Page 44 of Daddy's Claim

“Whatever you want, princess. There’s a stop I need to make to pick something up, but other than that, it’s up to you.”

“Really?” Suspicion crowded out the excitement of the drive and her eyes narrowed slightly. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because I—”I love you. The words trembled on my tongue, struggling to be let free, but something held me back. Fear, possibly, and wasn’t that a fucking kick in the ass? I was afraid to tell my wife I loved her, because I knew, somewhere deep in my soul, that if I told her, if I gave her those words and she couldn’t or wouldn’t give them back to me, it would fucking destroy me. “I just wanted to spend some time with my wife. Is that a crime?”

“No, of course not.” Something flickered across her expression, but the emotion was gone too quickly for me to pin it down before she was all bright smiles again. “We can really do whatever I want?”

“Within reason,” I answered, already anticipating the hit to my bank account. Not that I couldn’t afford it; unlike other families in our line of business, the DeCostas were heavy investors. I could let her loose and it would barely register as a blip, but I wasn’t suresheneeded to know that.

Laughing, she climbed out of the car and I followed suit. “I have a feeling we have very different definitions of ‘within reason’.”

“Probably. But since I’m the Daddy, my definition wins.”

Pink tinged her cheeks. “Yes, Daddy.”

“Good girl.”

Fifteen

Nora

Mikey’s one stop turned out to be a jewelry store, where he presented me with the most gorgeous charm bracelet I’d ever seen. So far, there were only two charms. A princess crown, and a bright red heart. While most people would have assumed the heart was representative of his love for me, I knew better. It was a subtle reminder of how my ass would look the next time I stepped out of line.

And I must have been losing my mind because I absolutely loved it.

Maybe it was just because it was the first time since my mom had passed that someone had bought me a present just for the hell of it. My father used to just throw money at me, and I’d convinced myself I liked it better that way. It meant always having exactly what I wanted. But looking at the sweet, thoughtful gift encircling my wrist, my heart ached a bit for all the years of surprise gifts I’d missed along the way.

“That’s beautiful.” Adele smiled as she approached. “Is it new?”

“Yeah.” I returned her smile, holding my arm out for her to inspect the bracelet. “Mikey surprised me with it today when he took me shopping.”

“Mikey?” Adele’s eyebrows winged up in surprise. “I think that is the first time I have heard you use his informal name. You two must be getting to know each other better.”

I was a little taken aback, not only by the fact that anyone had noticed my refusal to use his nickname, but by what it might mean. Calling him by his full name had always been a way to keep him at arm’s length, to avoid those familiarities that all too quickly led to companionship, and then—

“Oh my god. I think I might be falling in love with my husband.”

The words were barely a whisper, but I looked up to see Adele’s smile widening, her eyes practically glowing with happiness. “I believe you might be right.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?”

“You could begin by telling him.”

“What? No. No way.” Panic filled me just at the thought of making myself that vulnerable to the one person I instinctively knew could destroy me without even trying. “I can’t do that and neither can you. I’m not ready.” I gave her a pointed look hoping to convey the importance of her keeping her mouth shut.

Adele didn’t argue or try to press the issue. Instead, she did something so out of character for the woman I thought I knew, it shocked me to my core.

She hugged me.

“It is not mine to tell. Your secret is safe with me.” She squeezed tight and I couldn’t help but hug her back as my entire being filled with guilt. My secret was safe with her, but her secrethad not been safe with me. The first time the family trusted me with something, I spilled the beans.

“Adele, I need to tell you—”

“Adele, there you are.” Cole’s voice, firm and commanding, alerted us to his presence as he strode down the hall toward us. “We need to get to the warehouse. The fuckers may have just been screwing with us before, but now we’re missing inventory. Where the hell is Michael?”

I opened my mouth to tell him Mikey had gone upstairs to change when my husband’s voice cut me off.

“I’m right here. Alex texted me, too.”