Page 130 of Deceived Wrath

“He’s right there!” I point to where Scout is busy making snowballs. “I haven’t taken my eyes off of him once!”

Cormac turns toward his son. “Scout, we’re leaving.”

“I haven’t finished my snowman,” Scout whines.

“Now.”

“Cormac—”

But he’s already dragging Scout away, leaving me standing in the snow like an idiot.

So much for Cormac being in meetings all day. It seems my little park stunt has broken all trust he has in me as he stays home for the rest of the day, playing with Scout in his room.

It’s probably a good thing that I don’t see him until dinner because I don’t trust myself not to say something that could result in me being thrown out on my ass. Even during the meal, I keep my mouth shut, only speaking if Scout asks me a question, which thankfully, isn’t often as he seems to be in a mood to monologue to Cormac about anything and everything.

“Do you think Uncle Brennan would buy me a rocket?”

I sneak a glance at Cormac to find him smiling enough for creases to appear at the corners of his eyes. I don’t know why that makes my chest tighten, but it does.

This man is nothing but a pain in my ass, but seeing him smile… It truly leaves me breathless.

“Rockets are very expensive, bud.”

“Yeah, but Uncle Brennan said he could buy me whatever I wanted.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, maybe we need to have a conversation about the value of money.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we shouldn’t listen to a word that comes out of uncle Brennan’s mouth.”

I choke on a piece of chicken as I fight the urge to laugh. I can feel Cormac’s eyes on me, so I keep my own trained on my plate for the rest of dinner.

“Daddy, can you tuck me in?”

I exhale in relief at the prospect of cleaning the kitchen in peace. As soon as Cormac and Scout head upstairs, I work overtime getting all the dishes cleaned and the counters wiped down so I can disappear into my own room before Cormac appears.

I decide to finally make use of the jacuzzi bath, soaking in the hot water and reading my book until it runs cold. It’s barely eight p.m., but I climb into bed anyway.

The sooner this day is over, the better.

Turning the light off, I bury myself under the covers and screw my eyes shut, hoping for sleep. But of course, that doesn’t happen. All my mind wants to focus on is Amber.

There’s been no word from Joe about Amber’s surgery, and I’m trying to convince myself that no news is good news. But that’s easier said than done.

I try to force myself to think of anything else, so of course, I start hyper-fixating on Cormac. It makes me wonder if I’m starting to develop real feelings for him.

It seems unavoidable, considering I've been sleeping with the guy and now we’re living together. We’ve gone from zero to a hundred in less than two weeks, and my brain is trying to make sense of the chaos.

But in true Cormac fashion, the moment I think that maybe this could work, that maybe whatever is going on between us could go somewhere, he flips a switch and pushes me away as if I mean nothing.

I shouldn’t complain. I should be grateful he has enough self-control for the both of us. But deep down, his rejection sits like a lead weight in my stomach.

If I don’t get a grip on myself soon, I’ll forget why I’m really here. I’ll forget who I’m reporting to.