Stay With Me - Maya Banks Page 0,40

every day, six at the latest. There had been one overnight business trip that only Logan had gone on, and he’d returned early the next day.

They ate dinner every night together, usually ordered in, but the guys also took turns cooking. Evenings in the kitchen had turned out to be the highlight of her day as they talked about everything and nothing.

At night, they crawled in beside her, always close to her, touching and snuggling. It was so much like the early days in their relationship that it made her physically ache.

How much longer would they keep it up? They were relentless in their quest to make her stay. She certainly couldn’t dispute that, but was it real? If she gave in, would things go back to the way they’d been before?

Logan bent over her chair, startling her from her thoughts. She hadn’t realized he’d gotten off the phone. He leaned in close and kissed her gently on the lips. She sucked in her breath in surprise.

“Good morning,” he murmured.

Then he very lightly put a hand on her belly, splaying his fingers over her shirt.

“How is the little one today?”

A sudden wash of emotion hit her hard in the chest. This was how it was supposed to be. She stared down at his hand and imagined a larger swell. She was only just now starting to pooch the slightest bit, but in a few months, she’d round out quite nicely.

She had fantasies about lying between him and Rhys, their hands on her belly feeling the baby move. Gentle kisses and late night conversations with their son or daughter.

“Why do you look so sad, baby?” Logan whispered.

She shook her head, refusing to voice aloud her innermost wants and dreams. As long as she kept them closely guarded, they remained hers. The moment she let them go, they entered the realm of harsh reality.

He stroked her cheek, light and loving. Then he kissed her eyelids before backing away.

“Are you not going into the office today?” she croaked.

He smiled. “Nope. Rhys and I are working from home. Paige is more than capable of running the office along with her new staff. I think she’s loving her new digs.”

“Staff?” she echoed in disbelief.

Logan and Rhys didn’t have a staff. They had Paige who they piled way too much work on. They had a secretary who worked on an as-needed basis, and they had one or two temps who filled in during busy times, but a staff? Logan was too much of a control freak to relinquish the running of their business to staff members.

“She’s on quite a power trip,” Rhys said in amusement. “It’s why Logan and I are hiding at home today. She’s holding orientation and letting her new worker bees know exactly what she expects from them.”

Catherine laughed. Rhys froze and stared at her with a fierce expression.

“That is the most beautiful sound,” he murmured.

Her chest caught, and her heart fluttered uncomfortably.

“So what’s with the decision to hire a staff?” she asked casually, afraid to read too much into their action.

“It was way past time,” Logan said. “Rhys and I have been too set on doing everything ourselves. It wasn’t fair to you, and it wasn’t fair to Paige, who we also took advantage of. We’ve made it up to her. We’re still making it up to you and will be for a long while.”

He spoke with such seriousness and determination. Against her will, excitement rose, unfurled like a budding flower.

“Are you ready to talk about us?” Rhys asked quietly.

She froze. No, they hadn’t pushed her. In fact they’d been nothing but patient. But the issue had still taken up residence. The gigantic elephant in the room, always watching.

“I need to call and confirm my appointment with the obstetrician for tomorrow,” she said as she hastily rose from her seat. “I’m getting an ultrasound.”

“We know,” Rhys said, his gaze directed on her. “We’ve made arrangements to go. We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

She held her breath, trying not to hope, yet grabbing on to his promise with sick excitement. On some level she felt like a complete idiot for placing that kind of faith squarely back in their hands when they’d let her down time after time.

Despite the effort they’d put into spending more time with her, she still couldn’t keep the doubt from creeping in. All it would take was one little problem. Some deal going south. An issue with the new staff, and they’d quickly drop her to go