Page 142 of With A Little Luck
He nods. “My dads have their own bedrooms, but Ridge put us in here?—”
“You wanted us to stick together,” I remind him.
“I did,” he says, reaching out an arm and wrapping his hand around my lower back. “But now you’re bonded to Ridge, and it feels like I’m supposed to give the two of you time alone, but I have nowhere to disappear to. Trigg and Ridge both have their own rooms.”
My hands come to rest on his shirt as I stare up at his handsome face. “If you need your own space, I’ll go clean the room Knox was staying in.” I try to get a read on where his headis at, and my brow furrows. He’s not giving me anything. “I can understand wanting a little breathing room or somewhere that’s solely for you. I just hope you would tell me if you’re rethinking wanting to be together. I’m not sure if I was supposed to ask before bonding Ridge?—”
“No,” he says firmly. “I saw that coming a mile away, and more than that, I get it.” The throbbing in my feet and lower legs gets worse, and I lift my left foot, shaking it from side to side, and Hart frowns. “Are you okay?”
“My feet and ankles don’t feel great, but I’m fine. I really want to stay on track with this conversation.”
Hartley sighs. “You’ve had so much going on. This is the kind of thing you need to speak up about.” He guides me over to the bed and pulls back the comforter. “Lie down, beautiful. I’ll get you a couple pillows from my side so you can elevate your legs.”
Climbing onto the bed isn’t a pretty process, but I get situated while Hartley shoves two pillows under my ankles.
Once that’s done, he sits on the edge of the bed, facing me, and tucks a wet strand of hair behind my ear.
I wish he would say whatever is bothering him. His warm fingers brush over my cheek, and I pull a hand up, cupping his.
“Tell me what’s bothering you. Please?”
His blond waves fall over his forehead as he shrugs. “I’m just wondering where I fit in here. Ridge and Trigg are both dangerous—highly trained—whatever you want to call it. That’s not me.”
“Hartley,” I whisper, my chest aching with spillover discomfort from him.
“Trigg is supposedly your soulmate. You and Ridge are having a baby?—”
“Before we ever even came here, you said paternity didn’t matter.”
“I did say that, and it’s still true,” he says as his blue eyes bore into mine. “I’m so fucking excited to meet the baby. I guess it just feels like…” He shrugs. “What do I bring to the table that you can’t get from them?”
“A sense of normalcy? Comfort? You?” My head shakes. “You’rewhat I can’t get from them. There’s a perfect piece of my heart carved out where you shoved yourself in. Please don’t ever question how much you mean to me.”
His eyes sparkle as he studies my face, and my stomach flip-flops. He’s one of the most attractive guys I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to believe he could have any feelings of self-doubt, but I must not have done enough to reassure him how much he means to me.
All relationships are complicated, but trying to mesh their three unique personalities into one family pack is harder than I ever could have imagined. I’m always going to have to be aware of not accidentally showing favoritism or leaving one of them out.
“I would be lost without you, Hartley,” I say, praying the sincerity in my words rings through to him. “I care about you so much. When I envision the future, you’re right by my side for every step of it, and I hope you want that too.”
“I see the same things. I’m with you, beautiful.” He leans closer, kissing me.
My lower lip is swollen and tender, but I ignore the slight discomfort and focus on Hart’s smell. That fresh, snowy, woodsy scent that is distinctly Hartley.
His tongue swirls around mine, and a low growl vibrates out of his chest. He pulls back all too soon, and I find myself chasing his lips.
He chuckles. “I love it when you do that. It makes me feel like you can’t get enough of me.”
“I really can’t.” I grin back. “I just want you to be comfortable, and if you aren’t, I need you to come talk to me about it so we can fix it.”
“I’m an adult. I’m responsible for my own emotions. I’m still adjusting to this new normal, but if it’s something big, I will address it.”
A sharp pain flickers through the bond, and my right shoulder starts to throb. Gasping, I pull a hand up to rub at the ache. “Holy shit. That’s Ridge’s pain.”
“Damn,” Hartley says. “That much filters through?”
“I guess so.” I was distracted by the seriousness of our conversation, but now that I’ve noticed the throbbing ache, it’s getting worse.
“All right, let me run and grab Ridge’s meds.” Hartley pats my thigh. “Rest and keep your legs elevated. I’ll make sure I note it on the chart, but I want you to focus on yourself and the baby.” He leans close and gives me another quick peck before climbing off the bed and standing.
