I blanch, stunned. “You want—”
“Yes. I want. You’re already living with me and I don’t want you to leave. I know it’s fast. You don’t have to tell me now. I know there is Gio and—”
“Gio makes decisions for Gio. He does.” My hand flattens on his chest. “Yes. Yes, I will.”
“You will?”
“Yes. I just I have to figure out my place and—”
“I’ll pay it off and when Gio gets back—”
“No, Kace. You are not—”
He lifts me off the wall and molds me close, body to body, his chest to my chest. He makes me stronger. “I am paying it off,” he says. “Then you always know you’re not captive to my money like my mother was to my father’s. You will always feel you have a place to go, but home is with me now. Say it.”
These words about his mother is another peek into his past that he’s allowed me. He’s inviting me to live in his world. And I’m inviting him into mine when I thought I’d never open that door to anyone. “I already feel like you’re the only home I’ve had in a long time, Kace.”
“As you are for me. The only home.”
My fingers find the rough stubble of his jaw. “The one true daisy in the wind.”
There is something warm and yet dark in his eyes with those words that I cannot name and I don’t even try. He kisses me then, deep, crazy kisses, and then we go back to the table to share the news, but in the back of my mind, I feel like I’m forgetting Gio. I’m giving up on my brother. And I silently vow that is not true. I will never give up on Gio.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
I wake Monday morning to Kace wrapped around me and the sound of his cellphone vibrating on the nightstand. Somehow I’m on his side of the bed, and with a groan, he reaches over me and glances at the number. With another groan, he rolls to his back and answers the call.
“It’s six AM, Mark. Why are you calling me?” Whatever Mark says has him sitting up. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Holly hell. Now what?”
Nerves erupt in my belly and I scoot up against the headboard, knees to my chest, waiting for him to hang up. When he finally does, I pounce. “What is it?”
“The L.A. event center for our performance burned down last night. We’re moving the San Francisco event to a museum that can accommodate tickets for both events.”
“It burned down.” My throat goes dry. “Kace, that feels funny to me. Is that—could that be—”
“No. It was electrical.” He pulls me down and under him. “Stop worrying.”
“It feels off.”
He pulls me down on the mattress and slides between my legs. “I’ll have Blake check into it.”
“Yes, but—”
He slides down my body and about the time his lips touch my belly button, I stop talking. When his tongue follows, I have no idea what we were talking about. I now share a home with Kace. My bed is no longer cold or lonely.
By Monday evening, he’s managed to get movers to my apartment. I don’t even want to know how much a rush service cost him.
By Tuesday, he’s paid off the building Gio and I own and I’ve left the documents on Gio’s desk. By Wednesday, I’ve made three sales for Riptide and involved Nancy in the process with great success. Kace has also filled my closet with clothes and shoes and my head is spinning. I try to slow down his spending, but he declares, “I’ve decided you’ll get used to my money with exposure. So here we go, baby.”
I fight, but not hard. For some reason, Kace needs to do these things for me, but I also know he needs to know I’m here for him, not for a luxurious lifestyle. I don’t know how to do that but I’m determined to figure it out.
A declaration that proves it’s not done easily or quickly.
Thursday morning, we’re having our morning coffee at the kitchen island, when he slides a credit card onto the counter. That’s where I draw the line. “No.” I slide it back to him. “No. And no.”
“So you can pick things you want rather than settling for what some personal shopper buys for you.”
“I’m making money. You paid off my building. I have a load off financially. I can buy what I need, Kace.”
“Aria, I’m worth an ungodly amount of money. I don’t want to spend it alone. Just take it. Then we both know if you need it you have it.”
There is such an earnestness to this request that I pick up the card. Apparently, this is not where I draw the line, but I look for that balance. “For emergencies.”
“It’s a start,” he approves. “I can live with that.”