AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Kids?" The question shot out like a bullet.
"Before anyone could get pregnant, certain medical procedures would have to be reversed."
"Sexy."
I wasn't sure if she meant it. "Also, Gray already has a son with his ex-wife."
"Do you know him?"
"No. Gray hasn’t seen him for ten years, and I doubt that is going to change." It hadn't been just that one conversation because I had noticed Gray took a particular interest in Declan.
Perhaps he was something like a second chance the universe had sent his way. Another young man he could take under his wing. The boy had lost his father, was longing for a role model in his life, and had found one in Gray. Both of them benefited from this arrangement.
"And your family, while we're on the subject?"
The question made me shrug. "They're enjoying their retirement somewhere in California. I think once we all moved out, they considered their parental duties over."
And I had never been close to my sisters, so it never even crossed my mind to call them and tell them about my new relationship. They didn't even know I was in Wolf Creek—simply because they didn't care.
Manon snorted but accepted my answer anyway. She didn't really have much choice. "May I ask one last question?"
I nodded.
"How are your insecurities?"
In the past few weeks, there had been plenty. I could now proudly say that I had left them all behind. However, that didn't mean I wouldn't face any in the future.
"That's one of the things I'm looking at realistically. They'll come up again and again, but as long as we talked about them and didn't leave each other out in the rain…"
"For someone who initially didn't even want to sleep with him, you've come a long way."
Amused, I shrugged my shoulders. What was there to say, really? I couldn't disagree with her, nor did I want to give her the satisfaction of agreeing with words.
"How long are you staying?" I finally asked her so I could plan how to spend time with my best friend most effectively.
"Three days. Then work calls again."
"Great. Then you can join the barbecue tomorrow night… and help me in the kitchen beforehand. Ever since Gray discovered that my desserts are out of this world, he insists I make them once a week." I rolled my eyes a bit, but secretly, I liked it.
If he had asked me, I would have been willing to serve him a different dessert every day—and for once, I didn’t mean myself.
Before we moved on to the next round of conversation, I gestured, with a rumbling stomach, at the breakfast platters that had been brought to the table a few minutes ago but had remained untouched until now. That finally changed.
33
GRAY
My gaze drifted over the moon's reflection in the river hundreds of yards below the mountain. The stars faded into the gentle current, only visible when I tilted my head upward. It was a warm, almost sultry night, and from my terrace, I could hear the laughter of other guests, likely also ending their evening on the veranda.
Amelia hadn't returned from her evening with Manon yet, prompting my decision to wait for her as it felt pointless to go to bed without her.
Since she had moved in with me, not only had my sleep quality improved but also my ability to fall asleep, stay asleep, and, most significantly, sleep in. Four hours a night? Those days were long gone ever since she began sleeping next to me.
Even when she was still absorbed in one of her books, whispering softly to herself, or waking me up in the middle of the night because her addictive presence had found yet another way to press against my middle.
This should have been enough to forbid her from ever leaving me alone again, but I kept it to myself. I also hadn’t revealed that I saw her not only as the woman by my side, as a partner, confidante, lover, and the realization of all my fantasies, but also as family.
So Wilder had no choice but to accept her—and because Amelia considered Manon her family, my family had seemingly doubled in size in no time at all.
