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20
Miles
Iflipped open the folder Quinn handed to me. A man’s picture was the first thing I saw since it was the only thing on the very first page. His ink black hair was slicked back, giving his hair an oily look. His face was serious, not an ounce of emotion in his hazel eyes. The picture was only from the shoulders up, but I could tell he was wearing a suit.
I flipped the page, looking at the name of the man.
Mateo DeLuca.
“He paid the money for Hayley,” Quinn informed me. “Everything in that folder is everything that I could dig up on him. He worked hard to make it seem as if he doesn’t exist. This wasn’t easy to get my hands on,” he informed me. “The guy knows what he’s doing.”
I looked over at William as he stood up on his chubby legs, a mostly toothless grin on his baby face as he came over to me, arms held up. With a grin, I leaned down and lifted him up, settling him on my hip as I set the file on the table. “I’ll look it over,” I told Quinn. “When I decide on a course of action, I’ll call a meeting.”
He nodded and let himself out of the house, taking that as his cue to go. I looked down at William. He was chewing his hand. I sighed, pulling it from his mouth. “Are you teething, kiddo?” I asked him.
“He is,” Hayley said as she came into the kitchen wearing a pair of my sweatpants and an old t-shirt of mine. Fuck, she was gorgeous wearing my clothes. “I don’t have any of his teething stuff for him.”
I shrugged. “Then we’ll go to the store,” I told her. “You need clothes anyway, and he’s going to need diapers and wipes soon.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. I reached forward and pulled it from between her teeth, leaning down to suck her bottom lip into my mouth. She moaned softly, her body curving into mine. I smirked down at her when I pulled back. Fuck, I loved how she responded to me. “Find your shoes,” I told her. “I’ll get him ready to go.”
“Are you sure?” she asked me. She grinned at William as he randomly squealed.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m sure.”
I leanedon the shopping cart as I waited for Hayley to try on the clothes she had grabbed. William was chewing happily on his new teething neckless, drool running down his chin. When I had asked Hayley if all of his drooling was normal, she only laughed and told me babies drooled a lot when they were teething.
But damn, this kid was drooling so much I literally put a bib on him so he wouldn’t soak the top of his shirt.
I grabbed a baby wipe from the diaper bag and wiped his face with it. He grinned up at me as he reached up and patted my cheek. I pressed a kiss to his tiny hand and turned my attention to Hayley as she stepped out of the changing room, a pair of high-waisted skinny jeans on with a shirt that stopped at the dip in her waist.
I groaned softly, running my eyes over her. She had lost a lot of weight while she was gone, but her ass was still just as round as it had been before she left. And those damn jeans accentuated her ass perfectly.
She handed me the tags to the clothes, and I put them in my pocket, making a silent note in my head to make sure I rang them up at the register. “You look fucking amazing,” I told her, my voice husky. I drew her against me and leaned down to kiss her.
“Young people these days—absolutely no respect,” an older woman suddenly huffed as she headed for a changing room stall.
Hayley turned to face her as I settled my hands on her hips. I knew how feisty Hayley could get. “Maybe you should take a look in the fucking mirror when you get in there,” Hayley retorted. I snorted. “Don’t take your loneliness out on me.”
With that, Hayley grabbed the cart and made a silly face at William as she began walking away, heading towards the grocery section. I only smirked at the old lady as she gaped after Hayley. I loved how outspoken Hayley was once she was comfortable.
“Have a great day, ma’am,” I told her before I turned on my heel to follow after Hayley.
“He needs some ravioli and spaghetti-o’s,” Hayley told me as she stopped in front of the canned food.
I leaned down and grabbed a few cans of each, putting them into the cart. “Milk?” I asked her. “Juice?” I was completely unsure of what this kid actually needed.
She grinned at me. “You’re so cute when you’re unsure of yourself, Miles.”
I released a low growl as I yanked her against me. I leaned down and nuzzled her neck. Her breath hitched in her throat, and I smirked. I loved the effect that I had on this woman. “Am I so cute now?” I grumbled as I pressed a kiss to her rapidly beating pulse.
“N-no,” she stuttered out.
I released her with a wicked grin. She blew out a soft breath as she tried to regain back control of her senses and her composure. “Come on. I don’t know what William can and cannot eat, and I’m still learning what he likes,” I reminded her.
“Dada,” William suddenly said. I jerked my attention over to him to see him looking up at me, a wide, mostly toothless grin on his face.
I sucked in a sharp breath, my eyes snapping to Hayley. I wasn’t sure if she was okay with that. I had never taught William the word, though I’m sure he heard Quinn coaxing Isabelle to say it. I wanted to be a father figure to William, but I wouldn’t step on Hayley’s toes. This was ultimately her decision. I wanted to be with Hayley—make her mine—and I wanted to be a family with her and William, but I would never intrude of the part of her life that was Damien’s.
