I tilted my head to the side and hunkered down so I was eye level with him. “Honey, what’s wrong with you? Why did you go off drinkin’ on your own? It’s not like you.”
Kane shrugged. “Just felt like it.”
I felt my eye twitch. “I want a better answer than that.”
“Or what? You’ll spank me, Miss Collins?”
I hated that I snorted.
“Made you laugh.” Kane grinned and closed his eyes.
I observed his face. I ran my eyes over his scars, the curve of his jaw, the shape of his straight nose, the thickness of his eyebrows and the length of his eyelashes.
“It’s not fair to the rest of the male population that you’re so good lookin’.”
Kane opened his eyes. “It’s not, is it?”
“You make up for it by being a huge prick though so it balances out.”
Kane laughed and closed his eyes again. “Babydoll?” he murmured.
“What?”
His lip quirked as he reopened his eyes and looked at me. “Just wanted to see if you’d answer to babydoll.”
I glared at him. “You’ve called me it so many times that it’s stuck, you arsehole.”
Kane blinked at me. “I feel sad, Aideen.”
That gutted me.
That sudden admission twisted something inside me.
“Why, sweetie?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, and that’s what’s pissing me off. I just feel... alone.” He lifted his hands and rubbed his face. “God, I’m such a bitch. Don’t tell my brothers what I just said.”
I chuckled. “Your secret is safe with me, big lad, but know that you aren’t alone. You have your brothers and the girls, and you have me.”
Kane looked at me. “Do I have you?”
It felt like there was an underlying meaning to his question.
I mentally shook it off and smiled. “Of course, you do, silly. I’ll always be here for you. Me and you?”
Kane never broke eye contact with me as he said, “Me and you.”
A little voice in me wanted to tell him that ‘me and you’ would become a me and you and a mini you, but I bottled it and decided I couldn’t tell him until he was in a better place mentally. The only problem was that everyone else knew, and if he found out from them he would instantly know the baby was his and he would be really mad that I wasn’t the one to tell him.
“Come and let me give you your insulin. I’m goin’ to have to give you a higher dose because you were drinkin’.”
Kane smirked. “If you want to punish me, Miss Collins, just let me know.”
I realised then just how close my face was to his at that moment. The sudden urge to close the space even further freaked me out so I took a step back and held out my hand.
“Come on, you big baby. Let’s go get this done.”
“On one condition.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “What’s the condition?”
“That you stay a few more hours and watch some Sons of Anarchy with me.”
Did he not realise how late it was?
“You haven’t started the second season yet?” I asked, curiously.
He shook his head. “No. I watched the first one with you so I want to watch the rest with you, too.”
“You plan on watchin’ them all?”
“Yes.”
I burst into laughter, “I told you, the Sons have hold of you—there’s no escapin’ now.”
Kane stood up and looked down at me. “I can think of worse ways to be tied up.”
I didn’t know if that was a sexual jab or an admission from past experiences.
I pretended to think about it so Kane lifted his hands to my sides and began to tickle me. I gasped and jumped backwards. “Okay, okay. I’ll watch the Sons with you, just don’t tickle me.”
Kane smirked. “Let’s go then.”
“Nuh-uh, your insulin first... and then I’ve to share somethin’ with you before we go and watch some Netflix.”
Kane raised an eyebrow. “Share what?”
“Come and get your insulin first then you’ll find out.”
“Witch.”
I followed Kane when he turned and walked back down the hallway and into the kitchen. No one looked at us when we entered the room and I suspected it was because one of the girls pressed their ear to the door and listened to my conversation with Kane.
Kane got his insulin kit from the top shelf in the press and handed it to me. He looked at the others and so did I. None of them looked at us though; they were all conversing with one another, but I could tell it was forced.
“Did you check your glucose levels today?” I asked Kane, returning my attention fully to him.
He deadpanned, “That would require me sticking a needle in myself so no.”
Smartarse.
I pocketed the insulin pen, and took out Kane’s glucose meter from the side pouch on the insulin kit to check his blood glucose levels. I also took out a device I dubbed ‘the finger pricker.’ I had put a new testing strip into the glucose meter and a fresh needle into the finger pricker before I looked at Kane.