He frowns, still watching me, but doesn’t push any further.
4
Rafe
As soon as we can feasibly get away after dinner, I haul Laurel to our bedroom. It’s the same room we stayed in over Easter—specifically requested to rekindle Laurel’s fondness for me. I’m not sure why she ran away from me this time, so it seems I should employ even cheap tricks if they might help my cause.
The first time I understood. I had been a dick.
This time, we were on good terms. We had a great day. I was plenty confident that I could lure her away from Sin. A little less confident when I took her back to his house and she seemed so firmly within his grasp. Right in front of me, even after our nice day together, despite my child growing in her womb, Laurel sank to her knees like a sinner before a holy altar, wanting to appease her master.
Luckily, I guess, Sin couldn’t be appeased. I knew he was too territorial for a connection between them to survive if I set my mind on killing it, and I was right. Sin saw she clearly still had feelings for me and tapped out.
The confusing part is that after he severed things between them, Laurel left town. Even Sin had no idea. He showed up at my house the next day looking a little haggard, to be honest. He was only there to get his assignment, but it became apparent Laurel hadn’t stayed the night with me. He froze, turned away, and pulled out his phone. We scrambled to find her, but luckily Laurel leaves a blazing trail wherever she goes, so it only took about an hour.
Even better, she came to Chicago instead of Connecticut. Now that Mateo and I are allies, I have a far more aggressive reach in Chicago. She thinks she’s going to Connecticut tomorrow, but that’s not going to happen. Not unless she intends to show up on Carly’s doorstep with my arm around her waist.
That’s almost amusing enough to consider, but the long-term negative effects wouldn’t be worth the momentary fun. No, I need to get back home anyway. This was not a good time for me to skip town to chase Laurel’s little ass around, so bringing her back to Vegas in a timely fashion is crucial.
Right now, Laurel is somewhere else. Physically she’s with me, but mentally I feel like she checked out before dinner even started. I need to find out where she went. Since she was with Mia when she disappeared, I catch her wrist and drag into the bathroom for some real privacy.
That catches her attention. Not knowing about Mateo’s excessive security, she pulls back, a little hesitant. “Rafe, what are you doing?”
I drag her inside and shut the door behind me, leaning against it. “What did Mia say to you?”
Laurel’s blue eyes widen, but she didn’t expect me to confront her, and she can’t lie for shit when she hasn’t had time to rehearse first. “What are you talking about?”
“Something changed while you were in the kitchen with her. Your whole vibe was different when you came back out. If you don’t tell me, I’ll go ask her. She’s an even worse liar than you are.”
Laurel frowns at me, but looks down instead of at me. “There’s nothing to lie about. I told her that I don’t think you really want to have a baby with me, and she let me know you’re not my only option if that’s what I want to do.”
My eyebrows rise in surprise. Mia is supposed to help, not offer Laurel an escape hatch. What the hell? “She’s not seriously trying to sell you on Alec?”
Laurel rolls her eyes at me. “No, Rafe, she’s not trying to sell me on Alec. She’s not foisting me off on a man at all—she gave me an alternative, independent of a romantic connection.”
I frown, not quite following.
Clearly uncomfortable, Laurel shrugs and turns away, but there’s nowhere to go so she circles right back around. “She told me I can live here if I need to. That I can stay in Chicago and she’ll help take care of the baby while I’m at school, that way I can still do everything else I want to do in addition to having a baby. I don’t have to choose. I don’t have to leave my life behind and go to Vegas, or get an abortion so Carly doesn’t have to help me raise it. Mia said she’ll help me have both. My life would more or less be uninterrupted this way.”
“How helpful of her,” I mutter.
Laurel’s tone is snippy and defensive, so I back off. “Yes, as a matter of fact, it was.”
Up to now, Laurel hasn’t expressed a strong preference either way about this whole baby situation. I step forward, sliding my arms around her waist and tugging her close. “I asked you what you wanted to do, Laurel. You didn’t tell me.”
Still looking down instead of at me, she tucks a chunk of hair behind her ear and admits, “I’m having a difficult time trusting you.”
That’s fair. Inconvenient as hell, but fair. Nodding my understanding, I tip her chin up so she has to look at me. “How can I help?”
“I don’t know,” she murmurs, but her eyes search mine, seeking something stable enough to hold onto. “Tell me what you want.”
Simple enough. “I want you.”
“Why?” she demands.
“Because I like you. What do you mean, why? I enjoy the hell out of you every time we’re together, and I want to explore that. I understand relocation is a hassle, but you don’t have to relocate right away. It’s summer. Come spend a couple of months with me so we can see if we like each other enough for you to stick around. I realize given my position, you’re the one who would have to make most of the changes and sacrifices. I understand that’s not fair, but there’s really nothing I can do about that. My business is in Vegas.” She lets me tug her closer until she’s pressed against my chest. “I’ll make sure it’s worth the hassle of a move, how about that?”
“I don’t know,” she mutters, but her fingers begin to draw shapes on my chest, so I don’t believe her. “Last time you told me you’d make a trip worth my while, you definitely didn’t.”