Page 99 of Thin Lives

Emma blinked, feeling tears prickle at her eyes.

Affonso hated red.

Calisto loved it on her.

But how would he have gotten past the enforcer?

Where had he even been for two and half months?

Emma stopped thinking, she just pulled the red dress on, surprised that it fit her well. She then quickly tossed her purse and clothes into the bag with the store logo on the front, grabbed the door and flung it open.

Calisto

Calisto glanced up from the confirmatory text message he had gotten, explaining that the enforcer who had been watching Emma was thoroughly distracted and out of the store. He’d been waiting for this morning for a long while—two and a half months, actually.

Careful preparations.

Quick escape routes.

Plan Bs, and Cs, if needed.

Backtracking and self-doubt until he was satisfied with his choices.

Today should have been perfect. Had everything gone according to plan, it should have went off without a single bump in the road.

And yet, something was wrong.

Something was missing.

His son wasn’t in Emma’s arms when she flung open that dressing room door.

Calisto thought for sure that she would have baby Cross with her, as he was still young, and whenever he had been watching her over these last couple of months, she always had his son with her. When he had gotten word from Wolf—the one and only person he truly trusted in the Donati family—that Emma was out with her enforcer, the man forgot to mention the baby wasn’t with her.

This had been his one shot.

The one chance he had to get Emma and his son away from Affonso before Calisto rained hell down on him. He’d hoped to take them without issue, keep them safely hidden away, and then bring them back out when the threats were finally gone.

“Cal?” Emma whispered.

Calisto lifted his gaze to meet hers, and a look of pure astonishment colored up her beautiful features. Just like he thought, that red dress he’d picked off the rack as he came into the store fit her like a glove. She was still so beautiful to him. As he stared at her, feeling the waves of her surprise practically wafting from her, there were a lot of things running through his mind. All of the things he had wanted to say.

That he loved her.

He wanted to thank her for his son.

She should know he was sorry for forgetting her.

And maybe he wanted her to know that he was fixing it—all of it.

Or trying to.

Instead, Calisto smiled. “Emma.”

Whatever hesitation she must have felt was gone as she opened the dressing room door the rest of the way and flew into his embrace. Calisto’s back was to the wall, but he still wasn’t ready for the impact of her body slamming against his. Her hands found his face, grabbing tight and forcing him to look at her.

Emma didn’t move.

She just … watched him.