“You didn’t answer my question.” His voice is low and soothing.
Shifting in my seat, I look straight ahead at the French doors lining the front of his house. “I miss him so much.”
“He needs to know his daughter. It’s cruel to keep her from him.”
Guilt floods my chest. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” I whisper. “But I couldn’t leave her behind, and I couldn’t pull him deeper into this.”
“He’s going to find you, and when he does, I hope he takes a riding crop to your ass. If it were me, you wouldn’t sit comfortably for a week, possibly a month.”
My watery eyes roll. “You’ve been watching Fifty Shades of Grey again.”
“Damn straight. Jamie Dornan is fine.”
I manage to exhale a short laugh, but I’m still miserable. “And why do you have Jilly out of her crib?”
“I thought I heard her cry.” My eyes narrow, and he chuckles. “Okay, I wanted to hold her.”
“She’s pretty amazing.” I slide my hand over her back. “Are you sure you don’t mind keeping her for me?”
“She can stay with Uncle Roland as long as she wants. Just let me know when you’re ready to give her to me.”
His words help me smile through the pain, but it’s never far away. “What about your work?”
“Evie can’t wait to be over here spoiling her rotten the nights I have to play.”
“You like the piano bar?”
“It’s fun.” He exhales, shifting in his seat. “I don’t know if I’ll stay there forever, but the pay is excellent, no stress—”
“And you stopped smoking.”
“God, that was the worst part,” he groans. “I’m not sure which I hate more, the patch or the gum.”
I put my head on his shoulder, stroking my daughter’s back again. “I’m glad you had to quit. It’s much healthier.”
“No smoking in bars. Who would’ve believed something like that would happen? Still, I’m through the worst of it.” His slim hand covers mine. “Funny how they grandfathered in the Pussycat club… then it burned to the ground.”
“Good riddance.” The very thought of that place provokes a visceral response in me. Despite it all, I made some lifelong friends there. “How is Evie?”
“Very happy. She loves her boys. It’s one of my better matches, if I do say so myself.”
“You say that like it’s a real relationship.”
His brow furrows. “What do you mean? They’ve been together almost six years.”
“Phillip and Armand are gay…” My voice drops. “What does Evie get out of it?”
“A very nice home, clothes, excellent food, and from what I’ve heard, pretty mind-blowing orgasms.”
I pull back, thinking about that. “Who does she…”
Roland’s dark eyes slide to mine. “How can you possibly be so innocent after everything that happened? For starters, Armand is bisexual.”
Sitting back, I try to imagine. “I didn’t think that was a thing.”
“Time to evolve, dear.”
“Okay, so Armand goes both ways, but Phillip doesn’t.”