Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Chloe
A hot guy wearing a cut-off shirt and athletic shorts was cooking breakfast. It was not a dream. It was my baby daddy.
And because of him, I slept ten hours, a luxury I didn’t remember since Sebastian came into my life.
Even those three months away from my baby, those three months when I couldn’t determine if someone was coming after me, my hypervigilance prevented me from fully relaxing, resulting in fractured sleep.
But this morning I woke up refreshed. Whether it was from the other night’s insomnia, the wine, or the chamomile tea with the addition of the homeopathic drops, I wasn’t sure. But if I were honest with myself, it was largely because I trusted Kolya to keep me safe.
I trusted his skill. Not sure if I trusted my feelings or libido around him because there was no denying I was still attracted to him.
Physically, he checked all my boxes. It was easy to turn that off if he was a dick or a deadbeat dad.
Judging from the reports I received of his custody visits I hadn’t attended, Kolya’s qualities in the father department went above and beyond my expectations so far. And now this…
He turned around and grinned at me. “Sleep well, princess?”
His smile. His eyes. The way he said princess made me feel like a princess, except for that time in the King mansion attic when he had injected the endearment with a healthy dose of ridicule.
“You know I did.”
“Bababa…” Sebastian pounded on his high chair and grinned his four-tooth smile, his mouth smeared with traces of scrambled eggs before he returned to the important task of self-feeding.
I kissed the top of his head before giving my attention back to his dad.
“The shadows under your eyes are gone,” he said.
“I feel like a new person,” I laughed. I really did. My reflection in the mirror this morning shocked me. There was a sparkle in my eyes, okay…maybe it was because…
“I’m wearing your shirt,” I said.
He smirked and returned his attention to the pan where he appeared to be making a multicolored egg dish.
When he didn’t reply, I leaned against the counter beside the stove so I could see his profile. “You undressed me.”
He huffed a brief laugh before raking his teeth over his bottom lip as if reining in his amusement. “Is there a question there, or are you stating facts?”
“Dora would have removed my shoes, but that’s it.”
“You were already in your slippers and…I didn’t want you uncomfortable when you slept. One sec, baby.” He gave the pan one more stir before turning it off.
“Smells good. What are you cooking?”
“Scrambled eggs with the works.” He set the platter in front of me. “Eggs, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, and, of course, cheese.”
“I’ll eat anything right now.”
“I’m surprised you’re not hungover,” he said.
“I didn’t drink that much.”
Kolya set the plates in front of me, his mouth twitching, but his face said I was bullshitting.
“I really didn’t! I think I was just tired. Alcohol just affects me more when I’m exhausted, but my body needed that sleep.” I glanced over at Sebastian as tiny claws of guilt dug into my chest. “I’m glad you allowed Dora to stay with us.”
“She’s been vetted.”
“How sure are you she’s not holding a grudge?” I raised a brow.
“If her presence here makes you more relaxed to be around the bratva…” He shrugged. “I’ll handle the fallout of that decision.”
I inhaled sharply. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Kolya sighed dramatically. “You need to stop reading death and destruction into everything I say.” He lifted the platter of eggs, scraped half of its contents onto my empty plate and slid the breadbasket closer. “Eat.”
This man was bossy.
“You can’t blame me when every time your solution to a problem involves something that bleeds.” I scooped the eggs into my mouth. “Hmm…yummy.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Your job. I had front-row seats to it, remember? When you wanted to get rid of my brothers and burn the whole mansion down.”
“That was one incident.”
“That’s already one too many.”
He slid onto the barstool beside Sebastian so we had our boy sandwiched between us. Our son turned to his dad, reaching out with his arm.
“Dad’s gotta eat, buddy,” Kolya said, the tone in his voice starkly softening for our Sebastian. My ovaries screamed.
Babies were a great idea until you experienced the sleepless nights and smelly diapers. No wonder some people suggested having a puppy first as the first step to responsibility.
My childhood didn’t exactly count. I remembered we had a nanny.
Duncan provided as much as he could get past his psychotic wife.
Because wasn’t that how Ivan came into our life?
Esther approached the bratva to do a hit on Mom while she was six months pregnant with me.
Ivan couldn’t fathom killing a pregnant woman, so he ratted Esther out to Duncan.
The Kings and the Zahkarovs had been associates for a long time.
“Dadada,” Sebastian babbled suddenly.
My heart stopped and kick-started. I stared at my son and then at Kolya.
Kolya’s jaw unhinged, his eyes falling to our son and then, when they met mine, they were unusually shiny.
“Say it again,” Kolya choked, hoisting Sebastian out of his chair.
“Dada!” He clapped his hands.
Tears filled my eyes and ran down my cheeks. I rose to my feet and stood beside Kolya. He was still sitting, but he dragged me close before putting both hands around Sebastian again.
“That’s so unfair.” I gave a watery laugh. “But why does that make me so happy?” Even seated, Kolya was at eye level. He finished blowing raspberries into Sebastian’s belly and raised him up so he was staring down on us.
He was kicking his legs and obviously enjoying Daddy’s attention.
Kolya ripped his gaze away from Sebastian to stare at me. “That looks like tears of joy, not jealousy.”
I punched him lightly on the arm. “Of course it is…Kolya…”
And then he kissed me. It was brief, but I felt the zing all the way to the soles of my feet. It wasn’t lust. It wasn’t love, but it was something. A connection. A positive charge in the electricity zipping through my body.
He pulled away. “He’ll say mama soon.”
“Bababa,” Sebastian babbled.
I squeezed Kolya’s shoulder. “I’m not worried.” Then I smirked. “Babies have an easier time saying dada first before mama, so don’t get cocky.”
After breakfast, Kolya interrogated me about Sebastian’s care, like feeding schedules, bath times, and any development training. And I said interrogated because that was what it felt like. The feeding schedule he wrote on an index card and stuck it to the refrigerator.
Kolya’s handwriting was appealing. He varied from block letters to cursive.
“Is that your real penmanship?” I asked.
He merely grinned at me. Aha! So he might have different writing styles depending on who he wanted to be. In our interactions when it came to Sebastian, I saw traces of Nic in Kolya. The teasing glint in his eyes, the heartbreaking smile. The tenderness in his voice last night.
Dora had gone into the shelter to continue her interviews. I touched base with the foreman doing the renovation. So far, I hadn’t received word of candidates or contractors backing out. At this point, I didn’t care.
It was almost noon. Sebastian was taking a nap. Kolya was around the property somewhere installing additional security cameras.
When my phone buzzed, I saw it was Theo…finally.
“Hello.”
“Hey…how are you and Sebastian doing?”
“I should be the one asking how you are doing?”
He gave a tired chuckle. “Yeah, it has been a roller coaster for the past twenty-four hours.”
“Is there anything I should do? I think the last directive was to lie low.”
“I don’t want to control your movements,” he said with a trace of regret. “This was what you were avoiding, right? Why you didn’t want to be a King?”
“Too late for regrets now, so I’m asking. Is there anything I should do? Any statement? I still don’t want Sebastian dragged into this.”
“That’s off the table, don’t worry,” Theo said firmly. “I’ve made it clear the children are a no-go. No attempt at pictures or the press is going to face the full force of our legal department.”
“Is that how you kept Gage out of the limelight?”
“Yeah, I’m just glad he was too young when the divorce happened.” He sighed. “Listen, I’m going to catch some sleep before I end up burning this whole thing down.”
I laughed, thinking that was what Kolya would suggest.
“The PR crisis department is handling the whole money-laundering accusations that have been going around…”
“I didn’t realize it’s that bad.”
“Maksim and I are talking later. Zahkarov Holdings PR is used to handling this. But my question is, do you want PR to contact you directly, or are you going to go with what Maksim and I decide?”
“I’ll go with what you guys decide. I have enough to deal with, with a baby and the NGO. Kolya said something about simply lying low until this crisis is over because the press has been relentless.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll check on you later.”
“Thanks, Theo.”
“For what?” he asked.
“For calling. I know you’re swamped and being pulled in all directions.”
“I’m used to it.”
The call eased the remaining anxiety at the back of my mind.
Marena texted me this morning asking me how I was, and I told her it appeared all I needed was sleep.
She advised me not to turn on the television.
I wasn’t going to anyway, and if I were, I was going to stream shows.
My epiphany this morning? The situation was beyond my control.
What was done was done. I thanked her again for checking up on me and told her the tea and drops were working to calm me down.
I checked on Sebastian. He was still sleeping.
Should I wake him to feed him lunch? Maybe the poor boy was exhausted from last night.
Maybe Kolya used my tiredness from last night as an opportunity to bond with Sebastian.
Not that it was bad. He probably repeatedly told him to call him Dada.
You know, like those brainwashing techniques.
Maybe he was brainwashing my baby, a voice said.
It wasn’t a voice I could hear. It was in my head.
Babies bonded differently with their fathers.
But I’d already bonded with Sebastian, right?
Right? Kolya would not turn our baby against me. Not possible.
“Chloe?”
I blinked and gasped. The teakettle was about to shriek. I turned it off.
What was I doing? How did I get here?
“Are you okay?”
I glanced to my right. Kolya was looking at me with a disturbed expression on his face. “You were staring blankly. I had to call your name twice.”
“I was…making tea, but I think I was running through what to feed Sebastian in my head.”
He stopped in front of me, and I bristled at his scrutiny, the way he was studying my face.
“I’m fine. Probably too much sleep and I zoned out,” I said.
“Where’s Sebastian?” His voice sharpened as he pivoted away from me and headed for the bedroom, craning his neck to check the playpen in the living room. I was at his heels, outraged at the accusation I heard in his voice.
I saw his shoulders relax when he saw our sleeping boy.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the kitchen. I could barely contain my anger, so much so that words refused to form. Kolya’s face was unreadable, but a muscle pulsed in his jaw.
“I don’t appreciate you implying that I’m a neglectful mother.”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Well, that’s how it sound like. You took on the role of his father overnight, and I’ve been his mother for longer. You’re acting judgmental over it.”
He winced, then scrubbed a hand down his face. “I’m sorry.”
What did I say to that?
He clasped my shoulders. “I’m sorry I came across like you did something wrong.
I reacted badly. I was just concerned. And like you said, I’m still new to this daddy thing.
I know you can get tired and zone out, but it doesn’t mean you’re neglectful.
I was out of line.” He drew me closer. “Forgive me?”
My shoulders rose and fell. He appeared contrite, and I did lie. There were a few minutes I blanked out, or thought I did. I wasn’t sure.
“You’re forgiven.” I smiled up at him.
A baby’s cry broke us apart.
“Lunchtime for the baby,” I announced, then offered him an olive branch. “You want to feed him?”