Page 8 of Kiss Me Forever

Reece opened the door for me as I walked in, and I smiled up at him, determined to be nicer. “Thank you. Sorry I’m late. I got us coffee.”

“Looks like it. I think Lex got some too,” he whispered.

I cursed. “I probably should have texted the group chat. We’re a little off without Jamie.”

“Let me help you,” Reece said as he pulled everything from my hands without even bothering to let me answer. Typical Reece.

“Thank you,” I bit out, and we made our way to the front desk.

Lexington smiled up at me and pointed to the coffees that he had also purchased. “You’ve got the better ones, so we can all be caffeinated. Thank you.”

“I should say thank you. But did you just get me black coffee?” I shook my head, a smile playing on my face.

“Maybe. I was distracted.”

Considering the hickey on his neck, I knew exactly who had distracted him, and I did not want to think about that too carefully. I ignored him and handed everyone their drinks.

When Reece looked down at the two with his name on it, he glared at me.

“I didn’t know what you’d want. You seem like a black coffee kind of guy.”

“Yes, but I’m going to have this praline iced latte just to annoy you.”

“That sounds about right.” I shook my head, sipped my delicious sugary drink, and stared at the men in front of me.

Two of them were family, two of them not, but we had all been working together for years at this point. They didn’t treat me any different than one another, and for that I was grateful. I just needed to remember that.

“Ready to head to the conference room and get this over with?” I asked, wondering why they were all staring at me.

“Sounds good to me,” Lex said. Before we could move though, the door opened, and two older people walked through, as another man in a dark suit followed them.

I frowned, looking down at my phone quickly to make sure that I hadn’t missed an appointment.

“Hi, how can I help you?” Dash, ever the people person, strolled up to them, hand out. “I’m Dash Montgomery.”

The man who looked like a lawyer, briefcase in hand, shook Dash’s hand. “Hello. We’re here to see Mr. Fox.”

Reece stiffened at my side, and I set down my coffee, ready to do what I didn’t know, but it felt like Reece might need someone.

That’s when I noticed there was a little girl standing by the older couple, her dark hair wavy around her shoulders, and a glare on her face. But I saw the fear in those eyes, and what the hell was going on? The girl had to be what ten, twelve?

“I’m Reece Fox,” Reece said as he took a step forward. That’s when I realized Reece’s gaze was on the girl as well, and it looked like his face had lost all color.

“So you’re Reece Fox,” the girl snapped.

The pause nearly broke me, and I wanted to open my mouth to say something, but Reece merely tilted his head, his face still pale. “That’s me. And you are?”

“I’m Bella. I guess I’m your daughter.”

Chapter 2

REECE

There was an odd screeching sound in my brain that I knew needed to shut the fuck up. And yet, I couldn’t quite get it to do what I needed it to do.

This little girl looked just like my mother. Even if she hadn’t said the words aloud, and acted like she wanted to be anywhere else but here, I knew there was something wrong.

The phrase “What the hell” kept repeating in my mind as I stared at this child, and the three adults with her, wondering if I was truly having an out-of-body experience.