Page 98 of Silver Linings

“Slow your breathing down, Lily Kate.”

“C-can’t.”

“You’re breathing too fast. Slow down.” Gunner placed Sage and her car seat on the pavement as he stepped behind Lily, sitting down with her between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her, tight enough to provide support, and then began drawing in long breaths. “Like this, baby. Long and slow. Just follow me. Look at Sage and just focus on breathing for her.”

They sat there for a few minutes until Lily finally got her breathing under control.

“They weren’t supposed to find us,” she whispered.

Gunner locked his eyes on the car seat where Sage’s bright eyes were open, watching him. No one would hurt his girls, and that included not only the Santoros, but James and his fucking parents, too.

“Don’t think about them right now, Lil. Just stay right here, in this moment, with me and our daughter.”

She pressed her head over his heart and the pit in his stomach finally went away as her breathing slowed.

“James died,” she whispered, her eyes meeting his.

“Jesus. How?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t say, but Corrine blamed me.”

Fuck. Gunner didn’t like these revelations one bit. It felt all too convenient that James would die around the same time his parents found out where Lily had moved to. And add in the Santoro messenger…no, he didn’t like it one bit.

“Gage can look into it for us. I’m so sorry, Lily.”

“Why?”

“He was Sage’s dad.”

“No. No, he wasn’t,” she shook her head back and forth. “Before you came back into our lives, sure, he was the biological component that created her. But he’s never been her dad. That’s one thousand percent you, and she is always going to know that.”

Gunner pressed his mouth to hers. The kiss was meant to comfort, but above everything, it was also a promise to keep her and Sage safe.

“I’m never going to let anyone hurt you or our daughter, Lily.”

“I know, Gunner. I finally felt safe, and I know you won’t let anyone take that away from me.”

“I think we need to tell the guys about James and his parents.” Gunner watched Lily set Sage down in her bassinet as he walked into the room. “They’re going to be here in a minute and I want them to know everything that just happened.”

“What? No. I don’t want them getting the wrong idea about us.”

Gunner wrapped his arms around Lily’s back and pulled her into his chest, pressing a kiss into her hair.

“There is no wrong idea, Lil, because the only idea they’ve ever had is that I’m madly in love with you and that I’m Sprout’s dad. It’s still the same. But we need to explain to them how we came to be a family, so that they know about all the threats facing us right now. I can’t ask them to keep you safe, to stand up against these assholes with me, if I don’t give them all the information.”

Lily worried her lips between her teeth, and fuck if the vulnerability in her eyes didn’t rip at his chest.

“I just don’t want them to think less of me.”

Gunner grabbed her chin between his thumb and pointer, lifting it up so she was looking into her eyes.

“If anything, they’re going to be pissed at me for not making sure you were safe from that family, permanently. But they’ve already got you on a pretty high pedestal, Lil, and you aren’t going anywhere. I promise.”

“Okay,” she squeezed her arms around him and he felt her face press in over his heart. “Maybe just tell them when I’m busy nursing Sage in here.”

“We’ll do it together, beautiful.”

“Stubborn man.”