“I’m not a mission to discuss.”
Caleb nodded. “You’re right. You’re not. You’re infinitely more important.”
She huffed out a breath, but her insides danced with pleasure.
“Do you always discuss stuff like this with each other? Like everything?”
“Sometimes we share too much,” Aleki told her with a grin. “Like when Wolfe got food poisoning—”
“Aleki,” Caleb warned, interrupting. “We want Vivi to like us, not scare her off.”
“I already like you all,” she said shyly. “You know how I feel.”
“It’s nice to hear it, though,” Caleb told her gently. “We’re not mind readers. You need to tell us if we’re messing up. Or if you need something. If you’re scared or lonely or stressed. Don’t let any of us railroad you.”
“Especially Wolfe,” Aleki mock-whispered. “He needs the most help.”
She expected Wolfe to snap back at Aleki, but he just nodded. “I do need you to tell me things.
“We’re all learning as we go,” Caleb said.
“We need to schedule a meeting to discuss rules,” Wolfe said.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I really didn’t mean to worry you. I was just lying there thinking about stuff. It was making me feel ill.”
“I’m sorry, jelly bean. Next time, talk to us. We really didn’t mean to create more stress trying to eliminate stress,” Caleb told her.
She stared at them all in shock. It surprised her that they were so upset by this. Her father never cared about hurting her.
“I’m all right. Really,” she told them. Now she felt like she’d made a fuss about nothing. All they’d been trying to do was keep her from stressing. She felt silly.
Caleb shook his head. “No. We need to do better.”
“But—”
Caleb ran a finger over her cheek. “You’re precious to us. We want this to work. We’re gonna make mistakes, so will you. But mistakes are a chance to learn.”
She wasn’t allowed to make mistakes these past few years. This was going to take some getting used to.
“I’ll schedule that meeting,” Wolfe said.
“Why don’t we do it in an hour,” Caleb suggested.
“After her nap,” Wolfe narrowed his eyes at her.
“Or maybe she’d like some playtime instead?” Caleb suggested.
All three men stared down at her.
She gulped, feeling the intensity of their gazes. “I’d like to finish my picture.”
Each of their expressions eased.
“I’ll bring in a snack,” Aleki said. “Shit! My pies.” He raced off.
Wolfe left without a word.
She turned to Caleb. “I messed up.”
“It’s okay to mess up. As long as you learn from it. Apologize if you need to. Do what you have to in order to make it right. But don’t let it eat at you. Wolfe is . . . he has some issues with people leaving him. That’s why he only lets a few people in. If at the end of these twenty-one days you decided to leave . . .well. . .let’s not discuss that right now, huh?”
There was something in his gaze. Something more he was holding back.
But then he tapped down at the picture. “Come on, get coloring.”
“Caleb?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want to leave,” she whispered. Not ever.
He smiled at her gently. “Good. Because we’d find it damn near impossible to let you.”
Wolfe watched on as Caleb soon had Genevieve relaxing. The giggles that came from her were light-hearted. He knew he’d likely overreacted when he’d walked into the bedroom to find her missing.
But now that he’d decided he was in. . .well, he was all in. It was an all or nothing thing. He wasn’t like that with everything. But with her. Yep. All or nothing.
And he was determined it would be all.
Legally, she was allowed to leave at the end of their Marjarsom. But Wolfe wasn’t one to care about the law when it didn’t suit his purposes.
She wouldn’t be going anywhere.
Wolfe wasn’t taking chances. Not when it came to her.
It’s why he kept in touch constantly with Micah, getting updates on her father. So far, that bastard hadn’t put a foot wrong. In fact, he’d basically sequestered himself since her husband’s death. Only doing the occasional public speech. The funeral was soon. It would be interesting how he dealt with Genevieve’s absence.
No doubt he was searching frantically for her and that’s why the funeral had been put off for so long. But he couldn’t delay forever.
“Dude, watching is kind of creepy,” Aleki murmured, walking up beside him.
He couldn’t help it. He felt like if he took his eyes off her that she might disappear on him.
But he nodded. Because he knew that was expected of him. However, he’d already decided to set up cameras in all the rooms. He wouldn’t watch them. Well, not all the time. However, if she went missing again, he’d be able to instantly search for her.
“So why didn’t you just check the GPS to find out where she was? She’s still wearing the locket,” Aleki asked curiously.
Fuck. Shit.
“Aww, Wolfie, you forgot, didn’t you?” Aleki patted his shoulder and he turned to scowl at him. “You panicked.”
He did not panic. He never panicked. He was cool under fire.
What was she doing to him? She had him tied up in knots. What he needed was for everything to be scheduled out and controlled. He needed eyes on her constantly. Maybe he should put some sort of alarm on her. So if she left the house without his knowledge, an alarm would call to his phone.
Something to think about.
“You’re worried she’s going to leave,” Aleki said quietly. “I get it.”
He glanced at Aleki curiously. Was he worried about that as well? Well, she wouldn’t be leaving. Not if he had anything to do with it. She’d be with them forever.
Another giggle came from in the room. Caleb was wearing a pair of ridiculous glasses. The kind with the eyeballs on a spring. He was talking in a posh voice asking for a cup of tea while Genevieve laughed.
“I missed that laugh. I’m gonna go make some afternoon tea.”
“Stick to the list,” Wolfe ordered.
“Sir, yes, sir.” Aleki saluted.
Wolfe ignored him and just stood there, listening to her laugh.
25
“Shall we go over the rules again?” Wolfe frowned down at his notebook.
She wondered if he slept with it.
Aleki groaned. “Dude, she’s got it.” He held up his hand and ticked rules off each finger. “No talking down about herself. No leaving the house without letting one of us know. No skipping meals. No lying. No putting herself in danger. Although, I still think my suggestion should be made a rule.”
Caleb shot Aleki a look. “She’s not spending all her time naked.”
“Not all her time. Just when we’re in the house.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
She shot him a glare but her lips twitched. He was such a fool sometimes. Although she had no doubt that he was half-serious. She liked it when he teased.