"You want an office?" I asked slowly.
"Um, yes." She focused on eating her salad.
"If it's not too offensive to ask, why do you want an office?"
It took her a minute to find her voice. "I signed up for online college courses."
Intrigued, I paused before responding. "That's a wonderful idea. Do you think you'll have the time and energy while Finn is so little?"
She blew out a huge breath. "I can go at my own pace, so if I'm having a hard day, it'll be okay."
"Well. I'm, ah, impressed. And . . . proud of you." When she didn't respond, I risked a glance in her direction, horrified to see her crying. "Oh, God, what did I say wrong?"
She tried to wave me away, but I got up and pulled her out of her chair.
"I didn't mean to make you cry." I wrapped my arms around her, and she cried harder. "Kinsley, please, I'm sorry. Don't cry."
"No, Burke, you don't understand."
"I know I don't, so please tell me."
Stepping away, she stared up at me. "I can't remember the last time someone told me they were proud of me."
My brows went up. "Oh."
"I want to be a good mom. I want to be smart and set a good example."
That shocked me. "You're all those things now, Kinsley."
But she shook her head. "I'm book smart, but I'm naïve. I want to know a practical skill, even if I can't use it."
"What skill?"
"General business management. Nothing fancy."
Dying to kiss her, I brushed her hair off her face instead. "Sounds good to me."
Parker came back in with the main course, and Kinsley backed up to sit down again.
I picked up my wine glass. "What if you could use your knowledge after you've gone to school?"
"Doing what? Anna made it clear my job is to take care of you and the house."
I bit my tongue. What Anna said was technically true, but when applied to Kinsley, it made me angry. "I don't know, but we have time to think of something."
"Okay. That would make me happy."
I smiled. It was a start.
23
Kinsley
The day after Burke returned, I sat in the nursery contemplating everything he'd said. I thought at first he'd gone to see a mistress, and his extending the trip solidified that in my mind. But then he was so sweet when he got home, and the gesture of the rings was very important to me. Of course, that proved nothing. He could have been with a mistress and then felt guilty enough to ply me with gifts.
Yet, it didn't feel that way. I wasn't about to probe into his business and ask, even if he was my husband. He was very private, saying little about what he did on a daily basis; I'd figured that out early on. I didn't know exactly what Burke dealt in, but he'd made a name for himself over the years as a ruthless criminal. The police had never pinned anything on him, naturally, but everyone in the state of Massachusetts—and probably most of the United States—knew he was a mafia don.
And he was mine. He was Finn's. We were together for life, it seemed, and I couldn't quite picture it as a punishment anymore. Burke was pretty gentle with me at dinner, and certainly sweeter than he needed to be when he told me he was proud of me. Realizing I even wanted to make him proud was a shock to the system.
