There was nothing wrong with putting a bit of OPI on your toes while watching Ocean’s Eleven on a Friday night. But paying someone else to paint my nails? Come on.“This is utterly ridiculous.” I stood up from the chair with my newly cut, blow-dried, salon-soft hair and ran my fingers through it.“Mhmm.” Leah looked at me. “Looks like you’re hating it.”I sighed and dropped my hand. “Can we go now?”“No. Conor told me I have to keep you here until . . .” She glanced at the clock. “Three o’clock. So another two hours.”I grunted and sat in the pedicure chair next to her. After another awkward night sharing a bed and waking up in his arms, I decided this morning that I was sleeping in my own bed tonight.Alone.“And why am I being kicked out of my own house?”Leah shrugged. “I don’t know, Chloe. He just said to keep you away until three, and since he’s paying, I’m all for it.”“Did you even try to find out?”“I did. He started ignoring me after, like, the tenth time I asked. I think he

“What—why?” I breathed, my eyes filling with tears.I turned to look at him. He shrugged, taking a deep breath and looking around.“Because,” was all he said again.“No, goddammit, Conor! Tell me why!”“I wanted it to feel like home,” he finally said. “I wanted you and Milka to have your own spaces, somewhere you could chill. Your dad’s stuff is packed in the garage for when you’re ready to sort through it.”I swallowed and looked around the room again.“I wanted you to have a place to be Chloe.”I spinned into him and grabbed him. I pushed my lips up against his, sliding my hands into his hair. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him.Our lips moved together slowly but firmly. I let my tongue flick against his bottom lip. The simple movement flipped a switch, and the kiss became deeper, his fingers digging into my hips a little harder.We both stepped back towards the bed at the same time, our feet tangling, and we fell back. He leaned over me, breathing heavily,

“Why? Because she had your kid? You really think she’s gonna stick around, Con? She didn’t before. She didn’t give a fuck then. What makes you think she will this time?”Bray grabbed my arm as my fist swung back. “Whoa. Aiden, out of line, man.”“I’m just looking out for him.” Aiden said it to Bray, but his eyes were fixed on mine. “The twins might be happy to watch her hurt you again, Con, but I ain’t gonna do it.”He was baiting me and I fucking knew it. I was shaking with anger, because fuck. No one gets to talk about Chloe that way. No. One.“Pipe the hell down, dickhead,” Titus said calmly, stepping between us and pushing Aiden back. “Chloe’s the mother of that little girl you’ve spent the last few days on the beach with. Like Mom said, we don’t have to like her much right now, but we’ll respect her. That means even when she ain’t around. If you can’t talk civilly about her, don’t say a damn word.”“Next time I won’t stop him,” Bray warned him. “I’ve got half a mind to let him at

He blinked and turned his face towards mine. His expression was completely blank for a moment, then his lips twitched at one side. “Yep.”“It doesn’t count if you only just decided.”“Who said I just decided?”“The vacant look on your face.”“I was surprised you asked.”“Of course I asked. I’m a female. Why do you think you can get things past me?”“Oh, shut up.” He pushed me down by the shoulders. “Just yes or no, princess. It’s not a hard question.”“You never asked me a question!”“I—” He shut his mouth. “Fine. Chloe, will you go to dinner with me tonight, please?”I chewed the inside of my lip. I wasn’t being flippant about last time. And although our trip to the store was relatively uneventful, unless you count the magazine cover of us kissing the next day, I was still wary.While the media vultures were not as obsessive as they were before Dirty J.’s manager confirmed the “story,” they were still watching us like hawks in case we bring Milka out. As it was, we ferried her betwee

Her voice trailed off, getting smaller until I could barely hear her over the sound of the restaurant. I reached forward and slid my fingers through hers. I brushed my thumb across the inside of her wrist, and her fingers squeezed around mine.“I was afraid I wouldn’t be enough for you anymore,” she whispered, looking at our hands. “You had this whole other world opening up to you. There would be concerts and recording sessions. Video shoots and events. None of those I would have been able to do heavily pregnant or with a young baby. I was afraid that you’d find someone else who was thin and beautiful. That you would want Milka but you wouldn’t want me anymore. I was too selfish to deal with that.”Her words cut through me, and I took a deep breath. Shit, they stung, they burnt. They fucking shattered my heart.“It was easier to run. Easier to hide. It was easier to push you aside than open myself to the possibility of you doing the same thing to me.”I exhaled, but it was shuddery, a