Chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
Tristan
Iwas married.
Had the ring—hidden in my pocket—and the piece of paper to prove it. Only problem, I hadn’t seen my wife in five days.
In that time, I’d learned a few things.
One, absence and distance didn’t do shit to calm the racing thoughts about Kate.
Two, I missed her. Might’ve been impossible to wrap my head around that fact, but it didn’t make it any less true. Wanting to text or call her, I’d spent more time looking at my phone than I had paying attention to the changes Mr. Fitzgerald had wanted me to make.
He’d noticed too. But since I was so fucking good at my job, the man hadn’t made a big deal about it. Simply said he’d hoped I’d sort out whatever had been bugging me.
No chance of that.
Unless a lobotomy could remove Kate from my brain completely. Either that or I crossed the invisible line she’d drawn and finally fed my curiosity.
I was quite partial to the second option. I’d thought about giving her a call when I got back from my run earlier. She was faster, and fuck, if that phone conversation hadn’t been exactly what I’d craved all week.
The way her breath caught. The sweet melodious sound of her voice… It was music to my ears. Like giving an addict his hit.
I was painfully aware of how fast and deep I was falling.
“...and we do that every weekend.”
I had no idea how so many words could come out of such a tiny mouth so damn fast. Or how the heck I managed to keep up with her detailed explanation of dance parties, seven Korean guys, and making pancakes from scratch.
“Wow, Princess, sounds like a blast.”
The little girl looked at me and beamed. I swear, the brightness of the sun didn’t have a fucking thing on this kid’s smile. Something sharp stabbed through my ribs and pierced my heart.
She was so small and innocent. In a blink, a fierce need to protect her from everything washed over me. The feeling was so sudden, so damn strong, it almost knocked me on my ass.
“Kate,” Millie called, reminding me we weren’t alone. “Tristan came.”
“He sure did.”
I’d known she was there but because I wanted to give Millie my full attention, I hadn’t even glanced at Kate yet. Good thing too. If I’d seen her, I wouldn’t have heard a thing Millie said.
Whatever weirdness had gone on inside my body multiplied tenfold when she oh-so-casually strode toward us like she hadn’t just knocked the fucking air from my lungs.
Long legs, short shorts, and one of those shirts that slipped over her shoulder. And then there was her hair.
Those dark brown strands, curlier and bouncier than before, had my fingers itching with an almost carnal need to touch.
I could practically feel them wrapped around my fist.
“You changed your hair.” Low and raspy, the words were out before I could stop them. The wrong ones too. The moment Kate registered what I’d said, her face changed. Her small, almost-nonexistent smile fell completely, and her walls came up.
She lifted her hands, smoothed them over her hair then tucked her curls behind her ears. They bounced back immediately.
I could feel her annoyance when she pursed her lips and blew out a harsh breath through her nose. “Yeah, we—”
“It’s beautiful,” I interrupted. “You should wear it like this more often.”
A whole host of emotions flashed in those hazel eyes. Surprise probably the biggest one. I liked that too. Liked that I could shock and compliment her at the same time. Because when she warred with whatever confusion went on inside her head, her defenses were all the way down.
“I like Kate’s hair too.” Once again, Millie’s voice drew me back to the present. “It’s soft and nice to play with.”
My gaze stayed glued on Kate. “I bet it is.”
Her cheeks went from pale to pink. Her eyes widened, and she nibbled on the corner of her mouth. I wanted to nibble too. Nah, that wasn’t entirely true. I didn’t want a tiny nibble. I wanted to fucking devour her.
Maybe then these constant thoughts of her wouldn’t drive me up the damn wall.
“Can we go make pancakes now?”
Poor kid had gone from overly excited to utterly annoyed. My fault for staring at her guardian for far longer than anyone deemed polite. And Kate’s fault for looking good enough to eat.
“Yeah, Bug,” Kate laughed. “We most certainly can.”
Millie let out a quick “whoop” before she sprinted for the kitchen.
Instead of saying anything, Kate jerked her head in Millie’s direction and started walking.
I fell in step behind her. Close enough to get a whiff of that subtle perfume she used. Close enough to lean forward and whisper next to her ear, “What? No, hello, husband? Or I’ve missed you, husband? It’s been eight days.”
Her gaze met mine in a sideways glance. “Actually, it’s only been five.”
“Ah.” One corner of my mouth curled up. “Someone’s been counting.”
“Bite me,” she grumbled under her breath.
Without thinking, I snaked my arm around her waist and hugged her from behind. “I’d love to. Just say where.”
She gasped.
I grinned like a fucking idiot. Especially when tiny bumps erupted across her skin. I wanted to trail the tips of my fingers over every single one of them, then go back and do it all over again with my tongue.
“Tristan.”
The way she said my name, so soft, so damn breathless, had me closing my eyes and rolling my lips over my teeth to keep myself from begging her to do it again. Or from demanding that mine was the only name she ever said like that.
It was wrong, so fucking wrong.
I didn’t give two shits. I couldn’t. Not when every cell in my body screamed this was where she was supposed to be. In my arms, saying my name in that sexy, breathy tone.
I’d almost said as much when an ear-splitting crash came from the kitchen, directly followed by a bloodcurdling scream. My heart stopped dead.
Both Kate and I set off running. The only difference was when we entered the kitchen, Kate knew what to do while I stood frozen in place.
Rushing to Millie’s side, she scooped her up and carefully stepped over the broken pieces of glass to put her on the counter.
“I’m sorry, Kate,” Millie whaled. “The vase...” More cries. “It slipped. I’m sorry.”
Millie kept crying, but Kate was so calm.
Cradling Millie’s cheeks between her palms, she kissed her forehead. “It’s okay, Bug. It’s just a vase. I’m more concerned about you. Did you get hurt?”
Without waiting for a response, she checked Millie’s feet, then her legs and hands.
“No cuts,” she said softly, placing another kiss to Millie’s head.
That fucking beating thing behind my ribs hurt so much, I almost couldn’t breathe. This kid wasn’t her blood. She didn’t give birth to her and yet she was more gentle, more kind to her than the one who gave me life had been to me.
Kate didn’t care about broken things; she kissed the boo-boos and made them better.
“Are you fucking blind?”
“I’m sorry, Mommy. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”
“Yes, I’m sorry too. Sorry I ever gave birth to you.”
Pinching my eyes shut, I willed the memory away.
I couldn’t be there.
Couldn’t be reminded of what I’d never had. Of what I’d worked so hard to forget.
“I gotta go.”
I didn’t know if she heard me. I just got the hell out of there.