Same/Difference (The Depth of Emotion #4) (25 page)

“I know that.” He sounded exasperated. “I’m asking you if you’ll do this for
me
? If Blake is involved with something underhanded, I need to know. I sure as hell don’t want to do business with him if he is, or have him near my family.”

Carter looked over at Falcon. “You want to do this?”

Falcon flicked the ashes of his cigar, and then puffed until the head was blazing. There was a determined look in his eyes.

“Absolutely.”

I
lost track of time as I held Karas in my arms. I walked through the house, going room to room, as I bounced her gently. Aria and Aimee were cleaning up. Normally I would have helped, but Karas was a much more pleasant diversion.

“She’s a beautiful baby.”

Falcon’s deep voice raised goose bumps on my flesh. He came from behind me and looked at her. She was almost asleep.

“She really is, but then, look at her daddy and momma.” I looked up at him. “Do you like kids?” He nodded.

“Always did. I’d like to have my own someday.” He pushed the blanket down tenderly to better see her face. As he took her in his expression softened.

“Me too. One day.” He reached up and caressed my cheek, and looked deeply into my eyes.

“One day,” I agreed.

Falcon’s green eyes were the color of moss and as bottomless as black water. The love I saw there made me hope and dream. I felt myself sinking into them. That one glance and I was drowning a peaceful death. Something happened to me when I was with him.

I felt things that I never dared feel.

I thought things that I never dared think.

I dreamed things that I never dared dream.

I bundled up the baby and took her outside. Falcon held the chair while I eased into it so as not to wake her up. He sat next to me and the two of us kept looking from the baby to each other. It was another peaceful day. Karas startled once and both of us froze. She was quickly lulled to sleep by an ocean lullaby. He reached for my hand and held it firmly in his. We found tranquility in the company of each other. How we got from an undisturbed snow to the peacefulness of the ocean was surreal, but I couldn’t imagine it happening any other way.

I was glad for these few moments together. Soon the others would be joining us for what would be, at the very least, an interesting conversation. Although I hoped everyone would be happy for us, I was a little numb. My connection to Falcon filled a void in me that had become an almost incapacitating chasm. He was the balm for my battered spirit. I felt like I was learning a new means of communication because of him. Love had a language all its own. It was a conversation without words, a sentence of restoring apologies, a paragraph of healing hearts, and a composition of hope. It articulates when words aren’t enough to become a novel written from emotions. It’s a touch, a glance, and an understanding that, when treated with kindness, becomes a best-selling blockbuster in the universal library.

We enjoyed an uninterrupted moment in our own little world. And, soon, we had the company of Aimee and Carter. Declan and Aria came through the doorway laughing at some inside joke when they saw their sleeping daughter. Falcon never let go of my hand, and I enjoyed the way he declared our status as a couple to our closest friends.

“I’ll take her.” Declan reached over and took his sleeping daughter from my arms. “This little one has had an exciting few days. She’s not going to know what to do when it settles down to the three of us again.”

He disappeared into the house to lay Karas down. The breeze was beginning to pick up and Aria handed a light blanket both to Aimee and I, and we wrapped them around our shoulders.

“So you and Paige?” Aria teased Falcon. “I can’t say I’m surprised.” She began to giggle. “I’m shocked, actually.”

“What can I say? I’m irresistible to women.” Falcon playfully grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Bullshit!” Carter choked on his beer and Aimee and Aria burst into laughter. “You are one, ugly, son of a bitch! It’s a wonder she didn’t take off screaming!”

“Hey! You’re no prize yourself, Sinclair!” Falcon returned with rapid fire.

“Who’s no prize?” Declan asked as he rejoined the group.

“I was just saying your brother’s no prize. I think you got all the looks.” Falcon shrugged his shoulders matter-of-factly while Declan’s chest puffed out proudly.

“I knew you were a smart man, Grey. It’s no wonder you landed Paige.”

“So what’s up with that?” Aria brought the conversation back around. “How did you convince her to go out with you? I’ve been trying to hook her up for years.”

Falcon’s eyes widened. “Well I sure as hell am glad you didn’t have much luck!”

“Don’t get me wrong.” Aria waved her hands as if erasing her former statement. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just that she’s really picky. You must be pretty special to have landed her.”

“Or very drunk.” I smiled at them.

“Drunk? You left out that little part of the story.” Aria looked between Falcon and me.

“There may have been a little alcohol involved,” he laughed.

I snorted.

“Did you just snort? Little Miss Perfect?” Aimee looked at me with eyes wide and mouth open. “Oh my god.” Her voice faded in the swell of everyone’s laughter.

“Well, beautiful, that’s something I didn’t know about you. Snorting may be a deal breaker for me.” Falcon made them laugh even more.

“Shut up!” I hit him on the arm.

“So there
was
alcohol involved.” Aria confirmed her suspicions with a smug look on her face. “I knew she was coerced. She’s always been so adamant about not wanting a relationship. Must have been
a lot
of alcohol.” She winked at Falcon.

“Now wait a minute!” Falcon put his hands up in a defensive stance. “
I
didn’t have much alcohol.” Everyone laughed again.

Aria turned to me. “And you? The prim and proper business woman?”

“Yes, Aria. I had alcohol. It was Vegas for god’s sake!” I rolled my eyes, exasperated.

“You’d better watch it, Falcon. Our unattached friend might rethink having you as a boyfriend.” Aria’s warning made him chuckle.

“
If
she was unattached, and
if
I was her boyfriend, I might be worried.” Falcon looked at me with mischief in his eyes.

“What do you mean ‘if’, because
if I
know her, it’s going to take a whole lotta convincing to tie Paige down.”

“Guess I convinced her.”

Everyone went silent while Falcon grinned.

“What?” Aria looked between us. All of the sudden, understanding dawned in her eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”

I shrugged.

“You’ve heard about those Vegas weddings. Well…”

“Holy shit!” Carter’s outburst reflected what the others were thinking. They all stared in disbelief.

“Oh my god!” Aimee squealed. “Congratulations!” She jumped out of her chair and gave me a hug, then threw her arms around Falcon and gave him one as well. “I’m so happy for you!”

Declan and Carter followed suit, giving me kisses and slapping Falcon on the back. The only one who held back was Aria. While everyone else chattered, I sat next to her.

“Are you upset?” I asked in a low tone.

“You got married.” She seemed sad.

“I know.” I leaned forward in my chair because she seemed a little dumbstruck.

“You got married,” she said again.

“I know. We’ve established that.” I smiled at her. “Can’t you be happy for me?”

“You got married and I wasn’t there.” She pouted playfully.

“So, you’ll be there for the babies.”

“Babies? I can’t believe that you’re married—I didn’t think you trusted
anyone
that much.”

“Ahhh…I’m working on the trust thing. It’s a good thing I was drunk. It might not have happened otherwise.” I looked over at Falcon who was still being ribbed by the other men. “He’s a good guy, Aria.”

“He’d better be.” She looked at him with determination. “Or I’ll kick his ass!”

I
t had been a week since Karas’ christening. Falcon convinced me to take off for a few days and he did the same. Although I’d planned to take off a day or two to spend with Aria and the baby, he occupied most of my time. I apologized to her, but she understood completely, insisting that I spend the time with my husband.

Husband.

Has a nice ring to it.

I half-heartedly rummaged through the closet as I prepared to go into the office. Mondays always seemed to come so fast. My fingers lingered on each hanger as I looked over my wardrobe possibilities and pushed them aside one by one until I found something to wear. Usually whatever I wore reflected my disposition, but I was more distracted than usual. Today my mood was dark and my distraction was over six-foot-tall, solid muscle, and lying comfortably in my bed. I looked over my shoulder in the mirrored door and smiled.

Falcon was still here with me.

It felt like a dream.

This past week was a routine I could get used to. Having some time off at home was such a delicious change for me and not at all an inconvenience. I’d been accused of being a workaholic, and rightfully so. When I was home, I was working, but not lately. We had fun all week and, for the first time, I didn’t miss working at all. We did our morning runs on the beach, after which I made breakfast. We showered, made love, ran errands, made love, worked out, made love…but he was leaving tomorrow. Business dictated that he make another trip to Vegas and my schedule wouldn’t permit me to go with him. It was better for my peace of mind to get back into working so I was leaving him on his own for a day. I thought that he might like some time to himself to give him some breathing room. We had been together every day since the christening and I thought he might need some time to process all that had happened. Of course there was still a small, nagging voice that warned me that if I did so he might realize he made a mistake. That was just my insecurities talking, but the good news was that I paid less and less attention to them. I even snuffed them out one night when Carter and Declan insisted on giving Falcon a belated bachelor party. While the guys went out, I spent the evening with Aria and Aimee at Aria’s house. We had such a good time just hanging out and catching up. Those two grilled me for details while the baby slept. Three women, three wine glasses, and three bottles of wine later I told them most of what they wanted to know.

As I bent over to retrieve a pair of shoes, I bumped into a few purses and knocked them off a shelf. My attempt to catch them was unsuccessful and when I stood up I saw sleepy green eyes watching me. It felt so natural. Falcon was the serenity I lacked in my life. I didn’t even know there was a void until he filled it. No matter what we were doing there was a peacefulness about it.

“Come back to bed. I’ll warm you up.” He patted the side where I slept.

“Tempting, but I have to go to work.” I reached into the closet to put back the bags that had fallen on the floor. He leaned up on his elbow and the sheet fell down around his waist.

“Where are you going? To work?” His confused, smoky baritone made me want to abandon my plans and spend the day in bed with him.

“I’m going into the office today, remember? I won’t be long. It’ll do you good to have alone time.” His eyes grew dark.

“I don’t need alone time. What I need is more time in bed with you. Now get your ass over here.” Something happened to me when he used that tone. It didn’t feel threatening at all; it just made me feel wanted.

Abandoning my outfit, I laid it over the chair. All I had worn to bed was an oversized tee shirt and panties. I laid down and turned over on my belly. Leaning up on my elbows, I gave him my full attention. I was admiring his sexy, morning look when he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. His eyes were awash with determination.

“You’re staying here with me today.” He growled playfully into my neck. I tried to wiggle away from his stubble-shadowed chin.

“Stop! That tickles!”

Obviously that was the wrong thing to say because he tightened his arms and attacked at the same place on the other side. I tried to push him off but it was like pushing against a concrete wall.