Page 237 of Things We Left Behind

I opened the front door and grinned. “Why don’t you two talk on the porch? And remember, hear him out. If a guy is offering you everything you’ve dreamed of, maybe you owe it to yourself to find out if he’s serious.”

“Bite me, Sloane,” my sister snarled.

41

The Butter Knife Defense

Lucian

Why am I finding this folded up under a tote of Christmas decorations in the second spare room?” Sloane demanded, bursting into the umbrella-­wallpapered guest room I’d commandeered as my office, waving her ex’s sweatshirt like it was a flag.

I turned away from the command center of screens my IT team had set up for me and gave her my full attention. “Because I was smart enough not to actually throw it out,” I said mildly.

It had been five days of us sharing a house, a bed, like an actual couple, and Sloane was showing no signs of cracking. The only reason she let me sleep in bed with her was because she was so exhausted at the end of each day that she fell asleep midargument.

Those long nights were both the sweetest reward and a newfound torture since she’d made it clear that sex was off the table. But I’d gone most of my life without knowing what her body felt like under mine. I could tough it out until I changed her mind.

Sooner or later, she had to acknowledge that those feelings she’d had for me hadn’t just vanished into thin air.

Unfortunately, that day was not today. She’d thrown a toasted bagel half at my head in the kitchen this morning.

It didn’t matter. I had infinite patience. I would simply wait her out until she accepted the fact that we were together.

“You don’t get to have a problem with me keeping an ex-­boyfriend’s sweatshirt, Lucifer,” Sloane said, stomping into the room. She was barefoot and wearing holey jeans and a tight long-­sleeve T-­shirt the color of raspberries. All that blond hair was piled on her head in a messy knot. She’d gone with the purple-­framed glasses today and a bold red lipstick. Every morning, I couldn’t wait to see what lipstick she chose. The bolder the color, the feistier her attitude.

I fucking loved being this close to her. At the same time, I hated the sliver of distance she managed to wedge between us. I wanted it all. I wanted all of her, and I wasn’t going to back down until she found me worthy enough to have her.

“I don’t like the idea of my girlfriend, the woman I’m going to marry and have a family with, cuddling up in an old boyfriend’s disgusting sweat rag and reminiscing about the good old days.”

“You don’t want to marry anyone, and you’ve made it abundantly clearwith a vasectomythat you don’t want kids. So why don’t you save us both a lot of time andget out of my house!”

She ended on a shrill screech that had Meow Meow abandoning the heated cat bed I’d installed in the window.

“And another thing,” Sloane said, pointing at the retreating feline. “Stop making friends with my cat!”

“I take it your meeting with the board didn’t go well,” I guessed.

She’d spent an hour and a half locked in the dining room with the entire library board for an emergency planning session.

Sloane flounced over to the periwinkle wingback chair next to my desk and sat, hugging a throw pillow to her chest. “They actually voted not to open a temporary location and focus ongetting the building back in usable shape. Can you believe that?”

“I don’t think you want me to answer that,” I said diplomatically.

“I can’t just sit around doing nothing for three to fourmonths.”

“Fine. Pack a bag.”

“Uh. Excuse me?”

I stood and began loading accessories into a sleek leather bag. “I have business in the District. I’m not leaving you alone here. So you’re coming with me.”

She took a deep breath and prepared to launch another argument. “I can’t just pick up and leave—­”

“Your board voted. They’re not going to let you proceed with anything right now, and I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of staring at the same wallpapered walls. We’ll go to DC. I’ll set you up with a workspace in my office. You come up with the services that are a priority, and then we’ll figure out how to continue offering them in the interim. Then when we come back, you can present the solutions to the board.”

Those green eyes behind the lenses of her glasses blinked once in surprise. “You’d do that for me?”

I crossed to her and put my hands on the arms of the chair. “I’d do anything for you.”