“Mom?” Addison says, rising to her feet. “What are you doing here?”
Leah approaches with her man, looking down her nose at me and Jin. “You move fast, Owen.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” I bite back. “Leah, this is my wife, Jin. Jin, this is my children’s mother.”
Leah fumes, barely able to keep her rage in check as I introduce her to Jin’s girls. I’m vibrating with unease by the time Leah finally leaves our table.
“Order my usual,” I say to Rhett. “I need a second.”
I shakily make it to my feet and then head for the restrooms. Once alone inside, I splash water on my face. A few seconds later, the bathroom door opens with a squeak. Tensing, I ready myself for another argument with Leah.
But it’s not her.
Mei, arms crossed over her chest, slowly approaches me. “Everything okay?”
“Yep.” I let loose a ragged sigh. “Actually, no. Leah puts me on edge.”
Mei steps closer to me, enough so that I can smell her sweet, honeyed scent over the cleaning sprays last used in this restroom. “I got that vibe too.” A small chuckle escapes her. “She reminds me of Mom. You really have a type.”
I know she’s teasing me, but I still groan.
“Someone should reprogram my brain.” I flash her a grin. “How was your day?”
She shrugs and looks down at the tiled floor. “It was fine. Caught up on laundry.”
“You seem sad, Mei. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Sad.” She darts her brown eyes up to meet mine. “I’m always sad. It’s the way it is.”
My heart cracks down the middle. “Why are you always sad?”
“Have you met my mom?” she throws back instead of answering my question directly.
Before I can stop myself, I lift my hand, ghosting it over her cheek. The desire to comfort her isn’t one I can seem to control. She doesn’t flinch at the touch, but instead, flutters her lashes closed and leans into it.
Her mother barely acknowledges her. She must be starved for attention, hence why she’s so sad.
“Come here,” I say, pulling her to me for another hug like the one we shared this morning. “If you ever feel sad, I want you to come straight to me. I can fix it with a hug.”
She laughs against the front of my chest. “Pretty confident, huh?”
“Do you feel happier?”
Again, she laughs, and I quite like the sound of it. “I guess I do.”
“I’m a fixer. There’s your proof.”
We both laugh. I finally release my hold on her because I’m starting to like how she feels in my arms. That’s dangerous for many, many reasons.
“I think we better go back,” I say, voice low and raspy.
She peers at me in an almost reverent way that makes my heart race. “We should.”
My gaze falls to her plump lips that have parted. So pink and pretty. Fuck.
I go to plant a kiss on her forehead, but she tilts her head back, accepting it on her sweet, soft lips instead. The kiss is brief and barely a whisper, but it electrifies every nerve in my body. Blood rushes to my cock as inappropriate thoughts of plunging my tongue into her tempting mouth overtake me.
“Sorry,” she squeaks out. “I didn’t mean to do that. Oh, God. Please don’t tell Mom.”
