Chapter 25 #2
For a few minutes, I watched her get her breakfast ready. Plushie tucked under her arm, she got a bowl, spoon, and milk then slipped onto a stool at the counter. With her tongue poking out of her mouth, she prepared her cereal without even making a mess.
When she was done, she pulled the tablet and her bowl closer. But instead of eating, her eyes were glued to whatever was on the small screen.
Curiosity finally got the better of me. Standing behind her, I peered over her shoulder. “So, which one is the pancake guy?”
Her squeaky yelp bounced off the walls followed by an upset, “You scared me. Not cool.”
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “I wanted to see what you were watching.”
Her pout was still firmly in place. Hoping to get in her good graces, I pointed toward the tablet. “Is this your favorite song?”
The beat was annoyingly catchy as the seven guys danced in front of exploding cars.
“Yes,” Millie said, nodding furiously. Straightening in her seat, her pout disappeared, and she eagerly gave me a crash course about the group she and Kate loved to listen to. The only group they listened to, if Millie was to be believed.
“You sure know a lot about these guys,” I said after I didn’t even know how many minutes. “You must really like them.”
Again, she nodded enthusiastically, her wild curls flopping into her face once more.
“When Mommy went away, and I came to live with Kate, this music made it hurt a little less.” Her tiny hand tapped against her chest. “Not a lot. But Kate said a little is better than nothing, and that all the littles will add up to a lot someday.”
Holy shit. I never thought the words of a six-year-old could cut so deep. My chest ached, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about the razorblades sliding down my throat.
“Sounds like Kate’s a smart woman.”
Not just smart. She was selfless too. She had to be. Why else would she put her life on hold to raise a child who wasn’t hers? And fight so hard to keep her. Kate was good. Too good.
And dammit, she deserved someone like her. Someone who’d put her first, no matter what. Someone who believed in fairy tales and happily ever afters.
She deserved someone who wasn’t me.
It wasn’t so much that I was afraid of love. I simply didn’t believe it was real. And yes, Liam might’ve found something inexplicable with Everlee, but they were an anomaly. I’d seen enough in my childhood to know the truth.
A marriage was nothing but a contract between two people with mutual goals: To share a last name and create a powerful empire.
My parents ticked the first box, but much to their dismay, they hadn’t quite achieved the second one. Divine intervention had stopped them from having more kids.
Even though my father had tried...with multiple women and my mother’s blessing, I’d been the only heir. For a while, it’d been enough until I hit my teens and realized I didn’t want to be like them when I grew up.
Bearing witness to their relationship, and a lack of spark with anyone, had made it so easy to not believe in that silly four-letter word.
“Tristan.” Millie’s tug on my sleeve snapped me out of my daze. She wasn’t on the stool anymore. Instead, she stood in front of me, her neck craned, and her arm outstretched. There was something in her hand.
“I can’t eat. My hair keeps falling in the milk.” She blinked a few times then stared at me with her eyes big and wide. “Will you braid it?”
“Brai... What?” It was my turn to blink. “I don’t know how to do that.”
Her face fell, and holy shit, a punch to the balls would’ve hurt less.
“Oh, okay,” she said softly. “I’ll just wait for Kate.”
I opened my mouth to apologize but before a sound escaped, Kate stepped into the kitchen. Dressed in a dark-blue dress and heels in the same color, she almost reminded me of the reserved woman I worked with.
Almost because I knew what hid underneath that very plain dress. Unlike every workday, her hair wasn’t tamed into a straight ponytail.
Her gorgeous curls hung loose, only the sides were pinned away from her face.
“Wow,” Millie exclaimed. “You look pretty.”
“Yeah.” I tipped my head in the tiny human’s direction. “What she said.”
The now familiar blush crept into Kate’s cheeks, but she didn’t look at me. Didn’t even acknowledge me.
Instead, she stopped in front of Millie and held out her hands. “Come on, Bug. I’ll braid your hair in the living room.”
Without even sparing me a glance—even though I was right fucking there—she scooped Millie into her arms and disappeared.
I should’ve been happy about this. It gave me an out. A chance to walk out the door and not look back. To leave her and Millie alone, like I knew I should. Especially since I clearly couldn’t give either of them what they needed or deserved.
That’s what I should’ve done.
Instead, I chose to listen to whatever the heck was speaking behind my ribs and followed them into the living room. Kate sat on the couch with Millie perched between her legs. Her fingers flew through the little girl’s hair, creating a long, thick braid.
When she was done, Millie twisted and threw her arms around Kate’s neck. “Thank you,” she squealed.
Kate held Millie close and rested her chin on top of her head as she shut her eyes. Her face said so fucking much. Yet again, a sharp pang shot behind my sternum.
How could I not believe in love when it stared me so blatantly in the eye? Kate loved this little girl. So much she’d do anything for her.
And I, I realized with a shock, would do anything to keep them together.