Luke
Zach seemed reluctant to leave. Bella and Amber looked as if they were about to cry.
I couldn’t really see the appeal myself.
Though he’d grown a little less obnoxious than when he first arrived, I knew for a fact he’d done something to make Amber cry not so long ago.
Real men knew how to take care of family, not upset it.
I took another sip of tea, sighing at the perfect strength. My eyes rested on Isabella, wiping a pretend mark off Zach’s face while he tried, and failed, to duck out of reach.
That woman. She had no idea how perfect she was.
My eyes lingered on her ass.
The best ass in the world. Firm under normal circumstances, but the way it jiggled when I fucked her was phenomenal. Excellent cushioning, and the mere memory of that particular night had me licking my lips.
“I’ll just see him to his car,” Amber said, as the front door finally opened.
Hmm. They were getting along then.
I swiftly moved into the front room to watch through the window, hearing Bella close the front door behind them.
They stood beside his car. A fairly decent car for his age. I gasped and my cup froze halfway to my lips.
Zach had his fingers beneath Amber’s chin, and he wasn’t looking at her like a brother, adoptive or not. I’d only suspected it before. This was proof.
He suddenly crushed her against his chest, and I raised my cup, sipping my tea hard enough that I cringed at my own slurping.
Amber buried her face in his chest.
And then he kissed the top of her head.
My mind began to recalculate as I swallowed. If they stayed together—unlikely, given how highly strung the boy was—it would mean he was tied to my family in more ways than one.
His head lifted.
Our eyes met.
I smiled and took another sip of my tea.
Amber turned to glance back at me, and I was glad the cup covered half my face.
She was a sweet, respectful girl. She didn’t need to get tangled up in our feud.
Women and children should always be protected—my grandfather had drummed that into me decades ago, and it had never once stopped mattering.
Bella didn’t need to know. She had a wedding to plan.
I finished my tea, mentally listing everything she’d need to purchase, and the AMEX card I needed to have arranged for her. After the wedding, there’d be a nursery to decorate.
Yes. Isabella didn’t need any distractions right now.
The thought of Sadie flashed through my mind. It might help if people witnessed exactly how out of control she really was. The wedding could be the perfect bait to finally have her locked up. She’d pushed me too far when she approached Bella.
I settled my cup on its saucer.
Phase three was fully underway.
? ? ?
“Do you think Amber was quiet tonight?” Isabella asked, combing her fingers through her wet hair.
Before I could respond, she pondered the possibilities aloud.
“Maybe she missed Zach. She used to be quite attached to him. Followed him around like a lost puppy, back in the day. She grew out of it eventually.”
Wedding and baby. No distractions.
“Maybe she needs a new sibling,” I mused, watching her from the bed, the damp ends of her hair leaving dark patches on the shoulders of her robe.
Her head bobbed up, and our eyes met in the vanity mirror across the room.
She laughed so hard she had to clutch her stomach and ribs, the sound bright and unguarded.
I found it a little offensive, if I was honest. Our child was listening to this.
I calculated the days in my head, precise as ever.
No—baby Newbury couldn’t be allowed to hear its own mother denigrating its father this early.
I might need the child to be a boy, just to balance things out.
Though a girl would make an equally excellent Newbury addition.
In fact, any seed from my loins would excel, regardless of gender.
“Ahh. You think you’re so slick. Amber would love any sibling. But I’m talking about her and Zach.”
Of course Amber would love her new sibling.
Anything would be an improvement over a petulant man-boy.
With Bella as the mother of my child, we’d produce a truly fine specimen.
I’d never wanted anything the way I wanted this child now, a hunger that seemed to sharpen daily.
I was fairly certain men had some biological clock ticking away too, somewhere beneath all the noise.
“They only met again after five years, darling. Give them some time,” I murmured.
“True. I know they exchanged phone numbers, at least.”
She was smiling by the time she switched the hair dryer on. I loved seeing her relaxed like this, happy and unguarded.
It was only as I watched her that I realised what she’d said.
Amber would love any sibling.
Was she signalling that she wanted a child? That she was open to carrying mine?
She flipped her head forward and began drying the thick hair at the back, the roar of the dryer briefly drowning out my thoughts.
My eyes drifted to the T-shirt that had ridden up over her ass, catching on the bright pink lace beneath it.
The way the fabric spread over each cheek, clinging in all the right places.
I set my book on the nightstand—the dust jacket swapped out days ago, disguising the parenting manual underneath as some forgettable bestselling thriller.
The baby book could wait.
Daddy needed a taste of that ass.