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“Which one?”
“Marriage. You asked if I’m willing to have a family. My answer would be only with you, but last time I checked, you don’t believe I love you.”
“Can you blame me?”
“No, I fudged up a lot.”
I grin. “Look at you, getting creative with your vocabulary.”
“If necessary, I can be highly creative,” he says with a smoldering and provocative voice.
“There’s a child here, behave. I don’t need you to try to be sexy.”
He wiggles his brows. “We could—”
My phone buzzes. He snaps his mouth closed, staring at the device. My stomach is suddenly tied in knots. With a shaky hand, I reach out and grab it, and I’m not sure if I should breathe with relief or worry when I see it’s a text from Mitch. He’s waiting for me at the inn.
“Everything okay?” Iskander asks.
I swallow hard, nodding, but after a second passes, I know I can’t do this alone. “Do you think Myka will be willing to keep an eye on her?”
Iskander nods once before grabbing his phone. “Hey, Myk, can you come over to watch Rumi?” He looks at me before pushing himself up and picking up our precious girl. “Let’s get you changed so when Aunt Myka comes over, you’re ready to play with her.”
“Myk!” Rumi claps animatedly.
“You can say that name, but not Iskander? What the f—”
“Language!”
“I was going to say fudge.” He shakes his head. “Everyone thinks you’ll be the fun parent, but they’re wrong.”
Those words shouldn’t make my pulse accelerate or my heart melt, but I can’t help myself. A part of me is convinced that maybe we could try this time—for real.
But can I trust him?
* * *
Mitchell waits for me in the lobby. He’s still as tall as I remember—a little over six feet. Though, he looks thinner and tired. Mom wouldn’t be happy if she knew her children weren’t thriving. I wish I could do something about it, but I can’t heal Anya and…
“What happened to you?” I ask, standing less than a foot away from him.
“I probably walked under a ladder while a stupid black cat crossed my path. That’s like what, a hundred years of bad luck?” he mumbles.
“Sorry,” I mumble. “Don’t forget, the night can’t last forever. The sun always comes out.”
He shrugs and smiles. “You look and sound a lot like your mom.”
“I doubt that’s true but thank you for the comparison.”
“Looking at you gives me hope that things might get better.” He then tilts his head to where Iskander stands. “New guy?”
I glance at Iskander, who’s studying Mitch closely.
“He’s… Iskander Cantú. Iskander, this is Mitchell. He’s like my brother, which sounds weird since he’s married to—” I sigh, then look at Mitchell. “What really happened between you two?”
Mitch wipes his forehead. “Does it matter? I’ve told the story to too many people in the past twenty-some hours. Just a couple of hours ago, I was on a private jet, undergoing yet another interrogation. Some therapist…” he lets out a breath. “I didn’t do anything to her. I swear.”
I want to believe him badly, but… there’s Anya’s version.
