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Connor appears at my side, placing his dishes in the sink and pressing a kiss against my temple.
“Have a good day,leannán.”
“You too.”
He disappears through the backdoor. I allow myself a moment to grin goofily, letting the dishwater out of the sink.
I think I will give the two spare bedrooms on my floor a thorough dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning. Unused rooms collect dust at an unbelievable rate, and I haven’t been into either of them since Paddy gave me a tour on my first day here almost two months ago.
Once I’m satisfied with the cleanliness of the first room, I move across the hall to the one beside me, which has two twin beds rather than a full-size like my room and the other spare room. I flip the mattresses, vacuum, dust the room, and move to dust inside the closet.
Opening the doors, I sink to my knees, first reaching in to dust the back corners. I pause as my eyes land on the plush Disney toy.
Bile rises in my throat as I rock back onto my heels, the toy in my hand as I stare at it. Tiggy mentioned that her baby would be the first baby in her husband’s crew when she was here. InConnor’screw. So who’s toy is this? And why is it in a closet in a room with two single beds in Connor’s house?
Leaving the toy on one of the beds, I continue my cleaning spree, my eyes darting back and finding the yellow and blue toy with its huge eye far too often.
Once the room is completely dust-free, I snag the toy, carrying it with me and propping it on the toilet seat while I take a bath, glaring at it as I have a long, hot soak.
I waste time carefully blow-drying and styling my hair, sliding into jeans and a baggy sweater like I haven’t worn when Connor comes home for dinner and sex since we first slept together.
I hear his SUV on the drive, so I grab the toy and go to the kitchen, checking on the roast pork in the oven. The kitchen smells wonderful, and I prop the toy on the small table while I warm the plates.
Connor comes in, sauntering over to me and dropping a kiss on my temple. He doesn’t comment on my sweater and jeans combo, sliding his hands down, cupping my ass, and squeezing it.
“It smells amazing in here,leannán.”
He grins, crossing to the fridge and collecting two beers. When he takes them over to the table, he pauses for the briefest moment, setting the beers on the table and snagging up the toy, turning to me with his eyebrow quirked.
“For Seamus’ wean?” he asks me.
I blink at him. Who? “Uh, who is Wayne?”
Connor chuckles, snorting and shaking the toy at me. “NotWayne, lass.Wean. Seamus and Tiggy’s baby?”
Oh shit. He thinks I bought the toy as a gift. Which means he has no idea what it is.
“I didn’t buy it.”
Connor frowns, looking down at the toy, weighing it in both hands.
“Did someone leave it on the stoop then?” he asks slowly.
I feel a pang of fear. Uh, is that a mafia thing? Like the horse head in the bed? Connor’s tense shoulders relax as I shake my head, but he looks very perplexed.
“I was dusting and cleaning the two spare bedrooms,” I tell him quietly, nodding to the toy. “That was in the closet in the room with the two beds.”
As I serve our dinner, Connor looks back at the toy, studying it carefully. When I carry the plates over, we sit down, and he places it carefully on the table, off to the side, reaching for his beer, his eyes still glued to the toy.
Neither of us speaks as we eat our meal. At least, neither of us speaks until we’re almost finished. Connor’s eyes narrow at the toy.
“It must belong to one of the Moldovan weans.” He is weighing his words carefully, toying with his fork.
“Moldovans?” My fork freezes halfway to my mouth, confusion coloring my tone. Connor’s eyes dart over me. He looks torn like he doesn’t want to elaborate.
“The Italians wanted Lauren,” he sighs at last. I feel like I’ve had a bucket of iced water thrown over me. I remember those Italian guys. I remember them coming over a few times.
They trashed Lauren and Josh’s apartment and pissed in there. They killed Mrs. Dawkins. What the hell did they want with Lauren? My eyes fill with tears, and I abruptly stand, grabbing the plates and mechanically cleaning the kitchen while Connor silently watches me with worry.
