his way of making sure that I didn’t meet with my imaginary beau.
The soreness he left between my legs seemed to intensify because while Vaughn displayed jealousy in the past, he’d never been so openly blatant about it. Last night had been amazing and all the things I remembered it being but more.
And that, unfortunately, was the issue.
I was hooked for him to line and sink me all over again.
I shook my head as I drove through the gates of the Manor with Vaughn on my bumper. If my son hadn’t been in the car, I would have slammed on my brakes to teach him another lesson. After parking, I waited for Vaughn to unbuckle and remove River from his car seat.
Missing my baby and wanting to snuggle and kiss him, I reached out to take him, but Vaughn turned his shoulder away, making my jaw drop. I watch as he continued walking toward the front door, and then they both entered the house.
Asshole!
When I stepped inside, I grumbled, seeing he had no problem relinquishing our son to Mrs. Greene—who, as usual, had been there to greet whoever came through the door.
“You two must be very proud,” she gushed as she held River.
“I am,” Vaughn murmured. He was gazing down at the baby with so much pride in his eyes.
“Yes, we are.”
Vaughn shifted his irritated gaze over to me, and I returned his glare. I didn’t give a shit how pissed or jealous he was. He wasn’t the one who went through labor and now bore the scar.
“You two stop that,” Mrs. Greene scolded. “You lost the right to act like children when you made one.” She held her hand out for River’s diaper bag, and Vaughn handed it over. She then told us where to find our friends before disappearing with River.
I frowned.
Although I liked Mrs. Greene a lot, I wasn’t sure I knew her well enough to leave her alone with my kid. I started to follow her when Vaughn seized my hand and pulled me in the opposite direction.
“He’s fine.”
“She’s a housekeeper, not a nanny and not our nanny.”
Vaughn sighed but didn’t let me go. We found Lou and Four but no sign of Ever or Wren. I figured Ever must have finally gone back to school. I didn’t want to think about how much work he’d missed. I sighed as longing filled my chest. I hadn’t appreciated the stress that came with college when I had it. It seemed so carefree compared to my life now.
“Oh, hell, no!” Lou fussed when we walked into the room together. “You’re both still alive? How is that possible?” She actually looked disappointed when her gaze met mine. “I was expecting the call to help you bury him any day now. What the hell, Bradley?” The longer she stared, the narrower her gaze got. “You fucked him, didn’t you?”
“How would you know that? Better yet, why is that your business?” Vaughn asked her.
Lou and Four gave each other knowing looks before their gazes pointedly fell to our joined hands. I hadn’t even remembered Vaughn holding my hand. It felt so natural. I pulled free of him before moving over to the couch.
“So tell us everything,” Lou demanded as if Vaughn weren’t standing five feet away.
Rolling his eyes, he stalked from the room. He’d probably realized he didn’t stand a chance on his own. Especially since I spent the next hour telling Four and Lou everything that happened between River’s homecoming party and now, leaving out the part of us having sex. I wasn’t yet ready to admit that even to myself.
“I don’t know…” I stubbornly kept silent as I watched Lou tap her chin. “There seem to be some elements of that story missing,” she insisted. “Perhaps a few hours and a couple of screaming orgasms?”
“Okay, we had sex.”
“I knew it!” Lou shot up from her seat before whirling on Four. “Pay up, bitch.” Four looked at me, disappointment in her brown gaze before forking over the cash she’d obviously bet Lou. “Don’t forget you owe Bee, too,” Lou announced, making my jaw drop.
“Are you guys serious?”
“Yeah, totally.” There was zero remorse in Lou’s tone when she spoke. “Four here was the only one who thought you’d resist temptation.”
I sat back and folded my arms because what could I say? “Guys…what should I do?” I asked once Lou finished counting her money.
Four was the one who spoke when Lou just stared. “What do you mean?”
“About Vaughn and me?” Neither of