19. Cin

19

Cin

" H ey, cute girl." Chloe beams at me, her pudgy fingers in the middle of shoving some toast in her mouth. She gurgles and coos while chewing said toast, then cries with frustration when the last piece falls on the floor, joining all the other remnants of her breakfast feast. "We need a dog to come and eat all this up," I remark, surveying the mess with amusement.

Madden hates an untidy kitchen. He's going to lose his shit when he sees all the food on the floor. I laugh to myself, already looking forward to the meltdown.

Harry's head pops up at the mention of a dog. "Dog? Can we get a dog?" His excitement is palpable. He's practically vibrating at the idea of a dog coming to live with us. "I want a dog," he beams, pushing his cereal bowl aside even though it's still half full. Then his face falls. "Daddy said I couldn't have a dog. He said it would be deaded if we had one."

My fist clenches under the table while I try like crazy to maintain a neutral expression.

"Oh? Do you live on a busy road?" I ask.

"No." His little face is so fucking sad I want to go to the nearest pet store and buy the cutest, bounciest puppy ever and gift wrap it for him, just to see him light up like a Christmas tree. The kid deserves nice shit. He doesn't deserve an asshole father who threatens to kill any pet he might have.

"Maybe we can go see some puppies once the track is clear again."

He immediately forgets about his cunt of a father and throws me a look so full of hope I want to weep. "I know a guy with some puppies. I'll take you there so you can pet them."

Old man Jenson's Labrador had puppies a few weeks back. He bent my ear about them when I picked up supplies the other day. Even showed me some photos on his phone. Those puppies are cute as fuck. Three black, two goldens, and a chocolate brown one.

"Offering to take the kid to see some puppies, Cin?" My asshole brother smirks at me as he strolls over to the coffee machine for his morning caffeine hit.

"Don't be a dick," I snarl. I'm trying to help cheer up Harry and Kade's making out I'm some kind of creepy kiddie catcher. I swear his sense of humor is fucking warped.

"Dollar in the swear box," chimes Harry.

I roll my eyes. Fuck me, that kid's giving Jeff Bezos a run for his money in the entrepreneurial stakes. At this rate, I'll be fucking broke by the time they leave. I don't want them to leave.

Kade and I both glance over at Tessa, who's been staring out of the window for the last ten minutes. I'd have expected her to jump into the conversation when Harry mentioned a dog, but she seems a million miles away.

No doubt she's tired. I heard Chloe wailing in the early hours, so I guess she's had a shit night's sleep. Sharing a bedroom with both kids can't be easy. I debate offering her the use of my room but keep my mouth shut.

I don't mind sharing with Madden, but openly admitting that would out our relationship, and Madden isn't ready for that level of scrutiny. He thinks Kade doesn't know, which is ridiculous. Kade's known from the very beginning. Not because I told him, but because he saw us making out one night.

I could have told Madden, but it's a lot more fun seeing him all tied up in knots whenever I openly flirt with him. And my punishment later makes it all worthwhile.

The swear jar is half-full when I drop another dollar in it. Harry hasn't revealed what he's saving up for, but given our recent conversation, I suspect it has four legs and a tail.

"Everything OK, sweetness?" I ask while popping some bread in the toaster. Madden normally makes breakfast, but he's locked in his office on a conference call with some clients, and I can't cook for shit.

Tessa jumps at the sound of my voice but there's very little warmth in her expression when she turns around.

"Fine, thanks." I'm not sure what's changed between yesterday afternoon and now, but something has. Yesterday, when I stumbled across her feeding the baby, she could barely tear her eyes from me.

Not so today, even though I'm wearing nothing but a pair of athletic shorts. It's a look my fans always appreciate. Sixteen thousand likes on Instagram already. I uploaded a selfie after my morning gym session. Me flexing my muscles in the early morning sun, hashtag blessed.

"Are you bringing the kids down to watch the sexy lumberjacks again today?" I smirk, reaching over her shoulder to grab the butter dish.

But instead of flirting back, she sidesteps me and starts clearing away the kids' breakfast dishes. I frown as I scrape some butter over my toast and take a bite, not bothering with a plate.

"Probably not."

"Oh." Disappointment flares and I drop my half-eaten slice of toast on the counter. Have I done something to upset Tessa? Maybe I overstepped yesterday. Maybe I did come on a bit strong, but it was hard not to when I was so turned on at the sight of her gorgeous tits. And she didn't seem to mind then. Nothing she did gave me any indication she found my interest in her repulsive in any way.

"Need a hand clearing up?" Kade asks while she wipes down the table and stacks bowls in the dishwasher.

"Nope. I'm good, thanks." She avoids his eye too, I notice. Is she pissed at all of us? If Tessa is upset about something, I want to know why and how to fix it.