LOGINChapter 16
Skylar's POV"You can't be serious." Zane stared at his mother on the floor. "You cannot seriously be serious right now." He crouched beside her and shook her shoulder. Once and twice. She didn't move. "Mom." He shook her again. Nothing. He straightened up, and something shifted in his face . it was not panic, not quite, but the particular expression of a man who has run out of patience for a situation that doesn't care."She needs to go to the hospital, Zane." I lookedChapter 16Skylar's POV"You can't be serious." Zane stared at his mother on the floor. "You cannot seriously be serious right now." He crouched beside her and shook her shoulder. Once and twice. She didn't move. "Mom." He shook her again. Nothing. He straightened up, and something shifted in his face . it was not panic, not quite, but the particular expression of a man who has run out of patience for a situation that doesn't care."She needs to go to the hospital, Zane." I looked down at her. She was breathing, at least. "I thought I was the only one who fainted when they got a shock. Looks like I have a partner now." I grinned."Don't make this worse than it already is. This is not the time for jokes, Skylar.""I'm just saying." I shrugged. "We have something in common. Don't you think?"He gave me a look. And I decided it was best to shut up.Then we got to work.I put my hands under her legs while he gripped her shoulders and we heaved her up between u
Chapter 17Skylar's POV"I'll take the whole set. Yes, you can mix the colours too."A woman's voice came from the far end of the showroom. I had just walked in through the main entrance, bag over my shoulder. My coat. was still on."Of course, ma'am. Give me just a minute." One of my staff was already moving to arrange everything. She looked up when she heard the door. "Morning, Miss Skylar.""Morning, Grace."I was heading toward my office when the woman at the far end turned around."Well. Look who it is."I stopped. Then I laughed."Oh my God...Mara. Why can I never recognise you first? It's because you keep getting prettier. That's not fair."We hugged. Pulled back. Looked at each other properly. Then hugged again, because one wasn't enough."Skylar." She held me at arm's length and looked me over with the particular attention of someone who actually sees you. "You look better. And... wait. You've lost weight.""If you say so." I
Chapter 15Skylar's POVI was four steps from the foyer when I heard it.Is there a woman in this house?I froze on the stairs. My heart beat began to do skips and jumps very quickly.For a moment I just stood there with one hand on the railing, listening to the silence that followed the question. Then I straightened up. Conor had told me at our last session that I'd lost a few pounds. I hadn't believed him. I hadn't seen any real difference yet when I looked in the mirror, but I was standing taller than I used to. I had noticed that at least. And I had gotten better at not apologising for taking up space.So why was I hiding on a staircase?I could go back up. Retreat to my room, wait it out, let Zane handle it. But she would find out I was here eventually. This was not a large enough secret for a small enough house and if she found out after I'd been hiding, it would be worse. It would look exactly like what it was: a woman who still thought she needed to make herself invisible.I w
Chapter 14Zane's POVI still couldn't quite believe it. She had said she thought she loved me too.That was more than enough. That was honestly more than I had expected from her this soon, given everything she was still carrying. I had said what I felt because I couldn't hold it back any longer, not with her standing in my doorway wrapped in my sheets looking at me with those eyes. And she had said it back. Not with total certainty, but she had said it. That was all I needed.I pushed up from the bed and walked to the shower. I had serious work waiting at the office and my head was running warmer than usual. Cold water would sort at least one of those.Skylar had already gone by the time I was dressed. She had left for the studio early, which I approved of . She needed to settle into it. After all it was her property now. I told Agnes to prepare something for breakfast but found when I sat down that I had no appetite. Not for any particular reason, not stress or worry, just the pa
Chapter 13Skylar's POVHe kept kissing me. Not just my lips but my forehead, my eyes, the side of my neck, the curve of my collarbone. Slow and deliberate, like he had been waiting to do this for a long time and had no intention of rushing it. My body was responding in ways I had forgotten it could. I wrapped my legs around him and he pulled back just enough to look at me.Then we abandoned the food entirely.His room was dark except for the city light coming through the curtains, and he laid me down on the bed with the kind of care that made something crack open in my chest . Not painfully, just the way old things crack when warmth gets in. He kissed me again between pulling at my top and I let him, and for a stretch of time I stopped thinking about anything at all.Then I pulled back."What's wrong?" He stilled immediately, eyes on my face."It's nothing. It's just…" I exhaled. "It's been a very long time. Since I... you know." I looked at the ceiling briefly. "I don't think I'll d
Chapter 12Skylar's POVThe building was more than beautiful.It was a full floor in a glass tower in the centre of the city. High ceilings, clean lines, natural light pouring through windows that ran from floor to ceiling. There were workstations already set up, a design studio with drafting tables and pinboards, a showroom space at the far end with soft lighting and racks waiting to be filled. My name was on the signage by the entrance.I stood in the middle of it and didn't know what to do with my face."You did all this for me?" I turned to him. "Zane, you shouldn't have.""You complain too much, Sky. It's only appropriate that I spoil my woman."I froze at the words.My woman.A few of the office staff nearby glanced over with expressions I couldn't entirely read. They looked curious, assessing, the way people look when they're watching something they've been told about but haven't seen yet. I turned back to Zane."Babe, still you shouldn't have."I saw mouths shift. Someone look







