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“They didn’t just starve her,” I said in a grim tone. “They hurt her too. There are bruises all over her arms.”
“It’s okay, Azalea,” Irene spoke up. “They don’t hurt so much now. Being with you takes away all the pain.”
Tears stung my eyes. Irene was the sweetest child I’d met in my life!
“Let’s not wait any more,” Caleb said in a grim tone. “Dinner’s ready. And Princess Pink is sitting with me.”
A smile lit up Irene’s pretty face at once. She ran over to him.
Caleb opened his arms, bent down to her level, and easily scooped her up. Noah and Corey joined him and they walked out of the room together.
I followed them, feeling my insides melt at the sight.
The Amhurst brothers were being amazing with Irene. Who knew they could be so gentle and caring toward a child?
The distinct scent of tomato pasta reached my nose as soon I entered the family dining room. Moving closer to the table, I spotted a large pot with steaming piles of spaghetti in it.
I watched as Caleb and Corey settled Irene on a chair between them.
“Where’s Brian?” I asked Noah.
“He had an early dinner and headed upstairs,” he replied in a low voice as Hubert served us heaps of spaghetti with hot dogs. “He doesn’t know anything about Irene yet. I didn’t know it either, but I heard noises coming from your bedroom, so I went to check it out.”
I gave a nod, feeling unusually happy at the sight of the food on my plate. This used to be one of my favorite dinners growing up.
Picking up my fork, I dug in.
Soon, we all fell quiet. The pasta was delicious with spicy nuggets of sausages in it.
From time to time, I looked over at Irene.
The child was slow but she was eating her food on her own. It amazed me to see how independent she already was.
“She looks relaxed now,” I whispered to Noah.
“Yeah. Look at her hurrying up so she can have ice cream.” Noah looked absolutely mesmerizing with an indulgent smile on his luscious lips as he gazed at Irene.
I blinked, nearly forgetting what I was about to say.
“Irene, sweetie,” I called out across the table.
She looked up at once.
“Do you know Uncle Nick’s phone number?” I said. “It’s getting late and I’m sure he’s worried about you. How about we call him and let him know you’re safe?”
“Can I have my ice cream first?”
“Sure, sweetie.”
“It doesn’t look like she’s too keen to go back to her Uncle Nick,” Noah whispered.
“She’s soaking up all the attention,” I said with a chuckle. “I doubt Civella has time for a little girl like her. He probably hands her over to the nannies and goes about his business.”
“Irene deserves more,” he said in a low, grim tone. “Do you think he’ll let us see her again?”
“Do you want to have her around?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “It’s nice to have a kid around. I want to spoil her so badly.”
