“We may take you up on that,” I answered.
“Hey everybody,” Evan began. “I’m going to round us up some decent coffee. Text me or Sylvie what you want, and we’ll get it for you.”
A round of thanks went up as our phones beeped.
“I’ll go with you,” I said.
“I was planning on it.” He took my hand and off we went.
“This is nice of you.”
He shrugged as though it was nothing. “It was selfish. I needed coffee and that hospital crap won’t do.”
“I’m glad you wanted to go because I already need a break. Plus I’m such a coffee whore too and I agree with you on hospital coffee. I’ve had to limit myself to only a few cups a day since the pregnancy. And decaf is just bleh.” I made a nasty face.
“I didn’t realize you’re such a coffee fanatic.”
I cast him a sidelong glance. “Seriously? Well, I suppose we haven’t spent enough time together for you to notice I’m a fully charged girl.”
His penetrating gaze sent serious shivers racing across my skin, leaving a path of goosebumps behind. “You don’t think I’ve noticed that? I know exactly how charged you get, Sylvie.”
“I was talking about coffee, Evan.” I playfully smacked his arm.
“My mistake.” His expression told me he didn’t make any mistake at all. He knew exactly what he was doing.
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Me? You’re the one who jumped on my back at your best friend’s wedding reception and yelled giddy-up.” His laugh echoed throughout the car.
“Okay, cowboy, I get it.”
“You sure did. That night anyway. Begged for it as I recall.”
Jesus, I wanted to bury my face in the seat, only it wasn’t possible because there was a gigantic console in the center.
And he didn’t stop. “That reminds me. I distinctly remember you bringing up something highly unusual.”
He was not going to go there, was he?
“Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“You know exactly what.” My face most likely was burning as bright as a Christmas light.
“The clit flogging?” He laughed.
“Yes.”
“I’m very curious about something. Did your dirty duke do that to his duchess?”
“No, and you should know because you read the dirtiest part.”
“Then where did you come up with that?”
“From the Mischievous Marquis.”
His jaw dropped open. “How many of those books like that are there?”
“There’s an entire series of about twelve of them.”
“Well, damn. Are they all BDSM?”
“Yep.” My eyes danced with humor.
“Hmm. Set the stage for me.”
“You really want me to do this? We’re pulling into the coffee shop.”
He put the car in park and leaned over. “I would love to hear it. Tell me.”
I wondered if he planned to use this on me and if so, I was all in. Evan tying me up and doing some of those dirty things to me had me clenching my thighs together.
“They’re very similar to what you already read.”
“I don’t care. Set the scene up, please.”
“Sure. Usually the woman is a virgin, innocent and unsuspecting. The man is experienced and likes things a bit rough. So he binds her wrists and ankles to the bedposts and then blindfolds her. She’s obviously frightened because this is her first time, but he tells her he’s not going to hurt her. He teases her until she’s moaning and begging for more. Then he releases her ties and has her get on her hands and knees. When he first spanks her, she cries, but soon she’s into it. It’s super hot because each time he spanks her, it comes with something special.”
“Something special? What do you mean?”
“I mean his fingers do things to her too.”
“Ahh, I get it.”
“Oh, and her bright pink ass totally fires him up.”
“I can see why.” Evan’s voice was strained.
“I’m sure you can.”
“Your pink ass hiked up in the air is a killer. Don’t tell me anymore. Let’s go get the coffee.”
“That’s it? You don’t want to hear what else he does?”
“Not now. Later.”
He jumped out of the car like his ass was the one that got spanked. I giggled to myself. By the time he got around to opening my door, the bulge in his pants was obvious.
“Um, Evan, you … you’re a little…” My finger wagged up and down, pointing to his bulge.
“I know. Why do you think I couldn’t listen to anymore?”
I snorted. “Maybe you should pull your T-shirt out.”
“Good idea.” He tugged it out of his pants, and it helped. Too bad his jacket wasn’t just a bit longer.
“That’s better.”
We went in, placed the order, and it took a while because everyone wanted something different. That was fine because it was worth it in the end. An extra-large latte was much better than plain old coffee any day.
When we made it back to the hospital, Piper told us Dad had been out.
“What did he say?” I asked in a panic.
“Only that Mom would be going into surgery in about thirty minutes. As soon as she was through, he or Gray would let us know.”
“Isn’t Dad going to sit with us?”
Aunt Paige answered. “No, apparently Gray is taking him to the doctor’s lounge and they’re going to wait in there. Your father is extremely upset and Gray thought it best that way.”
“Oh.” I was disappointed that Dad didn’t want to wait it out with us, but I also understood. He was the kind of man who wouldn’t want to burden anyone.
It turned out to be the longest wait I could remember. Mom came through the procedure fine, and they did frozen sections of the biopsy, confirming it was malignant, but they weren’t certain of the type. We would find out in forty-eight to seventy-two hours. Mom would be moved to a room and she was currently in recovery.
“Can we see her?” We all wanted to know.
“It’s best to wait until they move her to a room because she’s heavily sedated,” her doctor answered.
“How long will that be?” I asked him.
“At least three hours. Why don’t you all go home and take a break? Come back this afternoon around two.”
It sounded great, so we left the hospital with plans to get something to eat. Aunt Paige invited us to lunch at their place, but we declined.
“Why don’t you join us?”
We all went to a local eatery and had just ordered when my phone rang. It was Dad. “Hey Dad. We’re all at a restaurant. Do you want us to bring you something?”
“Sylvie. They had to take your mother back to surgery because she started bleeding in her brain. I’m not sure what’s happening.”
“We’re on the way.”
Forty-Six
Evan
After Sylvie relayed the terrible news, we rushed back to the hospital to be with her dad, who was waiting for us. As it turned out, the bleeding wasn’t serious. It was only where they had taken the tissue samples, thank God.
The surgeon relayed the news as John fell back onto the chair with relief.
“She’s back in recovery and doing well,” the surgeon said.
“What are the chances this will happen again?” Sylvie asked.
“I can’t say. But it’s not uncommon. That’s why we monitor the patient very closely. If she goes the next twelve hours without, she’ll probably be okay. The next twenty-four, she’ll be good to go home.”
“Thank you,” John said.
That meant twelve hours of pure paranoia. I remembered them mentioning that before the surgery but I didn’t really think it would be an issue. Guess I was wrong.
“Doctor, do you have our cell numbers?” Sylvie asked.
“I have Mr. West’s and of course I have Grey’s.”
>
“Good. We’re going to get my dad out of here for an hour or two,” she said.
“That’s probably the best thing you can do right now.”
John was still sitting, and Sylvie took one arm while Rick took the other. “Come on, Dad, let’s get out of here.”
“I can’t.”
“You don’t have a choice.” Sylvie tugged on him.
He grimaced.
“Really, John, it’ll do you some good. You look like shit.” Rick was right. He looked horrible.
“Sorry, Dad, Uncle Rick’s right,” Piper said, then hugged him. “You won’t be any good to Mom if you don’t take care of yourself.”
Reynolds added, “Yeah, Dad, and we don’t want to have to take care of both of you.”
John held up both hands. “Okay. You win.”
They escorted him out and we went back to the restaurant we’d abandoned.
Lunch was great. The restaurant gave us the same table, adding a seat. They were very accommodating. John even managed to eat. Once he started, he gobbled up everything. We were only gone an hour, but it worked wonders for him. He seemed re-energized.
Cindy was fine and they transferred her to a room, where Sylvie’s dad had a recliner he could sleep in. She was released the next day.
Sylvie and I didn’t go to the hospital because her dad said it might confuse Cindy and he could handle her. He would call us when he had her settled. We still had the issue of telling everyone about the pregnancy.
We were sipping coffee, watching TV, aka the financial channel, when my phone rang. I quickly jotted down on a piece of paper that it was Marti, the realtor. After a few minutes, I hung up.
“She has the inspection set for today. Actually in about an hour. She said it should be ready by tomorrow. She also wanted to know if we want a home warranty. I said yes, even though the house is only three years old.”
“With the way things are made today, you never know.”
“That’s what I was thinking. The house has a lot of high-end appliances, and that roof is enormous. If it gets a leak or something, we’re covered.”
Sylvie chewed on her lip.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you sure about this? It’s such an expensive house.” She twisted her hands.
“Is that all you’re concerned about?”
“Mostly.”
“What else?”
“You saw the house I grew up in. It wasn’t small. But that place is gigantic. I’m worried I’ll never be able to keep it up.”
I wanted to laugh but didn’t want to hurt her. Instead I took her hands in mine.
“Sylvie, honey, we’re going to hire a housekeeper and someone to cook for us. I would never put that on you. That house is way too enormous for you to handle, plus a full-time job, and a baby. You’ll have a nanny at your disposal too. What other concerns do you have?”
“What if I can’t find you in that monstrosity?”
Now I did laugh. “You can text me?” She pulled a hand out of my grasp and punched me. “Ow, why’d you do that?”
“First, that didn’t really hurt. I’ve seen your hunky muscles. Second, I don’t want to have to text my husband to find him in our own home.”
“Your husband?” I glowed inside.
“Did I say that?” The crests of her cheeks grew pink.
I cupped her cheeks and kissed her. “Yes, you called me your husband.”
“That was a huge slip.”
“And I have hunky muscles, huh?”
“Shut up, or I’ll punch you again.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, you big goofball.” She grinned at me.
“Marry me.”
“Of course I’ll marry you, but not right now.”
“Fine, as long as I know you’ll be Mrs. Evan Thomas one day, I’m happy.” I kissed her again.
“Evan, if this stuff with Mom wasn’t happening, things would be perfect.” A stress line formed on her brow.
“Babe, I’m sorry and I wish I could make it disappear.”
She caved into my chest. In a muffled voice, she said, “Me too.”
“Why don’t we get out of here? Do something fun. You have the next couple of days off, we should go shopping or to a movie.”
“Maybe.”
“Nope. Let’s shower and go.”
That’s what we did. We drove into the city and I took her shopping. We had an assistant help us, bringing in all sorts of items that she’d be able to wear well into her pregnancy and after the baby came. Then we had an early dinner and drove back home.
Her dad called with the news that Cindy’s release went well and she was home and settled in. He didn’t want any visitors because she was resting comfortably.
“That’s a relief,” Sylvie said.
“I’m glad it went well.”
“Agreed.”
She was excited about her new clothes too. “I love everything you bought me. The pull up jeans in particular. It’s weird how tight mine are since I’m not quite eight weeks yet.”
“Maybe it’s because this is your first. Anytime you need a thing, just ask. And by the way, how much do you owe on your mortgage? I want to pay it off.”
Her mouth tightened into a stubborn line. I had seen that angry look before and I’d just fucked up and crossed the line. I was in the land of pissed off Sylvie.
“Absolutely not.”
Forty-Seven
Sylvie
Pay off my mortgage? What the hell! “Evan, I am not a charity case.”
“I have no intentions of treating you like one.”
Anger choked me. “Then why are you doing it?”
His hands flew in the air wildly. “Christ, I thought I was doing something nice.”
“Nice is taking me shopping. Paying off my mortgage is telling me I’m not capable of it and need you to do it, hence, charity.”
“Jesus, Sylvie, you took it the wrong way. All I wanted to do was make you debt free.”
Now I quivered with indignation. The fact he thought I couldn’t do that on my own sent me into the land of downright-pissed-off. “And why can’t I pay my own mortgage off?”
“You can. You’re fully able to. I just thought—”
“Let me stop you right there. Before you say these kinds of things, please run them by me first. What about—Hey, Sylvie, would you like for me to pay off your mortgage?”
He aimed his gaze at me rubbing his chin. Then his shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I didn’t ask, did I?”
“No, you did not.”
“Shit, I apologize. It’s my take charge demeanor coming through.”
Annoyance still hovered on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it down. I thought about what I wanted to say before I spoke. “Evan, I get that you run an enormous business. My mind can’t even comprehend what you do. I don’t understand what managing a hedge fund really means. I realize you have a lot of employees and own multiple companies, which makes you naturally dominant, but you have to drop that behavior with me.”
He took my hands in his. “You’re absolutely right. I’m controlling, but we’re a team and as a team, we work together. This is a learning process for me. When it comes to money, it’s my nature to go into overdrive. I’ll do my best, Sylvie, even though I’ll make mistakes. It’s the money man in me.”
“Okay, money man. I’m going to pay off my own mortgage unless I say otherwise. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
We ended up watching a movie and then going to bed. I was still tired from this pregnancy, that I fell asleep quickly.
The next day turned into an amalgamation of highs and lows. I woke up to the smell of bacon cooking and a happy face. When I shuffled into the kitchen wearing my favorite bunny slippers and cozy robe, Evan handed me a mug of coffee.
“I took the liberty of putting in some sugar and cream for you.” He topped it off with a kiss.
“Want a piece? It’s done. Oh, and how many eggs?”
“Two, please.”
He popped some bread into the toaster and scrambled the eggs as I reached for a piece of bacon.
“Yum. Crisp, just the way I like it. I didn’t even hear you get up.”
“Yeah, you were snoring like an old hound.”
The piece of bacon stopped about six inches from my mouth. “Say what?”
“You were adorable, though.”
“An old hound?”
“Sawing logs, babe. What can I say?”
“I don’t snore.” No way did I snore. Nope. Not me.
“Okay, whatever you say.” He took the toast out of the toaster, buttered it, plated it along with the eggs and set everything on the table. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
We both sat and scarfed down breakfast. “This was delicious. I didn’t know you could cook.”
“I’m pretty good at breakfast but suck at everything else.”
“Can you make pancakes?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I’m giving you a heads up then. They’re my favorite and I’ll be ordering them a lot during this pregnancy, which, by the way, I think that nausea thing has passed.”
“So soon? I thought it was supposed to last for twelve weeks or so.” He rose and collected the dirty dishes.
“Me too, but maybe I’m lucky.” I got up to help.
“I hope so.”
We were cleaning up the kitchen when his phone went off. He dried his hands and answered it.
“Hi, Marti.” Pause. “That’s great. Okay, we’ll see you there.”
“Babe, that was the realtor. The inspection’s back already. She wants to meet us at her office to go through it. She said there was nothing outstanding.”
“That’s really good, right?”
“Yeah. I told her we could meet in an hour. Is that okay?”
“Yeah. I need to shower and so do you.”
We got ready and headed over to her office. She had the inspection in hand with a smile.
“The only things he found were very minor. The air filters on the HVAC units needed changing and the dryer vent needed cleaning. Whoever did their laundry wasn’t good at cleaning the lint filter, apparently.”
One Indecent Night Page 25
