Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

W arrick

Was it normal to want to both press your new wife against the wall and pillage her mouth while also wanting to throttle her? Because that pretty much accurately described how I felt about Emmerleigh every single day I'd known her. Her small stature and big determination were some sort of dynamite duo that flipped the overprotective switch in me. I wanted to ride up on a white steed in knight's armor and save her from everything that troubled her. But then she opened her mouth to lash out and I suddenly wanted to save her just so I could kill her myself.

Instead of distancing myself from the woman who made me insane, I'd married her and moved her into my house so I couldn't avoid her. Smart. Real fucking smart.

"More chicken!" Georgia whooped, the last bite of grilled chicken skewer from our dinner at Grass still in her mouth.

"You need to eat your veggies first," Em scolded her lightly.

Georgia's perfect face wrinkled into a frown. "I did. The cawots are all gone. "

"You can't just eat carrots. Eat some of the broccoli," Em countered, pointing to the pile of miniature green trees on her plate.

Georgia's face twisted even further and I braced for the argument. "I'm like Uncle Anty. No bwocoli. I want chicken !"

Em sighed and flicked a glance at me. "Welcome to having a kid."

I grinned, finding Georgia's temperament quite enjoyable. Served Em right to have a daughter who was every bit as stubborn as her mama.

"Who's Uncle Anty?"

Em wiped the side of her mouth with her napkin. "That's my oldest brother."

"Oldest, huh?" Funny how I didn't know much about her and yet she was now my wife. "How many do you have?"

Em's smug grin struck fear in my gut. "Four."

"Oh, fu—fudgsicles." I managed to avoid cursing in front of the small girl. In my rush to help Em, I hadn't exactly thought through the fact that four older brothers might be headed my way right now to bash my face in.

"Is Wa-wy my daddy now that we live together?"

Georgia's innocent question might as well have been a bomb going off at our table. Em and I both froze, probably for different reasons. We'd agreed to keep our marriage quiet. Not really a secret, but not announcing it either. If people gossiped, so be it, but we'd tell Georgia we were simply moving in until their next house was ready. According to Em, they'd be moved out and done with the court case before Georgia was old enough to have to explain our sham of a marriage. Even knowing all that, I was about to answer in the affirmative when Em beat me to it.

"No, Georgia! We've talked about this. Little kids do not need a daddy."

I winced at the harsh tone. Georgia cocked her head and studied us both.

"What if I want one? "

Em's face flamed, the first time I'd seen her struggle to not lose her cool with her daughter. "That's not in the cards for us, okay? Some little kids don't even have one parent, so let's count our blessings, huh?"

Georgia's face fell and it nearly broke my heart. My hand was in the air before I knew what I was doing. Diego, bless him, came right over.

"What can I get you folks?"

"Could we have a couple more chicken skewers and your brownie a la mode after?"

Diego clapped me on the shoulder. "You got it, boss."

"We don't need dessert," Em whispered urgently.

"Brownies!" Georgia cheered at the same time.

I shot the little girl a smile and leaned in closer to Em. "One brownie isn't going to kill her. Besides, we're celebrating, remember?"

Em rolled her eyes as her lips pressed tightly together. I wondered what she might have been like before her ex screwed her over. Was she always this much of a killjoy or had that come about solely because of Cayden?

After Diego delivered more chicken and Em finished up her steak salad, I dug into my pocket. Placing a small black box on the table in front of Georgia, I could practically feel the air freezing around us, courtesy of Ms. Stick-Up-Her-Butt. I focused on the smile splitting Georgia's tiny face.

"I got you something to celebrate you two moving in with me," I explained.

Georgia snatched up the box, but looked to her mama for permission to open it. Em gave a tight nod. Georgia gritted her teeth and dug her fingernails into the edges to get the two halves of the box apart. When it popped open, she squealed. I leaned over and held the box steady so she could see the dainty necklace that hung there with two silver charms: a heart-shaped lock and a key.

"This key is to show you that you're always welcome at my house. The heart means you can come to me for anything because I care about you. What your mom was telling you earlier is that sometimes the most important people in your life aren't ones that share your blood." I pulled the necklace off the padding and held it out.

Georgia hopped off her chair and came close so I could put it around her neck and secure it with the clasp. Her little hand came up to touch the charms. "Blood?" she asked, nose wrinkling as she looked up at me.

I chuckled, remembering I was talking to a five-year-old. "We don't share blood, which means we're not related. But we can still be important to each other."

She thought that over for a few seconds and then must have come to a conclusion because she went up on her tippy-toes and threw her arms around my neck. She was strong like her mama, nearly choking me.

"You'we my important person," Georgia stated right in my ear at full volume.

I patted her on the back and tried not to get choked up with emotion. The innocence and easy trust of a small child was something I'd never experienced before. With a simple sentence this three-foot-nothing kiddo could cut me off at the knees. I vowed right then and there that no matter what Em believed about me being Georgia's new daddy, I would act like one. I'd protect her with my life. I'd married her mother today and that meant Georgia was mine to look after too, whether the title of father was ever mine or not.

Georgia just as quickly let go of my neck and hopped back on her chair, which was just in time for Diego to arrive with the dessert. He'd added a sparkler to the brownie creation and Georgia clapped and squealed her approval.

As we picked up spoons and dug into the dessert together, Em muttered something. I leaned a little closer, noting the way she seemed to stiffen every time I came into her personal space. I hoped it wasn't due to mistrust or downright disliking .

"What's that?" I asked, swallowing down the best brownie I'd ever tasted.

"Thank you," she said again, a little louder this time, but from between clenched teeth.

I grinned. The woman looked like she'd had to crack a molar to verbalize the gratitude. "You're welcome."

She rolled her eyes and dug back into the brownie, refusing to look at me.

Georgia babbled on about her day as we arrived back home. Em took her by the hand to head to the same clawfoot bathtub her mama had enjoyed earlier today. I changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt, hoping I'd get to see Em again before she went to bed. Georgia didn't seem concerned about sleeping in a new home, especially since she'd been here before, during the lice incident, but I wouldn't blame Em if she stuck close to her daughter until she felt completely at home.

I filled a half glass of red wine and sat on the couch in the dining room where Pip had moved it today to start staining the living room floors. I scrolled social media on my phone, noting all the comings and goings of my friends in the city. Bright sparkly lights, fancy restaurants, and dimly lit clubs. That had been my life too, up until a few months ago.

Then I came across an ex-girlfriend, one of many who'd stuck around for all the benefits of dating me, but eventually left me when I stopped the jewelry, cars, and trips to exotic locations. It was a little test I'd started doing anytime I hit three months with a woman. It was actually my COO who'd originally suggested it. He'd hassled me about the money I spent on my girlfriend at the time, daring me to stop the gifts and see if she stuck around. Fucker had been right.

I sighed, shutting off my phone and throwing it on the cushion next to me to rest my head back. I'd gotten sick of that routine, and it was partially why I decided to sell my business and move back home. Yes, Dad needed me at the end of his life, but more than anything, I'd needed to leave that environment. It wasn't sparking joy in me any longer.

I'd always been a giving person. In second grade, Mom had finally figured out why I came home from school starving. At first, she thought I was just a growing kid, but she volunteered one day at school and saw me give my entire lunch to another kid. When she confronted me after school, I'd explained how he never had a lunch and I had plenty of food, so I gave him mine. Every day after that, she'd sent me to school with two lunches.

The problem came when people started to use me to get what they wanted, knowing I'd give them the shirt off my back if they asked for it. I could be ruthless and smart when it came to my business, but my personal life was another story. If there was a need and I had the means to fill that need, I was going to do it.

"You shouldn't have given a little girl a fancy necklace."

I opened my eyes to see Em standing in the doorway, jean shorts damp from where Georgia had probably splashed while taking her bath. Her arms were crossed stubbornly over her chest again, a sight so familiar I almost smiled in the face of her frown.

"Relax, wife. It's plain silver and wasn't expensive. I know she'll probably lose it or break it, being that she's five, but I wanted her to feel important during these changes."

And that was the truth. But it went deeper than that too.

It had made me feel important seeing her so excited over a simple silver trinket. All those women had wanted bigger and pricier items from me. Georgia's reaction over something so small had made me feel like not everyone in the world was out to glean something from me. Georgia wouldn't take advantage of me and that made me wonder if perhaps I should have made having kids a priority in life instead of my business.

Em dropped her arms with a sigh. "Well, she won't take it off, so there's no point in me arguing for you to take it back."

My satisfied grin made her shake her head in exasperation.

"But you do need to take my ring back."

My grin vanished. "Not a chance in hell," I growled.

Now it was her turn to smile. "Also, Georgia has requested you read her a bedtime story. I'll tell her you're busy."

I was on my feet before she finished talking. "I'm not busy."

And with my heart in my throat and something squeezing my ribs too tightly, I sat on the side of Georgia's bed and read her a story, complete with animal noises and different voices for each character while Em hovered in the doorway. The little girl clutched the stuffed animal I'd gotten her to her chest, her eyes lighting up when I got to the fun parts of the story.

I realized I may have married her mom…but I was in love with the girl already.