Chaos

“Hello, Jackson.”

Kate’s warm voice washed over me, and I looked up to see her standing at my table, smiling sweetly.

“Hey there, blue eyes,” I greeted her with a grin. “Fancy meeting you here.” It was probably a stupid move, but after nine months of waiting, I’d reached the point when I needed to talk to Kate at least once a day or I would lose my fucking mind. So I started frequenting the coffee shop she loved. She was there nearly every day. My only saving grace was that it was near the firehouse, so I had a plausible excuse.

Kate giggled, and her deep blue orbs sparkled. I hoped our daughters had her eyes…then again, maybe not. If our girls looked half as beautiful as Kate, I’d have to lock them in a tower until their golden years.

Her smile turned almost shy, and she blushed before saying, “I hoped…um, it’s always nice to see you.”

Fucking hell. I wanted to yank her onto my lap and kiss the hell out of her. But I swallowed the desire and kept my expression pleasant. “I enjoy seeing you too, Kate.” I noticed no one had called to her, and she hadn’t glanced around as though waiting for someone. “Meeting anyone today?”

She shook her head. “No. My sister was supposed to meet me, but the twins are teething, so she wanted to be home with them. So I came for my fix alone.” Her eyes were glued to my face when she

made her comment, and I wondered—and hoped—that she was referring to me rather than coffee.

I knew I should end the conversation. Say a nice goodbye and kindly dismiss her. Keep my distance. We only had two months left.

Instead, I pushed out the seat next to me and gestured for her to sit. “Lucky me. I could use your advice.”

Kate’s mouth formed a little O, and her eyes went wide. “My advice?”

I laughed at how cute she looked at that moment. “Didn’t you tell me once that you wanted to go into interior design?”

Her nose scrunched up as she thought, and I prayed she wouldn’t realize I was completely bluffing. “Did I?”

“I’m pretty sure…”

Her shoulders bounced as her lips tilted up and she chuckled. “I must have, or how else would you know that?”

Time to change the subject. “How about I grab us a couple of drinks, then I can pick your brain about something?”

I stood but halted when she put a hand on my arm. “You don’t have to—”

My free hand itched to lay on top of hers, but that kind of skin-on-skin contact was just begging for trouble. “I know. But I want to.” Before she could say anything else, I walked to the front counter and ordered us both a drink and a scone.

When I returned with our food, she gave me an odd look as I set it in front of her. “Wow. Since you didn’t ask what I wanted, I figured you’d get me some kind of frou-frou coffee. I can’t believe you guessed my favorite drink.”

“I’m observant,” I explained. Not untrue, but I’d actually learned about it from the dossier I had on her.

Her cheeks turned pink, and she took a sip of her drink before murmuring, “I didn’t realize you noticed me.”

“I notice everything about you,” I admitted.

The pink darkened to crimson, but her eyes twinkled again. “Anyway, I’m buying a new house, and I thought it might be good

to get a designer’s impression on it before making a final decision.” The portfolio on the house was in a folder I’d already set on the table, so I pushed it across to her.

“I don’t have much experience,” she said softly, but her eyes lit up with excitement.

“Thank fuck,” I muttered, too low for her to hear it. Then I raised my voice to a normal decibel. “You have just what I’m looking for.”

That sweet blush covered her cheeks again, and I restrained the desire to bJackson a finger over the pretty color. Instead, I reached over and opened the folder.

Kate’s expression said it all. But I was happy to hear her whisper, “Wow.”

“Do you like it?”

She shook her head, and I frowned. Had I read her wrong? No.

Kate was like an open book.

“Like isn’t a strong enough word,” she said as she flipped to the next page. She read something, then smiled. “Actually, it’s not far from my sister’s house.” Not a coincidence. Grace and Kate were extremely close.

Relief trickled through me, along with a smug satisfaction. I’d known the minute I saw this house that it was meant for Kate. But I wanted to be sure, so I waited for the right opportunity and got lucky today.

The mansion was a limestone chateau modeled after the Palace of Versailles, designed in the style of 17th-century French classicism. Giant iron gates and limestone pillars opened to a driveway lined with trees, creating a grand entrance that led to the two-story house. It was set on half a dozen acres with opulent gardens and open lawns, giving the feel of the French countryside.

It was perfect for a big family, and not just because the grounds provided lots of room for the kids to run around. There were eight bedrooms, a dozen bathrooms, staff quarters, a ballroom, a theater room, and other spaces to enjoy together. After we christened every room in the house, I intended to fill all those bedrooms.As she thumbed through the photos, her face went back and forth between delight and cringing, making me laugh.

“It’s a bit much, isn’t it? That’s why I need help, to figure out how to keep the authenticity while making it a comfortable home for my family.”

Kate stiffened, and after a beat, she briefly glanced at me before returning to the photos.

Rather than demand an explanation, I waited silently for her to put her thoughts together and tell me what was bothering her.

She cleared her throat and asked, “Are you, um, you never mentioned being married.” Her voice sounded so dejected that I was tempted to lay my cards all on the table. But there was still too much time before I could make her mine, too much time for her to be talked out of being with me. Not that she had a choice, but it would be easier to show her our incredible future together by immediately living it.

And putting my kid in her would tie her to me in yet another way. I intended to work on that as soon as she had my ring on her finger. Lucky for me, her body would be ripe and ready for breeding a week after her birthday.

I knew this because I’d had my team keeping track of her doctor visits to make sure she didn’t get a prescription for birth control. When she’d gone to see her gynecologist, I’d nearly blown all my plans by kidnapping her right then and there. However, it turned out to be her yearly checkup—luckily with a female doctor or I would have lost my shit—and after having the records hacked, I found they kept a chart of her cycles.

Knowing I wouldn’t have to wait to knock her up had made me so fucking hot. I couldn’t wait to sink inside her young, virgin pussy and fill her with my seed. I’d fuck her like a man possessed until I knew it had taken root.

I doubted that would change much after she was pregnant, though. My obsession with her knew no bounds. Most would probably consider it an unhealthy fixation, but I didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought except Kate.

Which was why I was so pleased to see that she seemed disappointed by the idea that I might not be free.

“I’m not married, blue eyes. And before you ask, I’m not engaged either.”

“Oh.” She looked up, and her expression was adorably confused. I chuckled and folded my hands together on the tabletop to keep

from touching her. “Future family, Kate.”

She cleared her throat again and tried to sound nonchalant when she asked, “Sounds like you have someone in mind, though.”

“I do,” I answered honestly. “She just doesn’t know how I feel about her yet. Although, if she really thought about it, she could probably figure it out.” My eyes drilled into her, willing her to understand my hint.

Kate’s skin flushed, and she immediately dropped her head down and pretended to pore over the photos again. But I hadn’t missed her relieved smile, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. She was so damn cute, and I fucking loved that she was so open and honest.

“That’s a big house,” she murmured.

“For a big family,” I agreed. “I’m an only child, and I always knew I wanted my children to grow up with a lot of siblings. I don’t want a quiet and organized life. I want lots of laughter, messes, chaos, and love.”

Kate’s deep blue orbs melted, and she sighed dreamily. “That’s how I grew up, and if I ever have kids, I want them to have the same experience.”

“You will,” I stated. Sooner than you think, blue eyes.

The interior design had been done to match the architecture of the mansion, so it was quite ornate with multiple chandeliers, gold leafing, wrought-iron doors, and multiple other features that made it seem more like a museum.

It needed Kate’s touch to make it a home.