Shit.
It wasn’t a dream. “Morning,” I say to Paige and Nova as I brush past and make a bee-line for the coffee pot.
I grab a mug and hand one to Dante while he pours two cups of coffee, one for each of us.
“You should take the day off,” Dante says. He’s a little louder than I’d like, and I have the sneaking suspicion it’s so that Paige will hear him.
Or I’m still hungover and everything feels amplified in intensity.
That possibility is just as likely.
I grab two aspirin from the cabinet and swallow them as the burning hot coffee forces me to wince in pain. A much-deserved suffering.
He shifts around, his back to the girls while he stares at me, keeping his voice much quieter. “Take the girls for a picnic lunch. Try to make a connection with Paige.”
“You sound like I should join one of those dating shows on television. Does he have a connection with Paige, or will she break his heart?” I mock.
“I can hear you,” Paige quips.
Shit.
My whispering voice is too loud.
I swallow my pride and stalk over to the table with Paige and Nova. “How does a picnic this afternoon with the three of us sound?”
My question is more for Nova, hoping to see her excitement about spending the day with me. I haven’t spent as much time as I should with my daughter.
Nova looks so much like Serene that it’s uncanny.
It makes moving on an impossible feat.
Nova glances at Paige. Is she seriously asking the nanny for permission?
What the hell have I done bringing Paige into our home?
No doubt she’s good with Nova, but the little girl is my child and their connection. I can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy at the relationship the two of them share.
Paige smiles warmly at Nova and hides any hint of annoyance with me. “That sounds like fun. Doesn’t it?” she says, her attention on my daughter.
“Great.” I sip my coffee and head for the entryway out of the kitchen.
“Maybe after we can swing by the toy store,” Paige says.
“Toy store?” I turn on my heel and spin around to face her.
That kind of suggestion should have been made with me privately, not in front of Nova. If I say no, I’ll look like the bad guy. What game is Paige playing?
“Yeah, you know the place that has stuffed animals.” Paige isn’t paying attention to me. Her focus is entirely on Nova, and I see why.
My little one is practically bouncing in her seat. Like she wants to talk, but something is holding her back.
No kidding.
I’m the reason she’s been silenced.
Children and the mafia don’t mix. I don’t know how Dante does it with Nikki and Luca. I envy his life, the fact that he can compartmentalize his job and family life so easily.
He fears nothing.