Page 193 of Wicked Brutal

Cat points at him. “Not solves.”

“Sometimes you’re still mad afterward,” Becca says.

“Exactly,” Cat says. “You’re just less homicidal.”

I point at them. “Thank you. That’s exactly what happened.”

Kaiden looks at me. “You’re still in trouble?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good.” Cat smiles. “But better?”

I think about Ally sitting on the edge of the guest house bed afterward. Still mad. Still calling me out. Still holding my hand.

“Yeah.” My eyes drift across the courtyard. Just once. She’s laughing at something. I look away before anybody else can catch me doing it. “Better.”

Penny smiles. “So how was the appointment?”

Everything inside me shifts. Just like that. The fight. Roman. Switzerland. All of it gets shoved aside by one memory. Fast. Rhythmic. Filling the entire room. I can’t stop the smile.

Cat sees it. “Oh my God. Look at your fucking face.”

Kaiden looks at me and laughs. “You’re fucked.”

“Did you see the baby?” Penny asks.

“Yeah.” I reach for my wallet.

Iz immediately groans. “Oh, no. You carry it around?”

I pull out the ultrasound picture. “And?”

“And nothing. That’s just fucking adorable.”

“Call me adorable again and I’ll break your nose.”

“Daddy Harrington’s getting emotional.”

Cat is already reaching across the table. “Give me the baby.”

“That’s a weird fucking sentence.”

I hand her the picture. Her face changes instantly. “Oh my God, Ry.”

Penny practically crawls over Xander. “Let me see.”

Cat keeps it away. Xander catches Penny around the waist before she can actually climb over the table. “Behave.”

“Tell her to give it to me.”

“Give it to her.”

Cat sighs dramatically and hands it over. Penny takes it like it’s made of glass. “Holy shit.”

Iz leans over. “That’s a giant fucking head.”

I glare at him. “Tobias said the same thing.”