Page 95 of Thin Lives

She didn’t need him to say more—his implication was enough. She understood his unspoken words for exactly what they were. Instead of helping his first wife with their children when the girls were babies, he stayed away from home with one of his many mistresses.

Even now, that behavior was not beyond the prick.

Some nights, Emma would find Affonso packing a bag and offering no explanation. Other mornings, she would wake up to a note on the table with the name “Sandra” scrawled at the top and a phone number underneath.

He didn’t try to hide it.

He was never ashamed.

The man was a bastard through and through.

“Few unknowns, boss,” Ray said quietly.

Affonso barely picked his head up when he responded, “The enforcers are watching.”

Emma wasn’t entirely sure what they were going on about, but she suspected it had something to do with the unknown faces around the restaurant. It was opened for regular business, after all. It wouldn’t be such a surprise that people might wander in off the street to eat.

“Did you hear anything about Cal—”

Affonso sighed harshly, interrupting Ray’s question. Emma tried to seem interested in a conversation happening to her left, but it was damn near impossible.

“Leave it alone,” Affonso said lowly.

“I was just ask—”

“Leave it.”

Then, Affonso was standing from his chair and reaching for the sleeping baby in Emma’s lap. She tried to protest, wanting Cross to nap as much as he could, given that they had a busy day ahead of them, but Affonso waved her off. Cross blinked his sleepy eyes open over Affonso’s shoulder, his attention on his mother as he was walked away.

Emma’s heart splintered a little more at the sight.

Unfortunately, with Cross gone from her lap, and her attention gone from keeping him content, she had little to do but sit there looking pretty.

And that just made her feel stupid.

Emma decided to use the few minutes she had to run to the bathroom and freshen up, or at the very least, get a break from Affonso and her watchers. Once she was safely hidden away in the brightly lit, modernly decorated bathroom, Emma washed her hands twice, making sure to take her sweet time while she could.

The brief respites from her daily life helped to keep her from blowing up.

Barely.

When Emma knew her missing presence was probably being noticed by her husband, she slipped back out of the bathroom, ready to put her mask back on.

It was the dark, still form standing against the opposite wall as she came out that stopped her in her tracks. Emma didn’t recognize the man’s features, but he seemed to know her, given he didn’t seem the least bit surprised by her exit. With his arms folded across his broad chest, and his dark reddish hair covering his gaze, he looked entirely intimidating.

Emma pushed back the slight bit of fear climbing up her throat.

“It’s Emmy, yeah?” the man asked.

She blinked.

Only one person called her that in New York.

Emma didn’t get the chance to answer. The man held out an item, and shoved it into her hand.

“Keep that out of sight so your arse of a husband doesn’t see it, girl. I was also asked to tell you that Cross was a good name for the wee lad. His father approves.”

By the time he was strolling down the hallway, and leaving out a back exit door, Emma finally looked down to see what it was.