Page 3 of Peer & Coco

Coco walked into the living room with a towel wrapped around her body and her hair wrapped up in another towel atop her head. Strolling past him, she went into the kitchen and sat down on the stool at the island.

She set up a mirror and dropped her makeup bag in front of her, rifling through the contents.

He raised his upper body, following her with his gaze. "Most women put on their makeup in the bathroom."

"How would you know?" Coco kept her back to him as she leaned closer to the small mirror she propped against a loaf of bread. "Do you have a long list of women you've lived with that I don't know about?"

"No."

"Well, six out of ten women prefer natural light to put their face on. The kitchen has a south-facing window. The bathroom has none."

"You could at least get dressed in the bathroom. Tyr's going to think it's normal to have a woman traipsing around without any clothes on." He laid back down on the couch.

Coco laughed. "Your son doesn't even know the difference between men and women or aware of someone being naked—which I'm not. I have more of my body covered than I do at work, by the way."

Tension between his brows increased. "You're naked under the towels."

"Should I remind you that Tyr took off his diaper and made a mess because he likes the freedom of not wearing a diaper?"

Hell. She was right. Again.

"Pa pa pa pa." Tyr crawled over to the side of the playpen and pulled himself to his feet. "Pa pa."

"Your pappa is being weird. What should we do with him?" Coco's voice moved in the room.

Peer sat up and found her walking to the playpen. His son lifted his arms, wanting held.

Coco indulged him, carrying Tyr over to Peer. He held out his arms as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

"Go ahead. I'll take him into the bedroom with me while I dress." She turned and left the living room. "I'll even teach him to close his eyes."

He sat up and connected the call, not recognizing the number. "Ja?"

Silence came from the caller.

"Hello?"

"It's me," said a soft voice he recognized.

Gut punched, he stood. "Kelli."

"How are you?" asked Kelli.

He fisted his hand. "Are you serious? You drop out of our son's life, and you ask how I am?"

"Peer—"

"Nei." He inhaled through a tight chest. "Where are you?"

His thoughts circled, and he wanted to know where Tyr's mom was and where she'd been for over a year. He wanted to know how the woman he'd known could turn into a cold-hearted bitch toward her own child.

"I..." She paused. "H-how is he?"

She had no right to ask about his child. The son he'd worried about, taken care of, and promised to raise by himself. She'd thrown away the greatest gift in her life and never looked back.

"You don't even know his name." His jaw ached, holding back all the accusations he wanted to throw at her.

She'd left their son outside the gate of Slag and walked out of his life without a fucking care in the world. She'd abandoned Tyr when he needed a mother the most.