Addicted After All(88)

His lips lift in a grin. “We’ve already kissed. I think we’re past that point.” The kiss in Mexico—it’s been blowing up on social media, and it’s causing more speculation for Connor and me than I thought it would.

“Are you okay…?” I trail off because I suddenly realize I’m asking Connor Cobalt if he’s doing alright. The self-confident expression he has is priceless.

“Of course I am,” he tells me.

I am glad, but I wonder if there will be a day where he’ll show me more of his cards. I wonder if I’ll always just be the “liability” in his game of chess.

“We’re going to move into one of the guest rooms,” Rose suddenly blurts out, returning the conversation to its focal point.

Lily’s jaw drops comically.

Rose has been body-snatched.

I ask, “You’re going to give up your giant ass walk-in closet?”

“I’ll still keep some of my clothes in that closet, but all of my essentials will be going in our permanent room on the second floor.”

Connor nods in agreement.

Wow. Rose loves Lily enough to sacrifice wardrobe space and a bathroom twice the size of the one she’ll now be using. It’s a huge statement, and Lily is stunned to silence behind me. And then she crawls off the bed and risks an attack from Sadie to hug her sister.

“What are you doing?” Rose says with wide eyes like Lily is about to burn her collection of heels.

“This is how I show my love,” Lily says with a squeeze.

Rose replies back with a stiff pat, and they both whisper something to each other that sounds like I love you.

Then Sadie hisses at the girls.

Lily shrieks and darts back onto the bed, the mattress bouncing beneath me.

“Easy, love,” I tell her, cautiously watching as she crawls behind me. At first my concern peaks since she’s really f*cking pregnant, but then she climbs onto my back in fright. And I shouldn’t be smiling at her fear…but Lily is pretty precious when she uses me as a safety net.

“Sadie hates hugs,” Rose says. “A woman after my own heart.” She pats her lap, and Sadie curls on top of Rose’s baby bump and purrs.

“Look at that, bitches congregate together,” I say, regretting it the moment it escapes.

Connor arches his eyebrow at me, a small defensive warning, one that Rose misses because she gives me a death-glare of ginormous proportions. I deserve that one.

“Lily,” Rose says. “I’m giving the floor to you since Loren abuses it.”

“Burn,” I say dryly.

Lily clears her throat and peeks behind my arm, reading off her notes. “After surfing the internet, it has come to my attention that cats and newborns do not get along.” That fact isn’t that surprising.

Rose stiffens more, and she protectively holds onto Sadie. Connor studies his wife with more intensity than before—it’s all really not making a lot of sense to me. I get that Rose has grown affectionate towards Sadie—well, as affectionate as Rose can be with anything.

But she had to have known about this cat and baby stuff. She probably did a ton of research about it.

Lily continues when no one interjects, “There’ve been instances where cats smother babies in their cribs. And they even suck the baby’s breath.”

“What?” I snap, turning to peer at the notes Lily took.

“I saw video clips,” Lily whispers. “They like to smell the baby’s milk and suck it out of their mouths.” I’m not okay with this. I feel my face start to sharpen.

“I speak on behalf of the accused,” Rose chimes in. “And these allegations are all urban legends.”

I gape at her. “You’re seriously going to allow that cat around your baby? Lily has…” I count her post-its. “Seven notes—”

“Eight!” Lily says, waving around another pink post-it. “I was sitting on one.” Her skin splotches with red patches.

I hug her to my side. “Eight notes. That’s evidence enough.” I wait for Connor to jump in and speak up for Rose and his pet, but he stays quiet, like the judge.

I have a suspicion he’s going to make the final verdict anyway.

“We’ll keep Sadie out of the nursery,” Rose says. “And I’ll acclimate her to the newborns before they arrive.”

“How?” I question.

She types something on her cellphone and then holds it out to the tabby cat. The sounds of a crying infant blare through the speakers. Sadie arches her spine and swats the damn phone out of Rose’s hand, hissing at it.