Page 53 of The Beast's Heart

I turn.

“Thanks”

I smile in response and she smiles back.

I’ve just passed the piano when I hear the laughter. Giggling, really, and not children’s giggling. Adult voices. I hover at the top of the stairs as Geoff and Adam come into view. They’re walking close, heads bent together. Geoff’s hand is at the small of Adam’s back. Geoff says something and Adam chuckles in response. My stomach plunges and my veins run cold as they start up the stairs and Geoff nips at Adam’s ear, playful and unmistakably intimate.

And that is the exact moment that Adam notices me. Standing in front of them, holding a bundle of soiled linen. I want to evaporate, simply cease existing.My god, this is mortifying on so many levels.

Geoff follows his gaze and wrinkles his nose.

“Sorry, I—” I force myself to start down the stairs. “—I was heading to the laundry. Don’t mind me. Completely ignore me, in fact.”

Geoff seems perfectly content to do just that. He takes Adam’s hand and starts up again, but Adam stays anchored in place. “Problem?”

I thought they were both plastered, what with the giggling, but he sounds sober enough now. “Oh, it’s nothing. A little bedwetting incident.”

He drops Geoff’s hand. “Who?”

“Enrique. And unfortunately he woke the others, but I have the situation in hand. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Geoff repeats to Adam, pointedly. “Come on. Teach has it handled.”

“Did he have a nightmare?” Adam asks.

His concern surprises me. “I’m not sure, but usually bedwetting is a result of deeper than usual sleep, not disrupted sleep. Alisha’s calming him. I’ll make them some cocoa and I’m certain everything will be well enough in a few minutes.”

“Beast?” Geoff prompts.

Adam waves distractedly in his direction. “Yeah, go on up.” To me, he says, “Do you need help?”

That warms me a little, despite the gnawing jealousy. “No, no. It’s my job to see to their needs overnight, remember? You go have fun.”

Adam frowns. “You’ll need more hands. For the cocoa.”

Now he does sound a little tipsy. I think. It’s hard to tell.

“It’s really okay. Please don’t worry about it.”

Geoff’s still hovering. He folds his arms and all but starts tapping his foot with impatience.

“I’ll be up in a bit,” Adam says, without looking at him.

“Really?” Geoff says. “You’re really doing this? Now?”

Adam shuts his eyes. “This will only take a few minutes.”

“Fuck that,” Geoff says and he stomps his way up the rest of the stairs.

Adam trails me into the laundry and picks out clean bedclothes from the storage cupboard. I load up one of the machines and put it on a wash and dry cycle. Neither of us mentions Geoff.

At length, Adam says, “I thought maybe he had nightmares because of me.”

I turn, halfway through adding detergent. “Why?”

He’s closer than I expect. There are only a few inches between us. I’m suddenly all too aware of how small the laundry room is.

Adam shrugs. “‘Cause of today. Maybe.”

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