“Imagine all those little faces happy. I wish I could adopt them all…wait, maybe I can.”
“Remove that crazy idea from your head right now, Lay.”
“Don’t be a fun-ruiner.” She pokes my arm. “Why are you in a pissy mood lately?”
“I’m not.”
Okay, maybe I am a little. Aiden’s visit has left a sour taste in my mouth, and I don’t know how to fix it. If I make an attempt to meet him, he’ll probably chase me out with a bat.
Now, every time Jonathan touches me, I stiffen, thinking about Aiden’s words and how true they are. But then, the pull drags me under and I get lost in Jonathan’s touch and those damn hands I’ve become addicted to.
It’s only when the spell breaks that I go back to the internal guilt trip, blaming myself for how I’m not even close to solving Alicia’s death.
I manically check with Paul in case I’ve received any more wooden box packages, but nothing appeared in my inbox.
Layla pokes my side. “Are you perhaps missing Johnny?”
“Lay!” I hiss, then smile as one of our clients greets us. As soon as she heads inside, I go back to glaring at my friend.
“What? You’re usually with him around this time.”
“I don’t miss him when I’m away from him.”
“Is that why you keep checking your watch?”
“Suck my dick, Lay.”
She feigns a gasp. “Blasphemy. The priest will soak you in holy water.”
I rub my arm and flip her off discreetly so no one sees. She laughs, bumping my shoulder with hers.
“He must be missing you, though. Imagine a grumpy Johnny sitting in his castle alone without you to entertain him. He must be waiting for you while drinking and sighing like an old man.”
“I didn’t tell him where I was going.”
She gives me a funny look.
“He’s not the boss of me, okay? He doesn’t need to know where I am at all times.”
“It’s not that…” Layla trails off when her gaze moves ahead. “Oh em gee, Daddy.”
At first, my heart stops beating when I think it’s Jonathan. My stomach dips and my forehead breaks out in a sweat. Then I follow her gaze and a sense of disappointment and confusion hit me at the same time.
Ethan and Agnus. They came. I didn’t expect much when I sent the invitation to the address on Agnus’s business card that I kept.
They’re both dressed in dapper suits, accompanied by a blonde girl wearing a white dress and carrying what seems like a heavy basket.
Ethan offers to help her, but she shakes her head.
Elsa — Aiden’s new bride.
My breathing hitches as I stare behind her, expecting to find Aiden’s grim features. But he’s not with them. A sense of relief mixed with the same disappointment from earlier grips me in its clutches.
“Layla, Aurora.” Ethan smiles at us, shaking our hands respectively. Agnus follows suit.
“Hear that?” Layla whispers. “Daddy remembers my name.”
“He’s not your daddy,” I murmur back, poking her side the hardest I can.