Royce(48)

She looked over his shoulder as he felt someone coming near. He thought it was her uncle and moved out of his way so that he could see his niece. Royce didn’t let go of her hand and stayed close enough that he could see her. Royce didn’t want to be rude, but the thought of leaving her right now was something he didn’t want to think about. When Jay kissed her forehead and moved back Royce slid his chair back in front of her.

“You should go home. There is no reason for you to hang around here. I’m really…I’m really tired anyway.” Her voice broke as she spoke and he brushed her tears away with his thumb. “Royce, please.”

“I’m not leaving you, honey. I do love you and I want to be here with you. Short of you kicking me out, I’ll just sit outside at the nurse’s station, but I’m not leaving.” She turned her head and he pulled it back to face him. “I love you, Kasey Marie York. The sooner you get used to hearing me say that, the better off you’ll be.”





Chapter 17



Kasey went home four days later. There was really no reason for her to have stayed the extra day, but Royce had insisted and the staff, whether charmed or bullied by him, had done as he’d asked. She didn’t care. She just simply didn’t care. It was where they’d taken her that pissed her off.

“I can very well stay on my own or with my uncle. In fact, I’d rather stay with him. Take me there. I have absolutely no reason to stay with you.” She’d said this same thing a total of eight times now and she knew she was wasting her breath. “I insist that you listen to me and take me back to my apartment this minute.”

“You’re very cute when you get all bossy,” Royce told her with a cocky grin. “But your uncle agrees that you shouldn’t be left alone. I’m taking a few days off and I’ll be caring for you. It’ll be fun.”

Fine, she thought, let him care for her all he wanted, but she wasn’t speaking to him. See how he liked being frustrated. She turned in the seat of his monster car and looked out the window. She just wanted to have some quiet time. She’d been denied that for the past few days and she wanted it.

She’d nearly lost her baby. She’d been so very lucky, the doctor told her, and then he’d explained what she needed to do to keep the baby and to stay healthy. She just needed to take it easy, avoid stress, and make sure that she didn’t lift anything more than ten pounds until the little guy was born. And he told her she was having a boy. She looked up when the car stopped.

The house was magnificent. Tall pillars of white graced the front of the long, open porch. There was a beautiful lace-worked railing surrounding it and she could see that someone had set several rockers around it in varying colors. The large urns were filled with bright flowers that spilled over and the floor to roof windows sparkled in the morning light. The brick façade was rich in deep-colored clay and the grout was creamy against each one. She was startled when someone picked her up out of the car and started to carry her.

“Put me down, you moron. I can walk. I was told to walk, as a matter of fact.” So much for not speaking to him, she thought. Maybe she’d just yell, that would certainly piss—

He kissed her mouth and all thoughts just flew away.

“I’m carrying you because I want to. Now hush up. I want you to take a nap. The doctor said that you’d need to rest as much as possible these first few days and you’re not to lift anything over—”

“I’m very aware what the doctor said. Even though you tried your best to make me seem like a simpleton, I heard and actually understood every word he said.” He grinned at her as he set her on the porch. “I want you to take me to my uncle’s house if you won’t let me go home. This is ridiculous for you to miss work for me.”

“No,” he said as he unlocked the door. When the door opened, he scooped her up again and took her inside. When he set her down, she turned to look around. There were several people standing there looking at them when they entered. “I want you to meet the staff. I’ve been very lucky in that I was able to get someone so quickly to help us out. This is Mrs. Apple. She does the cooking when I’m not in the mood. This is Mrs. Jankins. She helps out around the house and she—”

“May I have a word with you?” She had to tell him that enough was enough. And as much as she wanted to scream at him again, she wouldn’t do it in front of the people who worked for him. She’d had that done to her enough to know how embarrassing it was. He picked her up again and she squealed.