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“Oh,” I reply, surprised at the sudden bout of seriousness from him.
I’ve only seen him without the teasing glint in his eyes a few times since I’ve met him. He speaks with gravity and conviction, like it’s something he and Jen had a lot of long talks about, and it makes me see him in yet another light. It’s been a big day for surprises, and seeing this side of Rory is… interesting, to say the least.
He shrugs again, gazing down at the cheese sauce as he stirs. “I look out for them. Jen and Piper. And I’m in Piper’s life and make sure they have everything they need.”
“And the Black Rose stuff?” I ask because I can’t help myself. “Jen seemed to know a little bit about it, at least.”
“Yeah. She knows I’m in the gang,” Rory answers. “No way around that, really. But I try to keep distance between that business and Jen. Just to keep her insulated from that life and everything that goes along with it. She has her own stuff going on, and I don’t want her to get mixed up with this kind of shit.”
That’s fair, and honestly kind of noble. I furrow my brow and find myself watching Rory as he finishes cooking, dumping the cooked pasta in the cheese sauce and adding some extra seasonings. He tastes a bite off the spoon and inhales through his mouth when it burns his tongue, and I snort a laugh, shaking my head at him.
“Try some,” he coaxes, holding the spoon out to me. I shake my head again, backing away from the dripping cheese.
“Maybe when it’s not molten magma hot.”
Rory rolls his eyes. “I thought you lived on the edge, Hurricane. I thought you weren’t afraid of anything.”
“Not wanting to burn my tastebuds off has nothing to do with being afraid, Rory,” I reply, deadpan.
He just laughs and grates some cheese over the top of the pot before dishing up three bowls of creamy, cheesy goodness.
Piper immediately clears space in front of her for the bowl when Rory brings it over, and she claps her hands happily for mac and cheese. I understand the sentiment. Once it’s cooled down some, I take a bite, and of course, it’s delicious.
Rory smiles as he watches me eat it, but then goes back to his own bowl, shoveling a few bites in before he starts asking Piper about what she colored.
Piper seems happy to talk about her art and then launch into a conversation about the promotion of Mr. Twinkle, who I learn is a giant stuffed cat that sits on the foot of her bed and makes sure nothing can crawl out from under it.
It’s cute, the way she talks so animatedly, hands waving while she alternates between talking and eating, and how Rory watches her, listening and nodding in all the right places. He asks questions about her games of play-pretend with the same intensity and care that he does when Sloan is talking about Black Rose business.
It’s sweet as fuck, and it makes me realize there’s a lot more to this guy than just dedication to his gang. There’s at least one other thing in the world that’s as important to him as that organization, and I’m looking at her right now.
Once we’re all done, he clears away the bowls and shoos Piper into the living room for a second while he puts everything in the sink.
She’s sitting on the couch with the TV remote in her hand when we emerge from the kitchen, eyes big.
“Oh, god.” Rory groans. “Again?”
“Please, Daddy?” she asks, poking out her lower lip. “It’s my favorite.”
He sighs heavily, but I can tell it’s half faked for humor. “She wants to watch this princess movie,” he explains to me, dropping down onto the couch and then patting the spot beside him. Piper clambers over to sit in his lap, and I’m startled to realize he’s patting that spot for me.
I only hesitate for a second before dropping down to sit next to him, keeping some distance between us. I don’t like the way my heart is racing, or the way I can’t stop looking at him, and if I had my way, I would’ve sat in the chair on the other side of the end table, but I don’t want to cause a scene in front of Piper.
The little girl smiles at me and then goes back to trying to convince her father to put on her favorite movie.
“Tell him!” she says to me all of a sudden, and I blink, realizing I definitely missed whatever I’m supposed to be telling Rory.
“You should listen to her,” I say, hoping that will cover it.
Rory gives me a look like he knows I have no idea what’s going on, but he sighs and takes the remote from Piper. “I can tell when I’m outnumbered. Princess Parade it is.” He glances at me once more and smirks. “You are going to regret this.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Not scared of you.”
“Oh, I don’t mean me. Just wait.”
He puts the movie on, and Piper settles in against him, watching the screen eagerly. It only takes a few minutes for Rory’s words to start making sense. The Princess Parade movie is… really fucking bad.
The plot makes no sense as far as I can tell. There seem to be a bunch of random princesses trying to put on a parade to celebrate… being princesses, I guess? I don’t know. There’s a musical number every five minutes or so, and no one in the movie can sing at all. Piper sounds better than they do when she sings along, and when I cringe at the flat notes, Rory grins at me triumphantly.
