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Chuckling at the thought of waking her with a tickle war, he opened his eyes to look down at her. But instead of the pink-streaked blonde he was used to seeing, he was met with straight, dark locks.
MaryAnn. Not Annie.
Grief settled in his chest, making his eyes burn with tears he hadn’t shed in… he couldn’t remember how long it had been. After the first few months, he’d felt too hollow, too empty for tears. And eventually, he’d just learned to live with the pain.
Now, though, he could feel them gathering. But it wouldn’t be fair to the woman in his bed for her to wake up and find him crying over someone else.
Suck it up, Mitchell.
Closing his eyes, he willed the pain back, into the part of him where it normally lived, locked away tight where it couldn’t wreak havoc on his day-to-day life. Carefully slipping his arm out from underneath MaryAnn’s sleeping form, he moved silently around the room, gathering his clothes and heading to his bedroom.
Half an hour later, showered and dressed again, he was feeling more like his usual self. Deciding to let MaryAnn sleep in a bit longer, he made his way downstairs to get started on breakfast.
If he was going to be interrogating her, the least he could do was make sure she had something yummy to put in her belly during the process.
The sound of water moving through the pipes met his ears just as the first waffle went into the iron, and by the time she stepped into the kitchen, a shy smile on her lips, the island was covered with an array of breakfast foods.
“I guess we worked up an appetite last night.” Some of the shyness faded, making way for the bold temptress he’d caught a glimpse of the night before.
He loved that dichotomy in her. That odd mixture of innocence and seduction pulled at all the different parts of him. The Daddy in him wanted to coddle and spoil her, while the sadist he normally kept tucked away wanted to put her on her knees so he could watch the tears gather in her eyes as she swallowed every inch of him.
Pushing aside the distracting thoughts, he placed a plate in front of her. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like a rock. I can’t remember the last time I slept that hard or that long. I didn’t even…” Pink colored her cheeks and she dipped her head, the damp curtain of her hair blocking her face from his view.
She was hiding something. Didn’t even what? Eyes narrowing, he studied her, debating how to proceed.
Ultimately, as much as he wanted to know all her secrets, this particular one would have to wait. There were other issues they needed to address before he could take the time to wheedle the truth from her.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t play Daddy a bit. Especially since she’d be more likely to open up if she felt safe and comfortable.
And if he hated himself a little bit for it, well, that was a price he was willing to pay to get Nathaniel Cooke back behind bars where he belonged. “What do you want on your waffles, babygirl?”
“Ummm.” Lifting her head slightly, she scanned the countertop in front of her. “Syrup and whipped cream and… powdered sugar?”
“Coming right up.” He slid a waffle onto her plate and passed her the can of whipped cream. “What do you want to do after breakfast?”
“I dunno. Color, I guess.” Shrugging, she shook the can and sprayed a generous helping of cream onto her waffle before glancing up at him for approval. When he nodded, she grinned and continued loading up her waffle. “There’s not much else to do while you’re working.”
Another layer to add to the guilt he was already feeling, but at least that he could do something about. “Actually, I’m pretty caught up on everything. What do you say we go outside for a bit? There’s a play area out back with swings and a fort.”
Even as he suggested it, part of his brain was screaming at him to shut up. He’d built the playground for Annie, as a surprise he’d somehow managed to keep from her until the day they’d moved in. He’d been thankful their closest neighbors were nearly a mile away when her screams of joy had filled the air at the sight of it. Just the memory was enough to have the grief clawing at his chest.
“Really?” MaryAnn’s wonder-filled question jolted him out of his memories and back to the present. “That sounds wonderful.”
Shoving the grief back down, he forced a smile. “It’s settled then. After breakfast we’ll get cleaned up and head outside for a bit. Did you bring a coat with you?”
“No, but I have plenty of heavy sweaters.”
“Hmmm. That should be okay for today, but if it gets too cold, we’re coming back inside.”
“It’s not even that cold out.”
Pausing in the process of filling his own plate, he raised an eyebrow at her. “And you know this… how?”
If she’d somehow been sneaking out without him knowing, he really was going to wear his belt out on her ass.
“I just know,” she shot back with a roll of her eyes, making his palm itch with her sass. “It doesn’t look cold.”
