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Her eyes widened comically. “Really?” She jumped up and down and then stopped, her brows knitted in confusion. “Why? What’s wrong?”
Those three words shattered my heart. My little girl had gotten a little too used to disappointment. She expected anything good to be followed by something bad. “Nothing, I just felt like cooking. But if you don’t want any.”
“I do! I do!” She picked a chair and jumped up into it with an eager smile. “Where’s Slate?”
“Here,” he said in a husky voice still thick with sleep. “Looks like I’m the last one up.”
I stared at him for a long moment, shirtless and beautiful with his tattoos and muscles on full display. He was a good-looking man, kind and generous. And I didn’t deserve him, not that he would ever forgive me, and I couldn’t blame him. Before our gazes could connect, I turned back to the stove. “I hope you guys are hungry.” I took my time piling the food onto plates because a bachelor like Slate didn’t have serving platters.
“I’m hungry,” Ash declared as she plucked a slice of bacon from the plate. “So hungry.”
Slate laughed, his gaze was filled with affection and amusement as he stared at Ash, studying her. I hoped he finally saw how much they shared beyond physical similarities.
I turned away quickly to get plates. And glasses. And silverware. Anything to focus on other than the pair at the table so enamored with each other. The ache started in the pit of my stomach, and it expanded by the time I had the table set to the point that I could hardly breathe. “I’ll be back. Eat slowly,” I instructed Ashlyn before I made my escape upstairs to the guest bathroom.
I’m a horrible person. I kept those two apart for all those years and they’re clearly meant to be together. Maybe I deserved Alex after all.I splashed cold water on my face, but it did nothing to wash away my guilt or quell the nausea in my belly.
I dried my face and looked at my reflection, at the battered and exhausted woman who stared back. “Forget about that. They’re together now and that’s what matters. Focus on finding a job. And a place to live.” And staying out of prison. Those were my goals.
Nothing else.
Not love.
Not romance.
Not even sex.
Just life.
“Emma, are you okay?” Slate’s deep voice was filled with worry and his knock was hard enough to rattle the door. “Emma?”
I pulled the door open and flashed a brittle smile. “I’m fine.”
His gaze told me he didn’t believe me, which was fine because I didn’t care. “Bullshit.’
I shrugged and tried to push past him, but he refused to budge. “Doesn’t matter. I said I’m fine and you need to accept that.” I made the mistake of looking up and right into his gray-blue eyes. “I’m not your concern.”
His jaw tightened and his nostrils flared. “You and Ash are my concern, period. Always. A young girl needs her mother.”
My breath hitched but I reminded myself of the truth. He cared about Ash, and she needed her mother. He didn’t need me. “I said I was fine, Slate. You should go eat. Someone needs to keep an eye on Ash.”
He froze for half a breath, jaw clenched tight before he leaned in and got in my face. “You’re not leaving.”
I looked at the floor, the wall, anywhere but into his eyes. “It’s for the best. This way you and Ash can have time alone together to get to know each other properly and once I’m settled, we can work out living arrangements.”
“Where will you go?” His voice was flat.
“A hotel, at least temporarily. Maybe I’ll go back to the house since it’s not like Alex is coming back anytime soon.” I didn’t relish the idea of being ambushed by Mark anytime of the day or night, but it would help me save up some money.
“Just stay here Emma. I can keep you both safe here better than anywhere else. Please.”
I knew he had a point about keeping us safe and I knew that, like me, keeping Ash safe was his top priority. Mark wouldn’t hesitate to use her against me, which meant he was right, here was the best choice. For now. “Just go back to the kitchen. Ash needs to be watched.”
His jaw clenched and his nostrils flared, indecision warred within him.
“Go,” I whispered.
Finally his broad shoulders relaxed. “Don’t be long.” I nodded and held my breath until I heard him pretend to shout at Ash. “You ate all the bacon!”
