“You want to explain why a championship racer, who has never once mentioned a child, was spotted in a furniture shop picking out a cot? Because I don’t.”
I clenched my fists, frustration curling tight in my stomach. She was right, but that didn’t make it sting any less.
Violet sighed, a little softer now. “I’ll send you pictures while I’m there. You can approve or reject whatever. But unless you want this blowing up before your PR team can handle it, you’re staying put.”
I nodded once, stiffly. “Take Jace.”
“Who?”
“My driver,” I said, waving a hand vaguely. “He’s solid. Keeps his mouth shut.”
Her brow lifted. “And I’m supposed to just trust that?”
“You don’t have to trust him. You just have to let him drive you to the shop so you don’t have to take a taxi.”
She studied me for a long moment, measuring my words against whatever internal rulebook she operated on. Finally, she nodded.
“Fine,” she said. “But if he turns out to be some sketchy weirdo, I’m blaming you.”
“Yeah, because I regularly employ axe murderers.”
She didn’t dignify that with a response. I pulled out my phone and typed out a quick message to Jace. His response was almost instant.
Jace
On my way.
I relayed the message to Violet and she nodded. “Fine.”
For an awkward ten minutes, I moved boxes with Liam while she fussed over the baby. I scrubbed down the coffee table, shoving takeout containers that had been there longer than I cared to admit into a bin bag, while Violet hummed quietly, adjusting Hazel’s blanket with that same efficient care she did everything with. Like she’d already taken over, and I was just some background character in her mission to keep my daughter alive.
Jace arrived a few minutes later, giving me a sharp nod as he stepped inside. He was in his usual all-black ensemble: button-up, slacks, polished shoes that somehow never looked scuffed despite the amount of running around he did for me.
Violet shifted Hazel carefully into my arms. I froze, still not used to how small she was. Hazel stirred, her little fingers curling into my t-shirt.
“Feed her in an hour,” Violet said, adjusting the strap on her bag. “There’s a fresh bottle in the fridge.”
I barely registered the words, still caught up in the fact that she was leaving me alone with Hazel.
She must’ve noticed my expression because she shook her head. “You’ll be fine, Griffin.”
Liam snorted. “Yeah, mate. What could possibly go wrong?”
I shot him a glare before shifting Hazel against my shoulder, trying to remember how Violet had held her earlier. “If you’re not back in two hours, I’m calling the police.”
Violet rolled her eyes but smirked as she grabbed her coat. “Try not to break anything while I’m gone.”
I wasn’t sure if she meant the furniture or the baby.
I didn’t ask.
Jace held the door open as she stepped out, the cool morning air rushing in for a brief second before the door shut behind them.
The second she was gone, the house felt different. Too quiet.
I stared down at Hazel. She blinked up at me, completely unimpressed.
Then her face scrunched up.
