really screamed Chase. It was a nice house in a very nice gated community, but it didn’t come across as something that he would pick out. “Why did you buy it?”
“Because that’s what she wanted,” Chase said as he turned his head so that he could kiss her forehead.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, curious about the woman in the parking lot.
“Not even one fucking bit,” he said, sighing heavily.
“Okay, then tell me what we could do to make this house more yours,” Sloane said, more than willing to grab some paint and a paintbrush if that would help make this right for him.
“There’s nothing that we could do to make me like this house. I wanted a house big enough for a family with a large living room, a family room, a basketball hoop out front, and a pool in the back, but Amy had fallen in love with the neighborhood,” Chase explained.
“And you loved her,” Sloane guessed, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she wondered why Amy wasn’t here with Chase now.
“Yes, I did,” he said with another kiss against her forehead.
“So, you bought her the house.”
“So, I bought her the house,” he murmured in agreement. “There was a long waiting list for houses in this neighborhood, but she managed to sweet-talk the association into letting her have the first house that came on the market. I would have done anything to make her happy, but she couldn’t do the same for me. I wanted children, but she didn’t. I thought after we were married that she would change her mind, but I think that was just wishful thinking on my part. I’d hoped to turn the spare bedroom into a nursery, but she’d decided that it was going to be her office. Before she got the chance to move in, everything went to hell and while I was in a coma fighting for my life, she decided that it was time to move on and fuck my best friend.”
“That bitch,” Sloane muttered, making him chuckle.
“Are you going to get that?” Chase asked a moment later when her phone started ringing.
“Too comfy to move,” Sloane said because she honestly wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone right now. “You know what you should do?”
“What’s that, Pookie?”
“You should sell this house and buy one that you actually like,” she said, only to sigh when the doorbell rang.
“I wouldn’t even know where to start,” Chase said as he reluctantly released her so that he could go see who was at the front door.
“We could look at a few houses and if you don’t find something you like, we can always hit the paint store,” Sloane said as he rolled them through the house.
“Are you planning on getting up?” he asked, sounding amused.
“Too comfy,” Sloane grumbled even though she knew that she didn’t have a choice. She allowed herself to enjoy this for another thirty seconds before she reluctantly climbed off his lap with a heartfelt sigh and
“Oh, god no…” she found herself saying when she saw who was at the door.
That was quickly followed by trying to turn around and making a run for it only to find herself on the ground with the large jerk that her parents swore they hadn’t dropped on his head when he was a baby, straddling her legs.
“So, I’ve been trying to get ahold of you,” Danny said conversationally as though he hadn’t grabbed her hands so that he could make her slap herself.
“Danny, quit it!” Sloane snapped, trying to pull her hands away, but the large bastard had forty pounds of muscle on her and a determination that terrified her sometimes.
“Why was I trying to call you, you wonder?” Danny asked only to pause when he spotted Chase watching them, looking amused. Clearing his throat, Danny released one of her hands so that he could reach over and introduce himself. “Sorry, man, I’m Danny. The ungrateful brat’s brother.”
Chuckling, Chase reached over and shook his hand. “I’m Chase. The little brat’s tormentor.”
“I hate you both,” Sloane said only to sigh when Danny grabbed her hand and picked up where he left off.
“You’re going to kick yourself for not answering your phone and putting a stop to this before it got out of hand,” Danny said with a heartfelt sigh as he used her hand to condescendingly pat her face.
“Put a stop to what? And would you stop doing that?” Sloane snapped, struggling to get free, but the jerk