Peaches, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Paying. That’s part of the terms of our contract.”

That woman makes my head throb. “This trip is to deliver a bike for my company.”

“Tell me you would be staying in a suite if you weren’t with me.”

I can’t. It’s doubtful I would have stayed anywhere. The most I would have done is crash at a rest stop for a few hours.

“Charge it, please.”

This isn’t the end of the conversation.

As soon as we get into her room, I turn to her. “What was that all about?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t play games with me. You let me buy you expensive jewelry without a word of complaint. Then all of a sudden you’re insisting on paying for my room.”

“Those were two totally different things.”

“How exactly were they different, ma’am?”

“Don’t even.” She walks up and pokes my jacket.

“You got me the jewelry because you plan on dating me. I let the price go because the store owner was such a jerk. He needed to know that we were unified. I didn’t want to undermine you.

These rooms are all business. And I think that’s the same reason you didn’t say anything else in front of the clerk.

Which is another thing we have in common. ”

How did she take all the irritation out of this would-be fight just like that?

“I really like all the things we have in common. What do you want to eat?”