Chaos

by Timberlyn Scott

  “Yeah,” I told him honestly. “Eventually.”

  “Good.” That was all he said before slapping me on the back, sending me stumbling forward a step.

  “The furniture was delivered yesterday, right?” I asked as I righted myself and glared at him over my shoulder.

  “Yep,” Toby confirmed. “All your new shit’s been set up.”

  Thank God.

  “Payton and Chloe should be there in a bit,” I told him. “They’re getting groceries.”

  “I hope you didn’t give them your credit card,” Toby said, laughing.

  “I did.” I smiled. I’d told Payton to buy whatever she thought we might need. Yes, I had inserted the word “we” into that sentence, and she hadn’t balked at it, either. I had informed her that damn near everything in the guesthouse belonged to my father, so if it wasn’t in the house now, I probably didn’t own it. She informed me she would stop by first, check it out, and then run to the store.

  Pushing open the garage door to the house, I left it open so Toby could follow me. “Did the pools get taken care of?”

  “Yep. Guy came early yesterday when I was waiting for the furniture guys. He set everything up. You’re good to go, man.” Toby followed me into the house, still talking. “You tell Conrad yet?”

  “Nope,” I answered, heading straight for my bedroom.

  “Plannin’ to do that soon?”

  “Maybe,” I offered. “But not today.”

  “What can I do?” Toby asked as he followed me up the stairs.

  “Load the truck up with the shit in the workout room, would ya?”

  “Might’ve been nice for you to mention that when I was downstairs,” he grumbled as he turned back toward the stairs.

  “Lazy ass,” I retorted, laughing.

  Toby stopped with his hand on the top rail, grinning. “Hey, we still on for tomorrow?”

  “Yep.” I knew he was talking about Leif. Toby and I had both gone to visit Leif every day since he’d been moved to a regular room. They had put him in ICU for two days, and even then, we’d managed to get in to see him. Once I’d found out about the closing date on the house, I had brought the subject up with Leif, trying to get a feel for whether or not he still wanted to move in. He’d assured me he did, and I had even stayed when he’d talked to his mother.

  Tammy hadn’t been all that happy about the news, but she wasn’t against it either. I told her that she was welcome at the house anytime she wanted to stop by and check on him. Leif had delivered one of his I-am-gonna-hurt-you glares, but in the end, he and his mother had hugged, and he was set to move in when he was released tomorrow.

  “Now get to work. We’ve got places to be.”

  Toby saluted me before he jogged down the stairs. I opened my bedroom door and gave it one last once-over. Almost everything in there was mine, so this was going to take a while.

  Two hours later, I was finished packing up my bedroom and the bathroom, and Toby had finished with the workout room. Pretty fucking sad that at twenty-five years old, it only took me that long to pack up everything I owned. Even worse was the house still looked the same as it had before I’d started.

  Then again, the majority of my possessions were in the garage. The truck was full, both inside and out, and Toby had even filled the trunk of his car.

  “Aaron and Garth are on the way. Garth said Sean and Dale are behind them.”

  “Good deal. I’ll have Garth take the Ferrari,” I told Toby. Since I no longer had the Camaro, I didn’t need another body to take that car, so it would work out. “Did Sean and Dale by chance bring their trucks?”

  “Yup,” Toby said as he made his way to the toolboxes and began loading up the tools that were strewn across the floor and the cabinets. “I told ’em we’ve got tools.”

  As though they’d been summoned straight out of my thoughts, Aaron’s girlie little Honda pulled into the driveway behind Toby’s Camaro, and the rumble of diesel engines sounded from farther down the driveway. Garrett climbed out of the passenger seat of Aaron’s car, grinning. Who the hell knew what he was smiling about, but Aaron’s goofy smile matched, so I figured the two of them were figuring things out between them.

  I did not need to know the details.

  Sean backed his big-ass Ford into the garage bay where my Camaro previously had sat and hopped out of the truck. The cowboy hat sitting on top of his head made me laugh, but Sean was used to me giving him shit about being a redneck. I thought Toby was a country boy, but Sean made him look like a wannabe.

  “What’s up, man? You finally blowin’ this joint?” Sean asked, clapping me on the back as he made his way over.

  “Yep. Figured it was about time.”

  “Leif told me all about it, man. Glad you’re gettin’ out.”

  “How’s he doin’?” I asked, referring to Leif.

  “Good. We stopped by on the way over here. He’s ready to get out of there, and he’s makin’ sure the nurses know it.”

  “What’s up, little man?” Dale asked as he sauntered over, a smug smirk plastered on his face.

  “Not much, old man,” I retorted. Dale was the oldest of the four Connelly brothers. He was thirty-four, and Sean came in second at thirty-one. Their mother had spaced out their births pretty well, and I always told them it was because she’d been scared shitless of making another one. Dale was the one who picked on me most, just like he did Leif. Although we were roughly the same height and weight, he still liked to refer to me as little. I’d always taken it in stride.

  “Well, we better hop to it if we wanna get this done today,” Sean stated, making his way over to Toby, greeting him by pulling him into a headlock. That was a sight to see, because Toby wasn’t a little guy. Not by a long shot.

  Everyone got to work, loading the boxes we brought from the house and packing up the tools in Sean’s and Dale’s trucks. Close to two hours later, we had everything strapped in, and from the looks of the six vehicles, I had a lot more shit than I’d thought I had.

  Now it was time to get it the hell out of there.

  Chapter Six

  Payton

  When Sebastian had given me the key to his new house, I hadn’t been sure what to think. He had blown me away when he’d announced that he’d bought a house. Of all the things I’d been expecting him to tell me when he’d showed up at my apartment yesterday, that wasn’t it. Not that I wasn’t happy for him. I honestly believed that getting his own place, away from Conrad, would allow them to put some much-needed distance between them. At least until Sebastian could come to terms with his suspicions.

  But a key. For me.

  At first I’d thought he was just handing it over so that I could stop by after I picked up some groceries, something we had briefly discussed moments before he handed over the key. That wasn’t his intention, he’d informed me. The key was for me. Anytime I wanted to come over, I had a way to get in.

  I wouldn’t admit this out loud, but receiving that key was better than jewelry. It held a significance that nothing else could compare to.

  Especially after we’d had to spend so much time apart. For the better part of the last two weeks, the real world had intruded, and we’d found it more difficult to conjure up enough hours in the day to see each other. During the day, I went to work. In the evening, if I managed to sneak out of work early enough, Chloe and I would go visit Leif in the hospital, then return to the apartment and have a quick dinner before calling it a night. Toby had come over and stayed with Chloe a few times, and Sebastian had come over twice. Sebastian and I had quickly learned that I did not get nearly enough sleep when he was around, so we had agreed, at least for the time being, that we would spend weeknights at our own places.

  But now… Now Sebastian was moving into his house, which was less than ten miles from my apartment, and the possibilities seemed nearly endless. I would get to see him whenever I wanted, and I could honestly say that I was not at all disappointed with that. If we saw each other more, I figure
d the temptation to stay up all night would eventually dissipate and we’d manage to sleep so that we could both work with all brain cells firing.

  Then again, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get enough of Sebastian. When I wasn’t with him, I wanted to be. When I was with him, I didn’t want to be anywhere else.

  Chloe pulled the car into a space close to the front door of the superstore where we’d decided to go to pick up the things that Sebastian would need. Aside from food and kitchen gadgets, I figured he needed all sorts of stuff, and I wanted to make sure I bought things that he would like. Since I was using his credit card to fund the purchase, I also didn’t want to go overboard, although he had informed me that money was no object. I tended to disagree.

  In my world, money was an object. A big one. And I was going to show Sebastian just what it was like to live in my world. He might have a ginormous house and more land than a small town, but he could still get good deals.

  “Come on. Let’s do this,” Chloe said before pushing open her door and hopping from the car.

  The second I’d mentioned shopping, she had been practically skipping around like a kid. Unlike me, Chloe lived to shop, and in her defense, she was even more adept at finding bargains than I was, so I figured we would make a good team.

  I grabbed a shopping cart when we walked through the automatic doors, and I was surprised to see that Chloe grabbed one as well. My eyes dropped to the basket in front of her before meeting hers once again.

  “What? Did you really think it would all fit in one? You’ll be lucky if we don’t need another one.”

  I laughed, but there was no humor in it. Her words had me picturing just how many dollar signs we were going to be looking at before this was over.

  The two of us started on the side of the store sectioned off with household goods. By the time we made it to the food, two hours had passed and one cart was overflowing. There were small kitchen appliances and gadgets, a few pots and pans, towels, sheets, pillows, rugs. I had even started a list of items that we figured we could find better deals on — not to mention nicer quality — online.

  “Food time!” Chloe squealed, leading the charge with her empty shopping cart.

  Shopping for food took us less time, but we still spent an hour going up and down every aisle until we had filled Chloe’s cart and somehow managed to squeeze a few more items into mine.

  “Have you told your mom that you’re moving in with Sebastian?” Chloe asked as we pushed our carts down the cereal aisle.

  I jerked my head around to look at her. “What are you talking about? I’m not moving in with him.”

  Chloe smiled. “You say that now.”

  “No, I say that always,” I retorted.

  “Come on, Payton. He clearly wants you to move in with him.”

  “He didn’t say that,” I told her, trying to recall our conversation about his new house. Never once had he mentioned me moving in.

  “I think you should probably introduce him to your folks,” Chloe said, passing me as I stood rooted to the floor.

  She was right, I really should introduce him to my parents. I’d given that a lot of thought recently. Other than talking to my mother on the phone almost every day since I’d returned from Vegas, something we had always done, I hadn’t gone to their house. Maybe because I feared my mother would be able to tell just how happy I was. I doubted she would figure that my new job had put the glow on my face or the spring in my step, and I really wanted to avoid an interrogation. She had just gotten over being mad at me for springing the Vegas trip on her without any notice. Regardless, Chloe was right. If I intended for this relationship to keep moving forward, I needed to introduce Sebastian to my mother and father.

  As I pushed the cart down the aisle, I wondered just how they would react to him. I’d never brought a boy home to meet them. I made a mental note to text my mother to see about Sunday dinner. The thought made butterflies sprout in my stomach.

  When we reached the checkout lanes at the front, I was dreading how much the purchase was going to be, and thankfully that had scattered all thoughts of Sebastian meeting my parents. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. Mainly, figuring out how I wasn’t going to max out Sebastian’s credit card with just one purchase.

  “Don’t think about it. Everything we bought was a necessity. And trust me, after looking at Sebastian’s furniture, I don’t think he’s gonna care.”

  I tended to side with Chloe on that part. I had been a little overwhelmed when I’d walked into Sebastian’s house to find it full of furniture. I hadn’t had time to go on a tour, but the rooms I could see did have new furniture. The living room, dining room, breakfast nook, they all sported brand new pieces that looked expensive, and I figured the rest of the house probably looked the same. The one thing I noted about the things I did see was that Sebastian’s furniture looked like it would be lived on, not used as decoration the way Conrad’s house had been. While those few rooms hadn’t been empty, I realized that he had purchased the basics, which meant eventually he would have to do some decorating. I figured he wasn’t all that worried about that just yet, which was why I had only picked out a few things that would add a little color to the place.

  The woman who checked us out was friendly and efficient, talking to us the entire time she rang up the items. And when I swiped the credit card and signed my name, I refused to look at the total. Chloe whispered in my ear that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought, but I still couldn’t bring myself to look.

  We were loading the stuff into the trunk and the backseat of Chloe’s car when she announced the final total.

  “Why did you do that?” I exclaimed, recoiling when she revealed the dollar amount.

  “What? I think the fact that you kept it under fifteen hundred was pretty remarkable.”

  I was pretty sure I was going to have a heart attack right there in the parking lot of the superstore where I had just spent one thousand, three hundred, forty-seven dollars and twenty three cents.

  “Holy shit,” I mumbled, forcing the last bag into the backseat and closing the door before it spilled out onto the concrete.

  “If you think about it, you really did well,” Chloe assured me.

  “I’ve never spent that much money in my life,” I told her.

  “Well, I get the feeling that Sebastian doesn’t consider that a lot.”

  We’d see about that.

  We arrived at Sebastian’s to find cars and trucks parked all along the driveway, a couple backed into the four-car garage. Because we had so much to carry in, I told Chloe to pull into the garage, since that would be the closest to the kitchen. She eased into one of the empty bays and shut off the engine. Before I could get my seat belt unbuckled, Sebastian was at my door, pulling it open and smiling down at me.

  “Hey, Angel,” he whispered as he stood back, allowing me to get out. “Sorry, I’m sweaty,” he said, cupping my face briefly and then pressing his lips to mine. His lip ring was cool as it pressed against my lower lip. “Do you need help with this?”

  I glanced into the backseat before meeting his eyes again. “I’m so sorry. I spent over a thousand dollars. I don’t know how it was that much, but—”

  Sebastian pressed his mouth to mine again, effectively cutting off my rant. “It’s good, Angel. I trust you.”

  Yeah, well, I wasn’t sure I did. But now wasn’t the time to argue. I could see that the trucks in the garage were still full of Sebastian’s things, which meant the guys were unpacking. I figured I’d done enough damage, no need to get in the way of progress, too.

  “We can get this stuff,” I told him, forcing a smile I didn’t feel.

  “Seriously, Payton,” Sebastian said, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him. “It’s all good.” He was right, he was sweaty. His navy blue T-shirt was plastered to his chest, and his hair was wet, but it didn’t bother me at all. In fact, I found I liked sweaty Sebastian. He was kind of hot.

  “We’
re almost done with the cars out front, so we’ve just got this stuff left.” He motioned to the two trucks in the garage. The beds were full of tools and a few boxes.

  I nodded. “We’ll help when we’re done putting this stuff away,” I told him, pecking him on the lips once more.

  “Okay. And later, after all these people go home,” Sebastian said, leaning down until his mouth pressed against my ear, “I’ll give you a tour. We’ve got a few rooms to christen.”

  Heat infused me, bubbling in my veins and rushing up to my face.

  He stepped back and smiled, his thumb sliding over my cheek. “Have I mentioned that I love it when you blush?”

  “Hush,” I told him and turned around to see Chloe watching us intently. Crap.

  Without saying another word, I opened the back door of the car, careful to keep the items from pouring out onto the garage floor. As I set my mind on getting the car emptied and the groceries put away, I did my best not to think about the wicked promise Sebastian had made.

  That wasn’t nearly as easy as it looked.

  Chapter Seven

  Sebastian

  I have to say that moving wasn’t high on my list of things I enjoyed doing. Without the help of my friends, I doubt it would’ve been as easy as it was, either. But now that all my shit was inside my house, I realized I had a long way to go before I actually got settled in. The boxes had made it to the appropriate rooms, but that was about it.

  It was late, and Sean and Dale had taken off, leaving Toby, Chloe, Aaron, and Garrett there with Payton and me. Everyone was still working, unpacking boxes and cleaning, but I was ready to call it a night. Not to sleep, but I figured everyone needed a break.

  “How about pizza?” I asked as I joined the others in the kitchen, where Payton and Chloe were putting away the last of the things they’d bought at the store earlier. Once the girls had put away the food, Payton had insisted on helping to get the vehicles unloaded, which meant her purchases were still sitting in bags on the kitchen counter.