Page 18 of Dominate
He blinks his dark eyes at me, suddenly looking very old and wise beyond his years. Our youngest brother has changed so much in the past year. Perhaps it’s because he’s about to become a father, but seeing him like this is a bit disarming.
Camden and Tanner both nod, losing all signs of teasing. They are pushing for a reason. They see in Sloan what I’ve always seen in her. She’s special.
Perhaps a trip together is the perfect time for us to figure out what we are to each other. We can detach from work and our lives here in Manchester and see where we stand.
The next day, things are a lot calmer around my house since the boys left for training. I find a few minutes to myself and sprawl out on my bed to reread the text thread between Sloan and I earlier this morning.
Me: Happy Christmas.
Sloan: Merry Christmas to you! You’re up early. Is your family still there? Driving you nuts?
Me: Yes, but my brothers are leaving soon. They have to get back for training, which is good because it smells like balls in my gym. Only Harris Brothers train on Christmas Eve.
Sloan: LOL. That sounds weirdly adorable.
Me: It’s not. Was Sophia spoilt by Santa?
Sloan: Definitely. How about your niece?
Me: Rocky is going to need her own jet for all the presents she has to take home.
Sloan: I completely get that. Sophia gets two Christmases now, so she’s thrilled to get double the presents.
Me: One silver lining to having divorced parents I guess.
Sloan: I guess.
Me: Well, enjoy your time with her. Just wanted to wish you a happy Christmas.
Sloan: Thanks. Miss you. xx
Our conversation was light and casual, which is probably okay since she’s been hit with a lot of heavy from me and my family as of late. But my brothers are right. The way Sloan behaved at the hospital was anything but light and casual. And while I respect the time she has with her daughter, part of me wonders if she’d answer if I tried to ring her right now.
In our previous arrangement, she almost never answered. She’d usually text or call back hours later. It annoyed me, but now I know it was probably because she was waiting for Sophia to go to bed. But things are different now, right?
Steeling myself, I press SEND on her number and hold my breath as the line trills in my ear.
“Hello,” Sloan answers after two rings.
“Sloan, hiya,” I reply in surprise.
“Hey, Gareth,” she replies back casually like it’s completely normal for her to take a call from me. “How are you? How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling well actually. Am I catching you at a good time?” I ask, propping my arm under my head.
“Yeah, you definitely are.” Sloan’s voice is soft. I swear I can hear the smile on her face. “I’m being ignored in my own home because Freya and Sophia are obsessed with Fortnite.”
I chuckle at the image. “I’m sure those two gaming together is quite a sight.”
“It really is,” she replies with a fondness to her tone. “It’s kind of annoying, though, because I’ve prepared a beautiful dinner and they won’t even stop to eat. How about your group? Calmer now that your brothers have left?”
“Definitely,” I reply with a laugh. “Before six o’clock this morning, Vi was already yelling at Tanner because he snuck into their room to wake Rocky.”
“You never wake a sleeping baby!” Sloan exclaims.
“He learned that the hard way I’m afraid.” I shake my head as I recall his wide, panicked eyes when Rocky began crying like none of us had ever heard before. He looked so pathetic.
“Was it nice having everyone at your house? Did it feel kind of weird there after…everything?”
