“I feel so much better. Kids are damn exhausting,” she said, collapsing on the couch. I made her some coffee and sat next to her.
“Was it fun, though?”
She smiled and curled her feet up under her.
“Yeah, it was. It made me think of having my own.” Oh no. She had baby fever.
“I thought you weren’t ready for ginger babies,” I said.
She blushed. “Yeah, well. Things change. Lucah so wonderful with his nieces, and I think it would be wrong to deprive him of the chance to have his own. And I want them too. I don’t know why. Not right this second, of course. I’d like to be married for a few years and hopefully get Dad retired. And I’d need to find someone to run the company while I was on maternity leave. It’s a lot to think about, and right now I want to concentrate on the wedding.”
That seemed like a good plan.
“Okay. Because I don’t really fancy being Auntie Sloane right away. Although, your kids will be the best dressed kids ever.”
She laughed. “That they will. When they come. Which will not be for several years.”
“Right.”
“Years,” she said, adding emphasis.
“I got it, I got it. Are you trying to convince me, or you?”
She groaned and put her head in her hands. “I need a glass of wine.”
“Your wish is my command,” I said.
Twenty-Two
Rory and Lucah nearly fell asleep during dinner, so we called it a night earlier than usual. I went back to my place and started working on the new tear-away lingerie. It needed a catchy name, but I was coming up blank. I needed to let that idea marinate for a few days, and the perfect thing would probably hit me when I least expected it.
There was a knock at my door, and I knew who I wanted it to be. My hopes were confirmed when I looked through the peephole.
“Hey,” I said, opening the door and letting him in. I hadn’t put on my pajamas yet for just this reason.
“They both crashed, so I figured it was safe.” He leaped over the couch and sat down, leaning back. I joined him.
“So, did you talk to your brother about Colorado?”
Ryder sighed. “No. I didn’t have the balls to do it tonight. Not with everything else going on.”
“You could have brought it up at dinner. I would have backed you up.”
He rubbed his eyes. “I know, I know. I thought about it, and then I couldn’t do it. It’s a lot of money, Sloane.”
“True, but I’m sure Lucah still has some from his days in corporate espionage. And Rory has plenty.” Well, her family did, which was pretty much the same thing. And I knew she did decently well on her own anyway.
“I know,” he repeated.
“Listen, this is a hard thing to do, to ask for help and for money. But I think Lucah will understand. And if he doesn’t, I’ll give you the money.” I hadn’t intended to tell him that. I was only going to give it to him if he couldn’t get it from Lucah. Sure, I wasn’t the richest girl out there, and I’d spent a lot recently preparing for the fashion show, but I wasn’t an idiot when it came to money. I had plenty set aside for a rainy day or other contingencies.
Ryder shook his head. “No way. I’m not taking money from you.”
“Well, if Lucah gives it to you, then you won’t have to. But it’s yours if you need it. I just wanted you to know that.”
He just kept shaking his head.
“No. I can’t do that.” He got up from the couch as if he was going to leave.