Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38

AMARA

“I can’t believe you live here!” Emily gushes as the girls stare around the foyer three days later, after flying here on the private jet Fionn owns.

He insisted on flying them over instead of making them drive.

“Hi!” Fia rushes over with Louise, grinning with chocolate stains on her chin.

“Oh my gosh!” Emily runs over and picks my daughter up, staring at her like she hung the moon. “How did you get so big?”

“I eat lots of chicken! Daddy said it makes me strong!” She flexes a muscle, and Fionn’s mouth curls.

Every one of the girls stares at him, and I swear I get a little jealous.

“He’s so hot,” Lilith whispers in my ear.

That doesn’t help the situation, but I know the girls would never do anything like that. I’m just being stupid.

“You really have a beautiful home.” Patricia smiles.

“It’s our home now.” He curls his arm around me and kisses my temple. “Isn’t that right, baby?”

The “awws” echo while my face heats up.

“Yes.” Warmth cruises down my limbs.

And when I look over at my best friend, emotions riddling her features, I know she’s thinking the same thing I am: that after all this time, I’ve found someone who cares for me like I’ve always deserved.

“Are you sure you’re okay with her by yourself?” I ask Fionn, who places Fia on top of his shoulders.

She giggles from up there, and my heart swells. I love seeing them together.

“I promise we won’t feed any gorillas today.”

The girls look questioningly between us.

“I wanna feed gorillas again!” she says.

Apparently, the time they went to the zoo, he took her to meet one and she fed him. Gave me quite the heart attack when I found out, but I know he’d never do anything to harm her.

“Not today, princess. We have to be good for Mommy.”

I grin. “Well, you guys have fun doing, uh…whatever it is you’ll be doing.”

He peers up at our girl, giving her a little wink and making her giggle.

“Go. We’ll be fine.”

He slips his hand in his pocket and opens his wallet, handing me a credit card.

“You forgot this.” He smirks, dangling a black card with my name on it, one that’s connected to his account.

“Oh, right.” My pulse races.

When he handed me the card on the first day of school, I was taken aback. I’ve never had a credit card before.

“Please treat all your friends. And as I said before, there’s no limit.”

“Wait. Like, no limit at all?” Lilith whispers behind me.

He chuckles. “That’s right.”

His eyes burn into mine, and as they do, I’m overwrought with emotions. I’m not used to having all this. Even going to dinner with friends used to be painful, but now I can breathe a little easier, not worrying about how I’ll pay the bills. So many people take that for granted—just surviving—but I know I never will.

Throwing my arms over his shoulders, I whisper, “Thank you.”

An inhale swells in his chest, and his mouth drops to my forehead. “Never have to thank me for treating you like a queen. Because that’s what you are.”

His gaze grows heavy-lidded, a thumb tracing my lips before he lowers his mouth to my ear. “Better go before I decide to keep you all to myself.” His jaw tightens. “Have fun, ladies. Roy will be with you at all times.”

At that, they glance behind them, finding my bodyguard ready to take us to an Italian restaurant in town.

“Bye, Mama!” Fia waves. “I love you.”

“Me too.” I reach up to kiss her, and he lowers her into his arms.

“Bye, pretty girl!” Emily waves and the other girls follow suit.

“Be good for Daddy, okay?” I tell her.

“Daddy promised me ten s’mores if I eat dinner.”

“Did he now?” I quirk a brow, fighting a laugh. “She’s all yours if she’s too high on sugar tonight.”

He grimaces. “Alright, princess. I think we’re sticking to five.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

He gives me a smug look, and my stomach flips.

I instantly wanna kiss him. So I do. I clasp his strong jaw and lean real close, rising on my toes and smashing his lips to mine, forgetting why being the wife of a man who belongs in a world more dangerous than I’ve ever known is wrong.

And in its place there’s hope. Hope for the future. Hope for a family of my own. Hope for something much bigger than I ever dreamed was possible.

Because with him, those dreams seem like a reality.

ONE WEEK LATER

The girls haven’t been able to get over how amazing Fionn was that day. They’ve been gushing about him nonstop. Emily even said how much she adores how well he treats me and fully approves of this marriage now. Not that I needed her approval, but it’s still nice to have it.

My stomach turns to knots as we near the restaurant where I’m supposed to be meeting Julius.

After I spoke to Fionn about it, I told Julius I was happy to grab lunch. But with every day, I’ve gotten more nervous. What if he hates me once he gets to know me? What if his parents find out and stop him from seeing me anymore?

My chest grows tight. I need to stop thinking negatively. It’ll be fine.

“You okay?” Fionn squeezes my thigh as he eases the car into the parking lot of the restaurant, and my pulse quickens.

“I don’t know. I’m just nervous, I guess. He’s the child my father wanted, and I was nothing.”

He grabs my jaw and grits his teeth, his irises darkening. “Don’t ever call yourself nothing again. Because you’re far from nothing, mo ban dia. You’re everything .” His gaze lands on my lips before it crawls back to my eyes. “Your father doesn’t matter. What he did or didn’t do doesn’t define you or your worth. You understand?”

I nod, a knot forming in my throat. He’s right. I know he is. It’ll just take me some time to get over all of this. But one good thing did come out of it: I haven’t had the dream since I came face-to-face with the man who abandoned me.

“Thank you.” I grab his wide wrist. “I appreciate that.”

“Just telling the truth.” He cups both sides of my face and kisses my forehead, and my budding affection for him grows.

“Okay, let’s go. I think I’m ready.” But the fluttering in the pit of my stomach says otherwise.

He steps out of the car first, coming around to open the door for me before I can do it myself. “I’ll be near at all times.”

When he helps me up, his gaze drifts down to my tight jeans and simple light pink t-shirt with flats. I don’t look like anything special, but from the way he stares at me, it’s as though I am.

As I take a deep breath, we start for the entrance and are immediately led toward the back, where Julius is already seated, typing something on his phone. When he looks up, his smile expands.

“Will you also be joining us?” he asks Fionn, getting to his feet and shaking his hand before giving me a hug.

“No. I’ll be at the table right there.” Fionn points to the one to the left of us.

“You’re more than welcome to join us.”

Fionn shakes his head and turns to me, grabbing the back of my neck and giving me a quick kiss.

“If you wanna leave at any time…” he whispers across the shell of my ear. “Just scratch your right temple.”

I nod, and he lets me go and struts toward his table, his eyes on us as he settles. Clearing my throat, I take my seat from across Julius.

“Thank you for agreeing to speak to me,” he says. “I know this must not be easy for you.”

“It isn’t.” I pick up my ice water, taking a few sips. “But I’m sure you feel the same way.”

“Yeah.” He runs a hand down his face, blowing a breath. “I never believed my mother when she thought he was cheating. I took his side, and I feel guilty about it now.” His chest rises and falls with another quick breath. “I’m sorry about how he treated you. I let him have it the next day. It wasn’t right.”

I can tell from his tight expression that he means it. And why wouldn’t he? The man was a complete asshole.

“Thank you. It’s all crazy to me. I’ve spent all this time wondering about him, and he had this whole other family. No offense.” I grimace, afraid it came out wrong.

He lets out a short laugh. “None taken. I get it. You were alone while I had him.”

“Yeah… Was he a good dad?”

I know I probably shouldn’t ask because if he was, that will just sting more. Not that I want Julius to have had a bad childhood or anything.

My God, these thoughts are just so hard to wrestle through.

“He—”

“May I get you two anything to drink?” A waitress interrupts.

“A Coke for me,” he says.

“An unsweetened iced tea, please.”

“Sure. Coming right up.”

Julius glances at me, then down at the table before he speaks again. “To be honest, he was for the most part. I’m sorry if that’s hard to hear, but I would hate to lie.”

“No, no! Please don’t. I want the truth.”

He nods with understanding, but there’s no way he can ever understand.

“Until the day you walked up to our door, I had never so much as heard him yell. Now, my mother…well, she’s a different story.” He scoffs. “I’ve spent my life hearing her tell me I’m not good enough. That I was ungrateful for everything I had.”

“Seems like we have that in common.”

The waitress places the drinks on our table, and we quickly give our orders before we resume the conversation.

“So your mom was like that too, huh?”

“Yeah. It was just me and her, and she made it her mission to make me feel like dirt every time she could. Didn’t help that she had an addiction to cocaine and refused to work, so it was up to me to pay for the bills and keep us alive.”

“Shit.” His brows shoot up. “I’m sorry.”

I twist my mouth. “It is what it is, but I’m free of her now, thankfully.”

“Well, now I feel bad complaining about my own mother.” He chuckles dryly. “Because at least she paid the bills.”

I burst with a laugh, feeling a little lighter. Soon enough, we’re discussing his grad school and how I got a B on a paper in poli-sci that I need to discuss with the professor. Julius seems genuinely interested in my life, and I really like him.

“I would love to meet your daughter whenever you feel comfortable with that. She sounds really adorable.”

“She’s everything to me.”

At that, I look over at Fionn, his eyes glued to mine.

You okay? he mouths, and I nod.

“I’m really glad we connected,” Julius says.

“Me too. I was so nervous.” I scowl. “But I’m glad I didn’t chicken out.”

“Nervous of me?” He snickers, running a hand through his brown hair. “I’m literally the most unintimidating person you’ll ever meet.”

He isn’t wrong. He has one of those really friendly faces with kind eyes.

As he takes another bite of his veal, his phone rings on the table. When he stares down at it, he grinds his jaw.

“You okay?”

“It’s just my mother calling. I’m gonna ignore it.” He presses a button. “So, anyway, when are you going to speak to your professor about your B? Even though I think a B is fine. But I get it.” He grins. “My sister’s ambitious.”

Sister .

That sounds so strange.

“I definitely plan to?—”

The phone rings again, interrupting us.

He groans. “I’m just gonna answer it, or she’ll keep calling.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“What’s up, Mom?” He pinches the bridge of his nose. He pauses, shaking his head and glancing at me. “Yes, I’m still here.”

Another pause, and from the way he’s watching me, I would bet anything she’s mad that he’s here.

“Just stop, okay? Enough. I don’t care about all that.” He blows a breath, staring at the ceiling. “That’s right. That’s not my business. I’m doing this for me.” He grips the back of his head. “I’m going, Mom. I’ll see you later.”

He hangs up and places the cell back on the table.

“That seemed intense. Was it about me?”

He stares with uncertainty, but as soon as he lets out a ragged sigh, I know I’m right.

“I don’t care what she thinks. Her problem is really with my father, not you. So don’t worry about it.”

But I can’t help but feel bad. “I don’t want to cause problems for you. I can sympathize with how she must be feeling, to know her husband not only cheated, but had a child with another woman.”

He exhales sharply. “It’s a damn mess, but anyway, about your grade. Is your professor an a-hole, or you think he’d be understanding?”

Picking up my iced tea, I take a few big sips. “I think so. I plan to meet with him tomorrow. Hopefully he tells me what I need to do to improve on the next paper.”

“Let me know how it goes.”

“I will. Thanks.”

The rest of the lunch continues uninterrupted, and soon, we’re saying our goodbyes.

Julius clasps Fionn’s hand before turning to me. “Thanks again for coming. I really enjoyed getting to know you and hope we can do it again.”

“Yeah, definitely. Me too.” I go to give him a hug, and Fionn practically shakes with intensity, like he hates the idea of even my half brother touching me.

I fight a laugh. It’s kinda cute how jealous he is.