Page 76 of A Fool's Game

Chapter 26

Ainsley

Achill wakes me, and I shift my feet toward the center of the bed, searching for the blankets I no doubt kicked off.

It all comes back to me in a rush, and I sit straight up, looking around frantically. If the three of us are packed in this bed, it would explain why I’ve lost all the covers, but I shouldn’t have this much space to move around.

As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I’m able to make out one sleeping form beside me, all tucked up to her chin with the duvet. Still trying to process the memories of what must have been just a few hours before, I let out a long sigh.

Gem shifts and rolls to face me, eyes sleepy, but a smile on her lips. I wriggle my way down until I’m tucked into the covers beside her.

“I think Taylor left.”

She shakes her head. “He doesn’t sleep well in bed with other people. He’s probably on the couch. I don’t think he’d leave without saying something.”

I nod and consider.

He’s a grown man, perfectly able to find himself a place to sleep in this giant apartment, but I can’t settle not knowing if he’s got everything he needs. I guess that’s what comes of being raised by a housekeeper in place of a mother.

“I’m just going to the bathroom,” I whisper and place a kiss on Gem’s forehead.

She nods sleepily and rolls to face the window, moonlight falling silver and otherworldly across her closed eyes.

I pull on a pair of shorts and hoodie from the pile next to my closet door and exit the bedroom as quietly as I can. I’m just considering how I’ll get down the stairs silently enough when I notice one of the bedroom doors in the hallway wide open.

Leaning against the doorway, I can just make out two sleeping forms sharing the queen-sized bed in the center of the room.

That’s what happens when you leave your bedroom door open.

I shake my head and smile to myself, trying not to laugh out loud at the sight of Taylor and Doc tucked up together in the bed. Doc has much more than his share, as usual, but at least he’s not under the covers.

I should go back to bed, now that I know Taylor’s safe in bed and not freezing his ass off on the tiny couch downstairs, but something keeps me there in the doorway for another long moment.

And then I make a decision.

It might be a stupid decision, one I’ll come to regret in the morning. But here in the soft dark of the night, my mind latches onto the idea and won’t let go.

I pad down the stairs to the kitchen, flipping on the overhead light and shuffling through what passes as a junk drawer in this mostly unlived-in house.I’m no longer worried about being quiet, now that I know no one is sleeping down here, andI find what I’m after quickly, palming it before tearing a page from a small notepad and jotting down a few words and a number.

Doc barely lifts his head when I cross the guest bedroom as quietly as I can, depositing the note and the tiny object on the bedside table.

I don’t risk waking Taylor by patting Doc on the head. I just slip out, leaving the door cracked behind me, and disappear back into the warmth of my own bed.

Chapter 27

Taylor

Iturn the key over and over in my fingers, something that’s become a habit when no one else is around.

I have the note, as well, although I don’t carry it around with me. It sits safely in the small, inside zipper pocket of my work backpack. A square blue note with one line scrawled in prep school handwriting.

The room is yours if you want it. Keycode 6582.

And although I spend nearly every night in the room now, slipping across the hall when the two of them turn off the lights in Ainsley’s room, I’ve never taken him up on the offer to make the room anything more than a guest room. Never mentioned finding the note and the key on the bedside table when I woke that first night.

And sure as shit never told a soul that I still carry thedamn thing around with me like some kind of twisted good luck charm.

But, even if I didn’t take up residence in that massive, empty room in that massive, nearly empty apartment, it’s hard to deny that the last few weeks haven’t brought on a bout of good luck.

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