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A smile stretches across her face, right before she launches herself into Kingston’s arms. Shawn’s not the only one right now who’s uncomfortable with the fact that Belle adores Kingston so much.
Kingston stands with Belle proudly propped on his hip. He tugs on one of her curls and says, “Your hair looks really pretty.”
“Thank you.” Belle gingerly presses her fingertips to the corner of his mouth. “You have an owie on your lip.”
Kingston’s tongue snakes out, wiping the little droplet of blood away. “Don’t worry about me, sweetheart. It doesn’t hurt at all.”
Shawn and I both shake our heads at Kingston’s obvious dig.
I tell my stupid heart to stay firm when Kingston boops her on the nose. “You feel like going to the children’s museum today?”
Motherfucker.
Belle’s face lights up. “Yeah!”
“Actually... Belle, I was thinking you and I could have a sisters-only day. Maybe hop on the bus like old times and go somewhere fun?”
Her brows draw together. “But I wanna go to the children’s museum.”
“Yeah, Jazz, she wants to go to the museum.” Kingston smiles victoriously.
I mentally flip him off. “Well, then we can take the bus to the museum and still have our sisters’ day.”
“Or I can drive you,” Shawn offers. “Promise I won’t get in the way. I’ll just be your chauffeur.”
Belle looks at Shawn first, then me, then Kingston. I think she’s finally sensing the tension in the air. Her brow furrows as she pulls on Kingston’s sleeve, prompting him to let her down.
“Are you mad at me?”
I shake my head. “Of course not, honey. Why would you think that?”
“Because everyone looks really mad, like the time I spilled juice all over the couch, and Daddy yelled at me and made me go to bed without dinner.”
I have to work really hard to conceal my hatred toward my sister’s father. Another reason I need a job: So I can consult an attorney to see what my chances of getting partial custody are.
Kingston kneels down. “Hey, princess. No one’s mad.”
Belle points to Shawn. “Then why’s his lip bleedin’ too?”
Kingston doesn’t even spare Shawn a glance. “We were just playing around.”
Shawn uses the bottom of his shirt to wipe the blood off. Thankfully, the shirt’s black, so hopefully it won’t stain. He winks when he catches me staring at his abs, which are a helluva lot more defined than they used to be. I may not want to be with him, but I’m sure as shit not blind. Unfortunately, Kingston catches me looking too, which earns me a glare.
I give him one right back. “Don’t even start with me.”
Belle grabs my hand. “Jazz?”
I sigh. “Honey, I promise no one is mad at you. And we’ll do something super fun, but I need to have some grown-up talk with the boys first. Why don’t you go back inside, and I’ll come get you in just a few?”
“Then, you, me, and Kingston will go to the children’s museum?”
I give her a reassuring smile. “We’ll get that all figured out, okay? Just go back inside, and I’ll be there soon.”
Belle twitches her nose. “Fine.”
Nobody says a word until she’s back inside the house. As soon as she closes the door, all bets are off.
“You need to leave,” Kingston tells Shawn.
