“Hi,” I managed.
I looked around at the room. The women were beautiful. The men were fine. But the finest one was right in front of me, and I felt it in my body.
“Get comfortable,” Aria told me. “Dinner will be ready in a minute.”
My kids drifted toward the corner where Truth and Sire were playing. I started to stop them, but Aria stopped me. “It’s okay. Let them play. I hope KJ keeps my sons entertained.”
My nerves flared, but I nodded. “Okay. KJ, be good.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he returned as he took off.
Sincere came up behind me while I was still watching KJ and Kinsley settle in with the other kids. I felt him before I saw him. His hand landed in the small of my back, and it sent a quick warning through my body.
“Come on. I’m getting you a drink.”
I tried to smile like his mere presence wasn’t causing me to feel faint. “Why? I’m fine.”
He leaned down toward my ear so the room couldn’t hear him, and his breath hit the side of my neck. “You weren’t ‘fine’ in my office. You was throwing that tequila back like a big girl.”
My face got hot immediately. I swallowed hard and forced myself to speak past the way my clit pounded against my thong. “That was nerves. I wasn’t being a big girl.”
He smiled so slowly that it was excruciatingly sexy. “Looked like a big girl to me.”
Despite my protests, he poured the drink, passed it to me, and didn’t let go right away. Our fingers brushed, and it sent a spark straight through my chest and down to my center. When I looked up, he was already watching me, expression unreadable, with eyes darker than before.
“You good?” he asked softly.
I nodded, even though my heart was beating too fast.
Everything about him felt intentional. The closeness. The attention. The way he spoke to me like I mattered beyond the room we were standing in. I liked it more than I should have. Way more.
I took a sip of the drink and forced myself to breathe.
This was an opportunity. A real one. A blessing. A door opening.
I was not about to ruin it because my body liked Sincere Bellamy. So, I smiled, took another controlled sip, and reminded myself this was business.
Even if it didn’t feel like it at all.
LIVIA CARTIER
Thirty minutes later, dinner was ready. We sat around the long dining room table after making plates from the buffet. Chef Eddie had the whole spread laid out on the sideboards.
The table was loud, with the adults and kids talking over each other. Reek and Big A were arguing about football.
As Royal sat on my lap, his little hands grabbed at everything he could reach. I fed him small bites, wiping his mouth between spoonfuls. He was a big boy now and growing the way he was supposed to.
That still amazed me.
After everything, Royal was here, healthy, and beating the odds like he had never been in a fight for his life.
Icon sat close enough that his knee brushed mine under the table. He had been watching me feed Royal more than he had been paying attention to the conversation around us. His eyes stayed on us with that quiet softness he only showed when he could let his guard down.
He leaned toward my ear so I could hear him over the noise. “You ready for another one?”
I winced a bit as I replied, “I don’t know.”
Icon didn’t push. He waited as I glanced at Royal’s cheeks, at the way he opened his mouth for the next bite.
