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I nod, feeling a little overwhelmed.
“This is my wife, Em,” Kincaid says when a woman walks up to stand beside him.
I look back at Vincent, the gleam in his eyes telling me that he read my hint of jealousy earlier. I must seem like a psycho to him.
“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking her hand when she offers it.
Several others come around the vehicle, and before long, it’s empty. Even the car seats are pulled from inside of it.
“What are they doing with those?” I ask, alarmed when they start carrying them to a different building.
“We’ve replaced them,” Em says. “Did you want to keep Sutton’s?”
It takes me back that this stranger knows my daughter’s name, but I imagine Vincent has been in communication with them the entire time. It’s not like he’d just show up with a woman and three kids in tow and not mention us beforehand.
“Wait!” I screech, feeling like I’m losing my mind.
The lack of power and control could very easily tip me over the edge.
Jace’s hand is trembling when he clasps mine, and I take a deep breath when I look down at him. He’s scared, and it makes me wonder just how many situations Carlen and Janet put the boys in.
I take a deep breath, trying to gain a little control of myself.
Em steps forward, her hands out, palms up.
“I know you met a few of the Blackbridge guys before you left St. Louis, but I don’t know if you met Wren. He was probably inside. He’s the team’s IT guy,” she says, her voice calm without a hint of irritation for my little freakout.
The guy carrying the car seats away has paused, finding something interesting to look at while we have this discussion. I can’t decide if him pretending to not pay attention is worse than him staring directly at me.
“Wren found some information,” she continues, her eyes darting down to Jace for a quick second. “There might have been some damage to the car prior to—”
I hold my hand up to stop her. As much as she hasn’t attempted to make me feel like a giant asshole, it doesn’t stop that very thing from washing over me.
“Even a small fender bender can damage a car seat,” I mutter.
“It wasn’t bad,” Jace whispers in that way kids do where it really isn’t a whisper. “And my shoulders only hurt for a few days.”
“Jesus,” I mutter, my eyes starting to burn with tears.
“That is great news,” Em says, her attention fully on Jace who still has his palm locked against mine. “I slipped on some water near the pool a few years back and I think I hurt for a month.”
Jace’s grip loosens in mine, telling me his nervousness is subsiding.
“There’s a pool?” Luca asks, a thrill in his voice that makes me happy.
“I’m so sorry,” I say to Em who just waves it off.
“We’re probably being overly cautious, but we figure better safe than sorry.”
She’s using we, and she was introduced as the president’s wife, but I have no doubt this woman runs this entire organization.
“We have two pools,” Em clarifies. “Let’s get you guys settled inside and we can beg Aunt Mila to let us go for a swim.”
“Momma!”
I turn back to Vincent, finding Sutton in his arms but reaching out in my direction.
He doesn’t hesitate to hand her to me the second I’m close enough, leaning in close like he has a secret to tell.
