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And that tremble of fear came back, slipping through the cracks of my happiness, staining everything in its wake. “You won’t know darkness,” I whispered. “Not the kind that kills your soul. Not like I have. I’ll make sure of it.”
I meant every word. I’d keep her biological father out of our lives anyway I could…
He couldn’t touch me, not anymore…
57
Kat
I cracked open my eyes to find Lazarus already awake and staring at me. He smiled, his head resting on his crooked arm. He licked his lips and murmured, “Hey.”
My lips curled. My eyes barely cracked open. My first instinct was to look at the monitor, to check on Sophie, before I met his stare. “Hey yourself.”
“She’s fine, I’ve already been up and checked on her. You want me to cook you breakfast, or are you…you know, sick.”
I let out a chuckle. I should’ve known he’d already been watching over her. “No, I’m not sick, Laz. I’m not sick. But I can’t have breakfast either.”
“Oh?” He rose up. “Why’s that?”
“Monica and the girls want to throw me a pregnancy brunch.”
He shoved upwards, concern flaring in his eyes. “Wait, you told Monica?”
I gave a shrug. “She called when I was doing the first test and it just kinda came out.”
“First test, huh? Exactly how many tests were there?”
“Enough to make sure.” I stilled a yawn. “I didn’t want you to get excited over nothing.”
“Kitten, there’s never anything that’s nothing when it comes to you. Do you want me to drive you into the city?”
“No.” I shoved upwards, watching him as he climbed out of bed naked. “I know you’re busy, besides that’s why we have Gareth, right?” He stilled, he’s back to me. But he said nothing, like he wasn’t sure. “What? Do you not like him?”
“I don’t have to like him, Kitten.” He turned to me. “I just need him to do his job.” He strode back to the bed, pulled me against him and captured the back of my neck in his hand. “But if you want me to, I’ll blow off anything I have just to spend the day with you, even if it is in front of your stuck-up, snotty friends.”
I stifled a smirk. He didn’t like them, which was the complete opposite effect of him on them. They seem to adore him, gushing over how he came to my rescue. They knew a watered-down version of the events that happened at Cosa Nostra Island. If they knew the truth, maybe they wouldn’t be so excited to flirt with someone like Lazarus, but then again, these women were always chasing the thrill. “It’ll be boring. Stephanie will just gush over you and try and touch your thigh under the table again.”
There was a twitch in the corner of his eye, that blue stare hardening. “She does that again, and I might just drive my steak knife through her palm.”
I just let out a chuckle, that was Lazarus for you. Totally oblivious and pissed off with any other female attention. I leaned forward and kissed him, then pulled away. “Gareth will be fine. You go and deal with whatever you need to, and I’ll call you as soon as I’m finished.“
“Then we’ll do something fun, maybe take a drive out to the cabin and meet up with Fin and Anna, how about that? Finley Salvatore was supposed to be his enemy. The son of a powerful family on the Commission, Fin was the exact opposite of his father. He just happened to be married to my best friend. He nodded and stepped away as Sophie let out a small cry. In an instant he was in dad mode, his gaze went to the monitor before he glanced my way, giving me a smile. “I’ll grab her, you take a shower first.”
He yanked on boxers and was out of our bedroom before I could even respond. I watched him as he walked into her bedroom on the monitor. His growly voice soft and playful as he neared her cot and picked her up. An ache thrummed in my chest. This was happiness…him, me,us.
I headed for the bathroom and took my time with my shower, knowing by the time I stepped out she would be fed and changed and waiting for me to pick out her outfit. I dried and dressed in jeans and a red cashmere top, drying my hair and scrunching it into curls before heading out, finding them in the kitchen.
Laz ate, biting into his toast as he carried her against his chest. I smiled, took her from him, and kissed his butter flavoured lips. His phone gave abeep,drawing his focus.
“Go,” I urged. “Freddy will be pissy if he has to wait. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
He gave me a smile and kissed me again. “The moment you walk out from those vipers, okay?”
I just nodded and watched him grab the other half of his toast before he headed for the bedroom. Twenty minutes and he was out the door, climbing into the passenger’s seat of the Explorer, giving me a wave as they drove off. I danced with our daughter, heading to her room, and dressed her in pink.
The trip into the city was quiet. There was no music, no chatter. Gareth watched the rear-view mirror as we headed into the city. Once we pulled up outside the café, Maddison and Rayne and parked across the street, outside the park’s entrance.
It was an exclusive café. Only the elite of the elite dined here, and I hadn’t stepped foot inside the place in months. Not since the last time I caught up with Monica and the others. It wasn’t a place that liked mothers with babies…until they heard my last name that was. Then they couldn’t do enough to accommodate me.
