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“I had the monitor,” I mutter feebly, feeling the sting of each word he spits. “I was keeping an eye on her.”
“You were on your knees about to suck cock. I didn’t see you checking the monitor.”
“Why are you so mad?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest. “Ivy is fine. She wasn’t crying and she’s been fed.”
He removes her nappy and points out the explosion in there. “She needed changing.”
I hate the way he’s judging me again. It makes me feel ten times worse. “What’s this really about, Grizz?” I ask, allowing anger to chase away the shame. “Why are you even in here checking on Ivy?”
“Somebody’s gotta watch out for her.”
I attempt to take over again. This time, his hand goes around my neck, and I inhale sharply. It’s not aggressive. His hold is loose, but it’s enough to keep me back. He drags me closer until we’re practically nose-to-nose. “I don’t like it,” he whispers, looking tormented. “I don’t like the return of Fable. Get rid of her.”
My chest heaves with excitement as his eyes meet mine. They’re full of heat and the desire to kiss him is strong. “Grizz?” shouts out a voice, and he briefly closes his eyes before taking a step back. Whatever he’d just felt is gone, replaced by the stone-cold Grizz, the one who hates me.
“In here,” he replies, shoving me away.
Danii enters the room and her eyes dart between us as he goes back to changing Ivy’s bottom. “Lexi pointed me in the direction of your room. I hope that’s okay,” she says, smiling.
I sit on the bed and fiddle with the lace over my knee. “We were just discussing parenting tips,” he spits, his tone sounding pissed again. I roll my eyes, and Danii spots it, smirking.
“She’s cute,” she comments. She’s seen Ivy before in church. “I didn’t know you were the father,” she adds, and I resist the urge to roll them again.
“I’m not,” he says firmly. “If I was, she wouldn’t be around to fuck up her life.” His words are like daggers as he hands Ivy back to me. Staring down at her innocent face, a tear leaves my eye and rolls down my cheek. “Take the fucking night off and be a mum to your baby,” he adds, leaving the room with Danii.
Eleven
GRIZZ
“That was a little harsh,” Danii says as I unlock my bedroom door and usher her inside.
“She’s thick-skinned, she can take it,” I mutter, but she’s right, it was a shit thing to say and if I could take it back, I would. But it’s too late. I let jealousy get the better of me.
I pull Danii into my arms and kiss her. Taking her face in my hands, I brush my thumbs over her cheeks as I angle her face enough for me to take the kiss deeper than we’ve ever taken it before. I feel her melt against me then I pull back slightly, smiling at the blush creeping along her cheeks.
She chews on her lower lip. “I want to,” she glances at my bed, “but I need to know something.”
“Anything,” I murmur, gently kissing her nose.
“Is there anything between you and Luna, or Fable, or whatever she calls herself?”
“I told you already, no.”
“It’s just, you seem to really like her.”
I groan, pulling away. “She reminds me of my mum,” I admit, sitting on the bed. “In a weird way. She never got that break in life to give her a chance to be a good mum, and I see that for Luna. She’s a trainwreck, and I tried to stop it, but sometimes, you can’t control everything.”
“You care about her?”
“I care about the kid. I want Luna to sort her shit out and be a good mum. I kitted out the baby room and brought her here to keep her safe, and still, she wants to self-destruct.”
“I’m going to be honest, now,” she says, sitting beside me. “I really like you and I can see how kind and thoughtful you are. But I have a gut feeling about you and her, and I’m terrified to put myself out there in case you break my heart.”
She’s giving me a get-out clause. I could walk away now and this whole mess would be a lot less complicated. But deep down, I know Luna will break me and I don’t want to give her the opportunity, so I look Danii in the eyes and say, “I’ll do whatever you need to make you see I’m not into her. It’s you I want.”
She runs her hands along the denim of her jeans. “Okay. Stay away from her.”
My eyes widen. “What?”
