Page 79 of Wild King
She looks at me strangely, like she doesn’t understand, but then I see her eyes light up as she figures out what I mean. “I wouldn’t do that, but for curiosity’s sake, what did that medicine taste like?”
Looking down at the floor where Matthias has left his suitcase, I admit the harsh truth I didn’t truly understand until a few minutes ago. “Pretty damn awful. No wonder you hated me.”
Salem takes my hand in hers and whispers in my ear, “I never hated you, Kellen, but I’m glad you know what it felt like.”
I look into her eyes and say, “Promise we never do that to one another from this point on. Okay?”
She nods and gives me a big smile. “It’s a deal.”
My brother takes his new son in his arms and walks around the room with him beaming a smile from ear to ear. “This is your uncle, Theo. His name is Kellen,” he says when he stops in front of me.
“We met last night. Remember?”
Matthias tears his adoring gaze away from Theo and cringes. “Sorry. I’m having a hard time thinking this morning. I got no sleep on the flight home, and then I had to get a lift from the helicopter after flying for hours. Of course, he met you last night. You were here when he came into the world.”
I touch the little guy’s hand, and he instantly wraps his tiny fingers around mine. “He’s got a hell of a grip for someone who’s only a day old.”
“Oh yeah?” my brother asks, back to beaming that new father smile again.
“Maybe that means he’ll be a champion Chinese finger trap player,” I joke.
Matthias looks up from the baby with an expression like he just tried a lemon for the first time. “I’d like to think my son will have loftier goals in his life. I’m thinking maybe a scientist or titan of industry.”
Behind him, Ava sits on the bed shaking her head. “Don’t put pressure on our son. He’s going to be what he’s going to be. All I want is that he’s happy and knows he’s loved.”
Matthias and I exchange looks like that’s the sappiest thing we’ve ever heard. “Ava’s got the mom thing down pat, don’t you think?”
He walks over to her and sits down to hand Theo off to his mother. “She’s a natural.”
Salem and I watch my brother and Ava cuddle and coo over their newborn son, and I see how wrong I’ve been to give them a hard time. I know Theo cared about her, but Matthias is the one who adores her more than life itself. I see that now.
I turn away from them and say to Salem, “Hey, I want to talk to my brother for a minute. Want to meet me in the kitchen for the best pancakes you’ll ever have on this planet?”
She laughs at my exaggeration. “Okay. Are you making them?”
“Hell no. My pancakes come out like manhole covers. Eleanor, on the other hand, makes the world’s greatest pancakes, so I’m going to use all my charm to get her to make us some.”
“Something tells me the woman who loves to make your favorite cookies especially for you won’t need much persuading. I’ll meet you downstairs when you’re done.”
For the first time in front of others, she kisses me and then walks away. Out of the corner of my eye, my brother gives me a look that might show disapproval, although I can’t be certain.
“Matthias, can we talk for a minute? I promise I won’t keep you for long.”
He gives Ava and the baby a kiss and swears he’ll be back soon before walking over to where I stand. Elbowing me in the arm, he grins as he says, “What was that I just saw?”
I have more important things to talk about than what’s going on between Salem and me, so I wave off his question and walk out into the hallway. When he joins me, I say, “Let’s go to the game room. It feels right that we should talk there.”
As we head down the hallway, he says, “The game room feels right? What are we discussing?”
I lean against the pool table as he takes a seat on the leather sofa and looks like he’s going to pass out at any moment. “I’ll say what I have to say fast because I think everything’s catching up with you and I want you to hear what’s on my mind.”
Still not knowing where I’m going with all of this, he lets out a heavy sigh. “Okay. Sounds serious. This wouldn’t be about you sleeping with the woman we hired to fix your public reputation, would it?”
“No,” I quickly answer, eager to focus on what I need to say to him. “This is about you and Ava. I’m sorry for all that I’ve said about you two being together.”
“Kellen, you don’t have to say another thing,” he says, but I won’t let him stop me.
“That’s the euphoria of being a new dad talking. I’ve been a jackass, and I’m sorry because I know it didn’t just hurt her. It hurt you too. I think I wanted to believe you stole her away from Theo, but I know that’s not true. I see how you look at her. How she makes you smile when no one else can. How you’re truly happy when she’s with you. I was stupid to ever think thatcould be wrong. Theo didn’t feel that way about her, and she deserves someone who believes the world wouldn’t be the same without her in it. I know I should say this to her, and maybe I will sometime soon, but she just gave birth at home without any painkillers, and to be honest, I can’t imagine she needs to hear anything but positive things right now.”