“No. It just… didn’t work out.”
She hoped the group would leave it at that.
Thankfully, it looked like they would for now because the conversation changed directions when Matteo said, “You’ve eaten good, honey. I’m proud of you. But I hoped you saved room for dessert.”
Unable to help herself, she sighed wistfully. She loved the way he was talking to her! It seemed so genuine. She had the sense he truly wanted to care for her.
“Yes, Sir. I can eat dessert!”
He grinned. “Good girl. But eat more chicken or sides if you want it. We’re in no rush.”
Annika obeyed, eating another chicken tender. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten so good. Her mind couldn’t help but drift back to the man she’d encountered on the street earlier. She hoped he was able to get something to eat, too. Perhaps someone else had given him some money to go with the lonely dollar she’d dropped him.
Iris hopped up. “I’ll grab the cake.”
Lana went with her. “I’ll get the plates and forks.”
A loud beep sounded throughout the dining room. Annika practically jumped onto Matteo’s lap.
Even though she still didn’t know what was going on, she felt better the moment his strong arms wrapped around her.
But she felt a little foolish, too. That had been a trauma response. Life could be hard—and sometimes mean—out there on those L.A. streets. There were plenty of loud noises. Most were innocent, though still jarring.
Still, some warned of danger.
“It’s okay, honey,” Matteo said soothingly. “See that little speaker up there?”
She followed his line of sight to a small white box mounted high on the wall near the ceiling right in the center of the room.
“Yes,” she replied.
“We have those all through the house. Please don’t be startled. It tells us the Daddy Guard is needed. The alarm only beeps if we missed the notifications on our phones. And, since we all put our phones up before supper, we obviously missed something.”
Annika rested her head on his chest for a moment, savoring the feel. Then, she scooted back into her own seat next to him and said, “What is the Daddy Guard, exactly?”
“We’ll tell you all about it,” Iris said with a proud grin.
“Yeah. We’ll explain while the Daddies answer the call!” Cami added.
Annika watched in fascination as the men hurried from the room. They had purpose as they moved. It was evident they’d done this before—like firefighters getting a three-alarm call in the middle of the night.
And Matteo sure looked sexy as he sprang into action.
The sexiest thing Annika had ever seen…
Chapter Fourteen
Sitting at the table, Annika finished her last bite of cake.
The other three women were still working on theirs, and she felt a little embarrassed for scarfing hers down so fast.
“Want another?” Iris asked.
“No. I better not.” A moment passed and she couldn’t keep her eyes off the others’ dessert. “Well, maybe just a small one.”
“That’s the spirit!” Iris said, standing up to lean across the table and cut a piece of cake from the pan in the middle.
“It’s so good!” Annika said as she held her plate out and accepted the slice.
