I’m not beyond knocking on her door and demanding she let me in but I know that if I want more with her I have to act like some kind of civilized human.
Unfortunately.
A high-pitched giggle draws my gaze down the road and I instantly straighten, my heart beats rapidly in my chest.
The way the sun hits Valley’s hair makes her glow in a way that is ethereal. Like she was sent straight down from the angels tailor-made just for me and my pack.
I revel in the moments I have before she notices me. She is looking down at the little girl who is holding her hand and skipping as they make their way home. Based on the bags in my girl's hand, I assume they just went grocery shopping.
It pisses me off, yet again, that she doesn’t have a car to drive her home. I make a mental note to bug Vic about making sure we get her one. We can just make it a company write-off.
Considering we are now her bosses.
There is an easy kind of smile on Valley’s face, one that I haven’t seen before. Which makes sense considering she frowns at me everytime she has seen me recently.
Although, that look disappears from her face when she looks up and spots me. That familiar frown that seems to be her go-to quickly appears.
I can’t help but feel disappointed. I want her to look at me the way she does her daughter. The precious little blonde that still skips alongside her mother, not taking any notice of the shift in her energy.
“Conall, what are you doing here? How do you know where I live?”
I struggle to not reach up and rub away the frown lines between her dazzling emerald eyes. I want to ease her tension in any way that I can. Unfortunately, removing the stress that I cause her just isn’t an option. She just needs to learn how to deal with me.
I shrug my shoulders as I take a step towards her. “I was just in the neighbourhood. Wanted to know a bit more about the community here.”
She raises an eyebrow, suspicious of me and my half-assed explanation. “ You wanted to know more about Sloburn?”
I shrug again, knowing that she is dangerously close to catching my bluff. “There is a bit more to marketing a club than putting up flyers. Got to get to know the people here and what they want.”
She looks at me for a few moments skeptically. I tense, hoping that she won’t notice the shift in my body and my lack of candor.Eventually she nods as she continues walking. I step in, following her as she makes her way to her apartment.
“Hello!”
The little voice and the tapping on my pants has me looking down at the little girl. Getting down to her height, I smile at her and hold out to my hand.
“Hi, little firefly. My name is Cal. What’s your name?”
Her smile brightens at the use of my nickname for her. It is way too fitting for the little light that she so clearly is.
“My name is Amity.”
I nearly melt at just how sweet her voice is. Why are these tiny humans so precious and why won’t my sons hurry up and give me some grandkids already? I know that Kennedy is all but begging them.
“Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful little girl.”
She squeals and grabs my hand. “Come play, Cal!”
Almost tripping over my own feet, I right myself as I follow after Firefly who has a death grip on me. Valley protests behind me. I turn, holding up my spare hand in surrender as I follow after the little girl who leads me into their apartment building.
Amity finally stops at 1A. She rocks back and forth on her heels as she patiently waits for her mother to open the door.
Valley comes to stand beside us with the keys in her hand. Turning slightly to me, she holds up a single finger, her voice low enough that her daughter can’t hear. “Don’t think that just because my three year old is inviting you in, this means that you get some kind of special treatment. Just because you are one of my new bosses doesn’t mean I trust you or your pack.”
I nod, obeying her demands. My girl could have asked me to scrub her entire bathroom with my toothbrush, then brush my teeth with it, and I still would have agreed with her. Whatever she demands of me, she will get.
It's her world after all. I am just living in it.
Amity pulls me along behind her as the front door is opened. I hardly get a chance to look around the simple apartment before I am being tugged into a bedroom that feels as though a can of pink paint has exploded inside of it.
