Page 34 of Freed By Fire
“Me, too.” I kick off my shoes, and my hands move to my tie. “Katia says you’ve barely left the room.”
London stands up and sighs. “I thought it would be better if I lay low.”
“On that, we can agree.”
“Mason, I—”
“I seem to remember you pushing me to be honest and talking to me about how we need to be able to rely on each other.” I unbutton my shirt and let it fall to the floor with a flutter. “Or does it only go one way?”
London shifts from one foot to the other. “No, it goes both ways, and I will tell you, just not… right now. Not like this.”
I unbutton my pants and let them fall to the floor. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Am I… can I join you?”
I shrug and step past her into the tile-floored bathroom.
As steam fills the room, I gingerly try to remove the bandage. London steps into the bathroom. Her fingers are quick and nimble as she peels the bandage back. Then, she wraps her arms around me, and we stand there, pressed against each other, until I’m sure the outside world has stopped existing.
For a while after, I almost believe it doesn’t.
Chapter Seven
London
“Hey, is everything okay?” Olivia throws open the door to her room and waits for me to step inside. I wait until she closes the door and drifts to the window, then I release a deep breath.
“Yeah, I just wanted…is there any news?”
Olivia raises an eyebrow. “Not yet.”
“It’s been a few days.”
Olivia studies me, and I wonder if she can see right through me. “These things can take time.”
I debate whether to unburden myself to her, but something stops me.
Olivia and I aren’t exactly friends, but under different circumstances, we might have been.
Miss Deveroux already suspects the truth, but I can’t put her in any more danger.
She’s done enough for the family.
And I feel the urge to unburden myself to someone without a hundred strangers around.
Olivia and I might have an alliance of sorts, but she is still Mason’s sister.
He will always come first, and I don’t want him to hear about the baby from someone else, not with everything else going on.
How much longer are you going to keep this from him, huh? For all your talk about being honest and being there for each other, you sure have a funny way of showing it.
But I’ve seen Mason’s anger firsthand. I hope he’ll see this as a chance to start over, to forge a better path ahead, but I know he won’t like it at first.
Will he wonder if I orchestrated the whole thing?
Will he demand I get rid of the baby?
My chest tightens at the thought, and I push it away and fix my gaze on Olivia. “What?”
