I nearly roll my eyes. “This again.”
"You know what I mean.”
I glance between them, expression flat enough to sand wood. “If fixing up a toy car for my godson qualifies me ‘domestic,’ it's a miracle you both ever ran a successful company.”
Vaughn laughs out loud now. “Please. We had you.”
Riley joins in, eyes shining from laughing so hard. “Just you wait until the right woman gets her hands on you. You’ll be cooking dinner and folding laundry like you were born for it.”
Vaughn nods gravely. “From a fellow Mr. Domestic, yep. The only reason I don't cook is because she doesn't want to sue me for attempted murder.”
Riley swats his arm, laughing, and the sound fills the kitchen like sunlight. I force a grin, but my mind slips its leash.
Livia.
She's been a presence in my thoughts since she left yesterday. What's worse is that I don't even feel bothered by it.
I didn't stop myself as my mind pictured her over and over, barefoot, staring up at me with those tortured eyes as she says she has a son to feed.
“Savior complex,”an ex said once.“You can’t help yourself. You get dangerously invested in women who are already damaged.”
I get up abruptly, my half-drunk coffee almost toppling over. "I should go. I have calls."
Riley raises a brow.
"On a Saturday," Vaughn says, giving me a knowing look.
"Take the rest of the bread." Riley is already wrapping it. "And think about what I said. Not just the domestic thing. The other thing. About what the families need."
I take the bread.
Tom intercepts me in the hallway, boots planted wide, blocking the door with the authority of someone a great deal larger.
"Bye, Tino," he says.
"Goodbye."
He lifts both arms straight up in the universal sign forlift me.
I scoop him up and hold him for a brief five seconds, breathing in the mix of mud and something sugary, before setting him down again.
He scampers off.
At the door, Vaughn calls out. “Val?”
I look at him.
“Stop skipping meals. You've lost weight.”
A laugh slips out of my lips. “Sure, dad,” I reply, giving a mock-salute as I shut the door.
Chapter Five
LIVIA
Today, I won't be wearing heels. For good luck.
My flat black shoes let me move quickly through the marble lobby of Ferretti Global Risk. My blouse is crisp white. My skirt is navy and tailored.
