Chapter 180
“Mrs. Higgins, what is going on?” Gaston asked, surveying the chaos around him.
“Emergency plumbing repairs, sir,” she said, her eyes wide and entirely innocent. “Mr. Elbert sent a crew over an hour ago. He said there was a catastrophic leak in the guest wing pipes.”
Gaston narrowed his eyes. “A leak. Since when?”
“Since today, apparently,” Mrs. Higgins said. “They’ve torn up the floors in the guest bedroom, the secondary suites, and the hallway. It’s a disaster zone.”
“So where do we sleep?” Jocelyn asked, looking at the plastic barriers taping off half the apartment.
“The only habitable room is the Master Suite,” Mrs. Higgins said, with a quick, nearly imperceptible glance at Jocelyn that was full of quiet encouragement. “The water to the rest of the house has been shut off.”
Gaston pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long, ragged breath. “My father is subtle as a brick.”
Jocelyn felt heat rise to her cheeks. “So we’re all in one room?”
Aaden stirred in her arms, blinking awake. He took in the plastic sheeting and the ladder and immediately brightened. “Cool! Are we camping? It looks like a ghost house! You have to stay with us!”
𝖶𝗁a𝘁 e𝘷e𝗋𝗒oո𝘦 𝗂𝗌 𝗋е𝖺𝖽іn𝘨 𝗈𝗻 𝘨𝖺𝗅𝗇о𝘷elѕ.𝖼𝘰𝗺
“Something like that,” Gaston muttered.
“And where does Aaden sleep?” Jocelyn asked.
“I’ve set up a cot in the Master dressing room,” Mrs. Higgins said promptly. “It’s very spacious. Plenty of room.”
Gaston looked at Jocelyn. The tension that had simmered between them since the Kiss Cam incident was still there — a low, persistent current of electricity. Forced now into the same room, it felt as though someone had quietly turned up the volume.
“I can sleep on the sofa,” Gaston said, gesturing toward the living room couch, currently buried under a drop cloth.
“No!” Aaden yelled, fully awake now.
“Aaden —”
“Please, Uncle G?” The puppy-dog eyes were deployed without hesitation. “It’s a slumber party!”
Jocelyn looked at Gaston. She saw the exhaustion he was carrying — the rigid set of his shoulders, the tight control he was maintaining over everything.
“It’s fine,” she said, keeping her voice steady. “The bed is enormous. We can fit a demilitarized zone in the middle.”
Gaston looked at her. His dark eyes moved over her face in a way that lasted a beat too long.
Sleeping beside her. Torture and heaven in equal measure.
“Fine,” he said, his voice low. “But no kicking.”
The Master Suite was a sanctuary. While the rest of the apartment resembled a construction site, this room was untouched — enormous and still, dominated by a bed that looked less like furniture and more like a continent. A California King, draped in charcoal silk and layered with pillows.
Floor-to-ceiling windows framed a panoramic view of Central Park, the city lights glittering like diamonds pressed into black velvet.
Aaden was treating the mattress as a trampoline.
“It’s huge!” he shouted, bouncing. “I claim this side!”
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A message from Noa: Lovely readers, this little note will be a bit different. You know I always wish you the best, that I love you, but above all, that God loves you, and I say that with complete sincerity. My life went from being in darkness to a completely different reality the moment I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and for years now I’ve been intentional about reminding you that God loves you, because honestly, it’s the best thing I could ever share with you.
You are so loved, dear ones, and I truly hope you get to know God as a father, with all the love he has for you. Have a beautiful weekend, love you so much!! (ɔO‿=)ɔ ♥
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