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He winked at Harper as Brooke rolled her eyes.
“Muffins, yes. You, ladies, are amazing.” Without being invited, he grabbed one and bit through half of it in one bite. “Mm.”
Once again, Brooke rolled her eyes. “He’s a pig, isn’t he?” she asked the baby in a sing-song voice.
“Morning, everyone.” Liv walked through the door with her usual flourish, then squealed. “I’m next. I’m next.”
Brooke hugged the baby close to her chest. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Come on.” Liv pouted. “Jinx,” she said with an exaggerated whine. “I wanna hold the baby.”
“Not getting in the middle of that fight,” he said, mouth full of muffin. He swallowed, then turned his gaze on her. “Looking hot today, Harper. That dress is killer.”
She couldn’t find her voice. They all acted as though this was so normal. Was she the only one whose mind was blown by the giant man flirting with her while he had a new baby? Why didn’t they care?
All three of them narrowed their focus on her as she did nothing but sit there staring at Jinx like he’d sprouted another head.
“Harper? You in there?” Liv teased.
She blinked. “Uh… yes. Sorry. Didn’t sleep well.”
Jinx’s expression grew dark. Of course, he knew why she didn’t sleep well. She’d die before admitting she’d been scared out of her mind alone in her home last night.
Maybe she’d talk to Brooke about getting a dog after all. Something to give her a measure of security. Not that she knew the first thing about raising a dog.
They were still watching her, waiting for some contribution to the conversation.
God, she hated being the center of attention.
“Anyway, uh… I didn’t realize you had a son,” she said.
Did that sound weird? Like she was accusing him of something? Like she cared?
Because she didn’t—shouldn’t. They barely knew each other and meant nothing to each other. He owed her no details of his life even though she was feeling all kinds of weird about this revelation.
A strangled sound came from Brooke, but Liv burst out laughing. She placed a hand over her stomach as she doubled over. “Holy shit.”
Jinx stood there with a horrified expression as he held the muffin halfway to his mouth. “No. No, no.” His denial came out in a rush and followed with an adamant no.
Liv laughed even harder, and Brooke joined her.
“It’s not that funny,” he grumbled.
“Oh, it’s so, so funny,” Liv said around her laughter.
Harper’s gaze bounced between them.
“What am I missing?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Rolling his eyes, Jinx stormed over to Brooke and snatched the baby from her arms. “He’s not my kid. And since you two are mean, you can’t hold him now.” The baby giggled and waved his arms.
“Hey,” Liv cried.
Not his kid?
Not his kid.
“Harper, have you met Lock yet?”
She looked at Brooke. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, he hasn’t been around much lately. Anyway, this is his kiddo. Actually, his sister’s.” Her expression grew somber. “He had a twin who was pregnant. Unfortunately, she had a drug problem and died when she was about eight months along with Caleb here after she took some bad meth.”
Harper gasped. “Oh my God. That’s horrible. I’m so sorry.”
Liv nodded. “It was awful, especially for Lock. As you can see, they were able to save this little cutie, and now Lock has custody. But it’s been hard for him, so we try to help out where we can.” She shifted her attention to Jinx. “How was he when you saw him?”
Jinx swallowed the last bite of his muffin. Harper couldn’t help but watch how his Adam’s apple rose and fell with the movement. When had she ever found something like that fascinating?
“Looks like fucking shit. Something’s gotta give, or he’s gonna crack. His place is a goddamn disaster. Hell, he’s a disaster.”
Brooke frowned. “Shit. I’ll head over after work today. Get it cleaned up a bit and see if I can get him to talk.”
“Good luck with that,” Jinx said with a grunt. “Think he’s drinking too.”
“What do you mean?”
“Had to be fifty empty beer bottles lying around the kitchen. I don’t know. Just a gut feeling. I think he’s worse off than we realized.”
“You talk to Curly?” Liv asked as she walked over to him with her hands held out.
He shook his head, handing over the baby, who practically leaped into Liv’s arms. “Not yet. He’s my next stop.”
“I’ll come with you.” Brooke grabbed her phone from her desk.
“Don’t take him away from me,” Liv said as she bounced the baby on her hip. He grabbed a hunk of her hair and brought it to his mouth. “Oh, no, buddy. That’s yucky. You don’t want to eat that.”
“I’ll leave him with you if you don’t mind. There are some toys in his bag.”
“I don’t mind at all. Do I?” she asked, focusing her high-pitched tone on the baby. “No, I don’t. No, I don’t.”
