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He doesn’t say it, but I notice the way his eyes dart to the rearview mirror.
Until now, remains unspoken. If this man gets a house capable of handling these children, I’d have no chance of fighting him for custody if I had to. That voice in my head, the one I’ve been trying to silence because he’s given me no indication that’s his plan, pops back up. Here we are on his turf, in his space, and it makes me more vulnerable than I’ve ever been.
“Let’s get out before those inside think there’s something wrong. They won’t be patient much longer to meet everyone.”
I climb out of the vehicle, wishing I could gather up all the kids in my arms. It makes the most sense for him to grab Sutton. She’s on his side of the SUV, after all, but I keep my eyes on him as he unbuckles her, my heart breaking a little when she smiles and reaches her arms up so it’s easier for him to pull her out.
“Do we have to stay in the car?” Jace asks, drawing my attention and making me realize I’m just standing in Luca’s open door and not making any attempt to get him out.
“Something wrong?” Vincent asks through the vehicle.
I shake my head, the first of many lies I feel like I’m going to have to tell the man because being truthful with him will only be used against me later. I hate feeling that way. I don’t have the best of luck with anything in life, and even if he isn’t planning on taking the kids from me right now, I’m sure he’ll start counting my flaws eventually.
I meet him at the back of the vehicle as he opens it to grab some luggage.
“We could probably build if we wanted to,” he says, making my head spin. “A lot of members have had a home built.”
I don’t know if he has any idea what effect his words have on me. I don’t know if he’s just casually using the wordweas if us being one big happy family is predestined or if he’s saying it because he wants me to drop my guard in an effort to gain more control of this entire situation.
I stare at him, my brain trying to decide what his intentions are.
“I doubt a five-bedroom house is what your boss had in mind when he added it to the benefit package,” I say.
“Four,” he says, making me stare at him harder.
“The boys will get to an age where they won’t want to share a bedroom,” I argue.
“They’ll have their own rooms.”
His eyes lock on mine, and once again I can’t decide if he’s telling me I’m not welcome or if he’s hinting that we’ll share a room.
Sutton, never one to be happy with not being the center of attention, pats the side of his face.
The man smiles at her with such love an outsider would never guess he just found out about her less than a handful of days ago.
I can’t help but wonder what the stubble on his cheek would feel like against my fingers. All of this back-and-forth and the battle going on inside of my mind make me consider my desperate need to speak to a professional about my lack of decision-making abilities.
“Incoming,” Vincent says, looking around the side of the vehicle.
“Wow,” Jace says as he watches a very large, heavily tattooed man approach. “Did those hurt?”
My nephew rubs his hand up his own arm, indicating what he’s asking about.
“Every one of them hurt,” the man confesses, his full attention on Jace. “But the pain was worth it in the end.”
“Mila, this is Kincaid,” Vincent says as he steps closer to me, the warmth of his body at my back.
“You can call me that or Diego,” the man says, holding his hand out.
He catches me staring at the leather vest he’s wearing, my eyes getting trapped onPRESIDENTunder his name.
“He’s my boss,” Vincent adds.
“Do you guys always wear the vests?” I stupidly ask.
Kincaid smiles. “Not usually when we’re at home, but we know how hard it is for new folks to remember who everyone is.”
“Let us help with the luggage,” another guy says as he approaches. His hand is covered in a big bandage. As curious as I am to ask what happened, I’d never do it. “Name’s Oracle.”
