Page 96 of Finlay

Just then, Chester’s voice floated up the stairs. “Oh come the fuck on.”

He’d said it quietly, barely above a whisper.

He’s still here.

That was when my senses picked up on everything else. Fat sizzling in a pan. The scent of bacon wafting through the air. The toaster popping.

I swayed on the spot, my throat thickening.

Chester was making me breakfast. And, with how quiet he was trying to be, he didn’t want to wake me yet.

He was bringing me breakfast in bed.

Chester. The man who’d confessed to Buddy about how much he used to love cooking for those he cared for. That it’d been ruined for him by his cunt of an ex.

He was makingmebreakfast.

I rushed on silent feet to get back into bed, sliding under the sheets and trying to force my body to relax. In truth, my heart was hammering in my chest, my wolf practically doing a happy dance.

With any other man, I would have rushed down to help, insisting I didn’t need to be waited on. But knowing where this was coming from? What this act symbolised?

I wasn’t moving a fucking muscle.

Muttered curses accompanied the gentle clinking of china as Chester came up the stairs. My wolf was demanding I jump up and help him, but I forced myself to stay put.

It’d be worth it to make Chester happy.

The door creaked open and Chester’s footsteps stopped. “Jesus Christ, this man is too gorgeous for his own good.”

My lips betrayed me, curling up at the edges before I could stop them.

Chester groaned. “Okay, I know you’re pretending to be asleep.”

I cracked one eye open to see him holding a heavily laden tray and smirking. He was in just his jeans, the top button undone. He was another who was too gorgeous for his own good. “Aye, but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.”

His smirk melted into something softer. Something that struck a deep chord within me. “You’re too sweet, you know that?”

With the gambit up, I pushed into a sitting position as Chester bustled over with the tray. He carefully placed it on my lap, the bacon butty and strongly brewed tea making my mouth water. “Um, I think you’ll find the sweet one is you. I canna remember the last time I had breakfast in bed.”

Chester flushed in delight, twiddling with a leather bracelet on his wrist. “I hope you don’t mind me making myself at home.”

I grabbed his hand. “Nothing makes me happier than this. Thank ye for making me breakfast, Chester.”

I was thanking him for much more than that, and fromhow he cleared his throat, he knew it too. “Well, don’t let it get too cold. You didn’t have much here, but I managed to find some bacon and bread.”

I raised a brow. “I will as soon as you get yours.”

Chester fiddled with his bracelet again. “I mean, I was going to eat?—”

“Right here with me?” I cut him off with a steely look. “Aye, ye are, m’eudail. And you better be eating exactly what youwantto eat, not what you think you should eat.”

To my surprise, Chester rolled his eyes before leaning down to kiss the top of my head. “You’re a bossy fucker sometimes. You know that, right?”

I smirked.“It’s why I’m the leader. I’m the bossiest of bosses.”

In reality, I wasn’t particularly bossy, especially where Chester was concerned. But if he needed me to give him permission to overrule his brain, I’d happily do it every time.

Chester vanished, reappearing a few minutes later with his own sandwich and mug of tea. I looked pointedly at the other side of the bed until he perched beside me.

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