Page 169 of Bridesmaid By Chance
I chuckle. “Yeah, maybe it was.” I squeeze her waist. “What about you, what did you want to be when you were younger? Can’t possibly be the wife to your boss.”
“Actually, when I was five, I announced to the world that if my boss didn’t put a ring on my finger, then I’d burn everything to the ground.”
“Wow, a very mature five-year-old.”
“What can I say?” She shrugs. “I am special.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
She smiles sweetly. “But, you know, if I did end up burning things to the ground, I would have settled for being a geologist.”
Now that surprises me. “Rocks?” I ask.
She nods. “Yup. Rocks. I was obsessed, well, still kind of am. Ihave a collection. It’s not very big because did you know rocks can be expensive?”
“How? They’re free.”
“Not like…rocks you can find on the ground while taking a walk. Although I’ve found some pretty great ones that way, but more like rocks that are unique to other regions, the kind of rocks that you have to dig for or search to find. Like amethyst and malachite and fluorite. The rocks you see at rock stores that are all polished and pretty.”
“Oh, okay. Did you have books on rocks?”
“I got this one from the library that I’d check out over and over until one day, the librarian gave it to me. Told me I was the only person who ever wanted to look at it, so she wanted to make sure it went to a good home. Funnily enough, it was one of very few personal items I brought with me to your house.”
“You did?” I ask, feeling surprisingly touched.
“I did. It’s sort of a comfort thing for me at this point. Anyway, yeah, rocks.”
I rub my thumbs over her soft skin and tilt my head to the side as I say, “I find that incredibly adorable.”
“Adorable?” Her nose scrunches up. “I don’t think I want you thinking of me in that way. I only want you to think of me as sexy, hot, a temptress. Not adorable.”
“Adorable is a good thing, makes you more human.”
“Do you want me to find you adorable?”
“As long as you find me, that’s all I care about.”
“Such a smooth talker,” she says. Although I don’t think she realizes how honest I just was. I haven’t sat and sharedstufflike this with anyone…ever. There’s never been time for talking when all I’ve thought about is business. Even when I’ve bedded women, they’ve known what they were there for, and it wasn’t to talk. She’s Jude’s sister, so it makes sense that I find it easy to talk to her. But I also think it’s because she’s Sloane.Sweet, sexy, and adorable Sloane.
“So are you going to leave me some day to become a geologist?” I ask.
Her expression falls as she shakes her head. “I would need a plan of what I want to do with my life in order to leave, and unfortunately for me, I didn’t go to school for geology.”
“Why not?”
“Didn’t know if it was something that could help my family. I majored in business and assumed that the career opportunities were vast, more chances at scoring a job.”
“That makes sense. I can understand that feeling probably more than you would expect.”
Just then, there’s a knock at the door. Our food is here.
I carefully move her off me and say, “Cover up.”
I open the door for in-room dining and allow them to roll the cart up to the couch, where Sloane has her legs tucked under her, not showing off a damn thing. Such a good girl.
I tip the server, thank him, and shut the door as Sloane lifts off the covers to the food.
Soft pretzels with cheese.
