"He might be getting another tooth," Kinsley said, smoothing his hair off his forehead.
"Are you ready for cake and presents, mo chroí?"
At that, he perked up, kicking his legs. Kinsley set him on his feet and we watched him take off down the hall.
"Finn, everyone is in here," Kinsley called.
He did a comical one-eighty and hurried down the hall in the other direction, following Kinsley's pointing finger. She and I followed, happy to see him surrounded by people who loved him. Jonah and Heather doted on him as a substitute set of grandparents, and Finn ate up the attention.
Noah approached me. "Excuse me, boss, but we have a bit of a situation."
Frowning, I retreated into the hall with Noah. "What could it possibly be?"
"Mrs. Hawthorne is at the gate."
Brows up, I leaned closer to my house guard and muttered, "You're sure?"
"Yes, sir, I recognize her from the surveillance done in Chester."
"Bring her to Kinsley's study, but don't you dare let her know about the party or the guests. I won't have her ruining this day."
"Yes, boss."
Taking a fortifying breath, I wound my way through the people in the great room until I reached Kinsley's side. "Mo grá, might I have a moment?"
Practice kept her face serene and untroubled. "Of course."
Maddie currently held Finn, showing him the cake and presents. Once I’d drawn Kinsley out of the room, I continued down the hall to the library. Silently, I pressed her into the nearest bookshelf and lowered my head to kiss her. She didn't question me, merely clasped the back of my head and met the slow thrust of my hips.
"Burke, we have guests," she murmured.
"Just for a second," I responded. Sucking her lower lip into my mouth, I nibbled on it until she moaned, and I remembered my purpose. "I want you to be relaxed when I tell you your mother is here."
"What?"
I cringed at the volume of her voice. "Kinsley, it's okay."
Thinking to calm her down, I touched my lips to her throat, but she gripped my hair to pull up my head. "That news is not okay, regardless of the distraction you're trying to create."
"Damn, I thought I was better than that."
"Why is she here?"
"I don't know. Let's go ask."
We walked hand in hand to Kinsley's office, stepping inside and seeing Sam monitoring Julia.
"Kinsley."
That was all she said before throwing her arms around her daughter. Reluctantly, I dropped Kinsley's hand and watched her stand frozen in Julia's embrace.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am for the way I let your father go on and on when you came to the house."
Only once Julia let go did Kinsley speak. "You could have told me that over the phone."
"I found your letters." Julia shook her head. "I had no idea you'd tried to keep in touch all this time. He opened the first few, and that was it. All those pictures of your beautiful baby were unopened, hidden away in his gun safe."
"You had the chance to call me, to send letters, to make some kind of effort to meet Finn for a year, and you didn't."
