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Even as a tiny baby, Nova was the spitting image of her father, only with bright orange hair instead of blond and a lot more baby fat. She was adorable, and so perfectly innocent. Life hadn’t hurt her yet, and stupid as the hope was, I prayed it never did. At least there was no question that her parents loved her more than anything. She already had that going for her. It was more than I’d had at her age.
“Samuel, kitchen,” Nathaniel said, his glare daring me to refuse. I got the message loud and clear. I wasn’t trusted alone with his wife and daughter.
I sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen, which was home to a microwave and some blender-looking thing but with bigger blades.
“You ever think about putting a dining table outside?” I asked, looking over my shoulder through the double glass doors that led to the deck and backyard.
“It’s on the list for the spring,” Nathaniel said as he moved around his open, spacious kitchen, pulling things from the refrigerator and cabinets.
“What’s on the list for this fall?”
“What are you really doing here, Samuel?”
“I moved back into my place in Boston. It’s only about an hour from here.”
He shot me a look that was half surprise, half suspicion. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Because I like it there and I’d been away too long. I moved back in the week you guys moved in here.” I looked around the kitchen and dining room. Everything looked exactly the way it had last time I was here for the moving-in celebration, minus the folding tables that had been added to accommodate everyone that night. “How’s the house treating you?”
“Much better than sharing a two-bedroom apartment with Kylie.” Kylie was Sierra’s best friend and former roommate.
I nodded. “Sierra start back at the café yet?” I didn’t have the slightest idea how long women usually took to recover from giving birth. And it wasn’t something I’d ever have cause to learn. I wasn’t Nathaniel. There wasn’t going to be some happy little family in my future.
“She’s not going back,” Nathaniel said.
“She’s going the stay-at-home-mom route?”
“Why don’t you stop acting like you care about my wife’s job or what our lives are like and just tell me what you’re doing here. Do you need my help with a job?” Nathaniel hadn’t worked with us on anything since the day Nova was born. What he didn’t know was that the rest of us planned on keeping it that way for a good long while. After everything he and Sierra went through last year, they deserved some time to be parents and not have to worry about demons or Heaven’s ongoing war with Hell. It was why I also had no intention of telling him about Joriel’s deal with Lucifer or the mysterious female demon who was behind the gathering just south of the New Hampshire border.
“No. I’m not here about a job. I already told you that.”
“Then what?”
“I wanted to see how you’re doing. All of you. I know you don’t think I care, but I was there in that warehouse after you and Sierra faced Dantalion. So I’m going to keep checking in every few months whether you like it or not.”
“Thank you, Samuel. That’s very sweet,” Sierra said, dropping into the chair beside me at the island and sitting Nova on the counter in front of her. The baby stared at me with Nathaniel’s bright green eyes.
“She’s holding her head up,” I said.
Sierra grinned. “She’s a little advanced for her age. Must be all that angelic blood she got from her father.”
Nathaniel glanced between the two of us, his expression saying he wasn’t happy about our current seating arrangement, but he didn’t dare argue with his wife about it.
Nova reached out with one chubby hand, and Sierra leaned back in her chair. “Oh no, you don’t. It’s not nice to grab hair, Nova.” She glanced at me. “Do you want to hold her?”
Nathaniel made a choking noise. I could put him at ease if I just told him exactly what my agenda was, but that would mean telling him about Siren, and that was a secret I planned on guarding from everyone with even a drop of angelic blood.
“Do you want to go see Uncle Samuel?” Sierra placed the baby in my hands. “Just don’t let her get her hands on your hair. She’s got one hell of a grip.”
She was saying something about remembering to keep her hair braided and broken fingers, but I wasn’t paying attention. I was lost in Nova’s enchanting little smile, feeling her steal my heart. Nathaniel didn’t have anything to worry about. No matter what happened, I’d never hurt his daughter.
I could feel his eyes on me, but I ignored him.
“Hi,” I whispered, picking up one of her tiny hands. Her fingers curled around my thumb with a grip that probably wasn’t normal for a baby. “It’s okay,” I told her. “I heal fast just like your daddy. You won’t hurt me. It’s just your momma you have to be careful with.”
I lifted her little fist to my lips and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, then leaned in and kissed her nose. She giggled.
Shit, I wasn’t going to survive this afternoon. Nova was obliterating every wall I’d ever put up around my heart.
