“Hospital?” I repeat, alarmed. She ignores me.
“—he stayed with me and told me a bedtime story, and even though he said I looked like a camel, he didn’t really mean it. And when the nurse said I was pregnant—”
“Pregnant?”
“—he called Stavros to come get me. He didn’t want to, but he did, because he thought Stavros was the baby daddy and it was the right thing to do, but when he found out Stavros wasn’t the baby daddy, he kidnapped me again!”
I shout, “Who’s the baby daddy?”
She bypasses that and continues nonstop with the litany of Declan’s positive attributes until she exhausts herself—it takes a while—and falls silent.
I sit there stunned.
A lot has happened since she’s been gone.
And, quite clearly, she’s been having sex with Declan. Emotional sex.
The kind she never has.
“Holy shit,” I say quietly. “You are in love with him.”
After a thoughtful moment, she becomes completely calm. “Yes. How awful. Do you have any cyanide in the house, by chance? If this is what love feels like, I’d like to kill myself immediately.”
I wave that off because she’s only being dramatic, and drama is her middle name. “But, if you’re in love with him…why are you here?”
Her silence seems oddly fraught. “What did Kage tell you?”
“Only that Declan called and said he was bringing you back. I was too busy having a mental breakdown to get into the particulars. Why?”
She sits up abruptly and looks at me. “You know I love you, right?”
I blink. “Okay, you’re really starting to freak me out now.”
She takes my hands and squeezes them. “Just listen for a sec.” She draws a breath, releases it slowly, closes her eyes. “This thing…” She pauses for a hiccup, then starts over. “This thing with me and Declan is complicated. His life is complicated.”
I say drily, “Tell me about it. Loving a criminal isn’t exactly a walk in the park. The amount of gunfire you have to get used to is ridiculous.”
Sloane opens her eyes and gives me the strangest look. One I’ve never seen before, like she’s trying to decide what to say.
Or what not to say.
“No matter what happens, I want you to know that you’re my best friend, and I love you. No one and nothing will ever come between us.”
I wrinkle my forehead. “Is this about the baby?”
“There’s no baby.”
“You’re not pregnant?”
“No.”
“I’m very confused.”
“I’m here because Declan needed to take care of some business, and it wasn’t safe for me to be around him while he did.”
With a deep sense of surprise, I realize what she’s saying. “But he thought you’d be safe with Kage?”
“Yes. Well, sort of.” She winces. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”
“So uncomplicate it for me.”
She exhales a slow breath, then murmurs regretfully, “I can’t.”
Now I’m even more confused. “Did he give you an ultimatum? Like it was him or me or something?”
“No. He said he’d never make me choose.” She looks down at our hands. Her voice softens. “But he thought you might.”
I say vehemently, “No way.”
When she glances up at me, I insist, “No damn way, Sloane. I don’t care if it’s Hitler’s dick you’re sucking, you’ll always be my best friend.”
After a beat of silence, she drops her head to our joined hands and dissolves into laughter.
I make a face at the top of her head. “I’m glad one of us thinks this is funny.”
She raises her head and grins at me. “If I didn’t laugh, babe, I’d have to shoot myself.”
Kage returns from the kitchen with two tumblers of whiskey. When he hands them to us, I say, “Honey, what did Declan tell you when he called you about why he was bringing Sloane back?”
He answers without hesitation. “That he had to take care of some business, and it wasn’t safe for her to be around.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
“You were already climbing the walls with worry. Wasn’t gonna add to that.”
I glance at Sloane, who looks oddly guilty, then back at Kage. “What else did he say that you didn’t you tell me?”
He folds his arms over his massive chest and says in a disapproving tone, “That your Styrofoam peanut girlfriend is the love of his life.”
My mouth drops open. “Wait. Are you guys friends now?”
“No. But he did me a huge favor, so we agreed on a truce for the time being.”
“What?” I leap to my feet, dropping the glass of whiskey. “You’re not at war anymore?”
“Not for the moment. We’ll see how long that lasts.” With a dark look in Sloane’s direction, he says, “He’s a wily one, that Irish bugger. Got lots of tricks up his sleeves.”
The smile that lifts Sloane’s lips is small and mysterious.
Aghast, I look back and forth between them. “You guys are keeping secrets from me!”
Kage pulls me into his arms. “I don’t keep secrets from you, baby. You want me to tell you exactly what he said, I’ll repeat it word for word.”
“You’re damn straight you will,” I say forcefully, winding my arms around his neck. Even when I’m mad at him, he’s irresistible.
He kisses me softly, but it quickly turns passionate. I stand on my tiptoes to get closer. He reaches down and grips my ass with his big hands, pulling me against his crotch. A growl of pleasure rumbles through his chest.
Sloane says drily, “I’m still here, kids. Just so you know.”
I break away from Kage, grinning, and look at her. “That reminds me. What do you think of blush for the color of your maid of honor dress?”
Sloane’s mouth drops open. Her eyes go wide. “You’re getting married?”
Kage frowns. “You didn’t notice the rock? I told you it was too small, baby.”
“It’s ten carats, honey. Any more and I’d need a wrist brace.”
Sloane rises from the sofa, grabs my hand, and gapes at my platinum-and-diamond engagement ring. She says loudly, “I thought it was a fucking cocktail ring!”
“That’s it,” says Kage, bristling. “I’m getting you something bigger.”
Sloane is still staring in shock at my hand. She looks up at me, eyes wide.
“Speaking of complicated…my plus-one for the wedding might present a small problem for the rest of your guests.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll make everyone check their guns at the door.”
Sloane’s eyes shine. “I love you, sis.”
“I love you, too. Now let’s sit back down. I want you to tell me everything that’s happened since you’ve been gone, including what the hell the deal is with this baby of yours.”
Kage says loudly, “Baby? What baby?”
Sloane and I look at each other and smile.