I chuckle at her honesty, though I have to agree Claud is the best. “You got it. Robert, my driver, is out front. He’ll take you home, and tell your parents hello from me.”
“Sure thing!” She runs down the steps, and when she closes the door behind her, I’m stalking down the hall to get to my girl.
Quietly, I open the door, tiptoe toward her bed, and relax in the chair beside her. Tonight is not unusual, so I wasn’t shocked when I got the call; if anything, I should have expected it.
There are only a handful of people Claudina’s comfortable with besides me. My brothers, her nanny, Willa, and her grandparents—on Camila’s side. She tolerates the babysitter enough to enjoy some playtime but begins to freak out when she realizes one of us isn’t there for bedtime.
It’s why, typically, she’s with one of us at all times. However, once in a blue moon, it can’t be helped.
Like tonight, Willa was sick, and the whole family got together to support my brothers Leo and Nate, the architects, and their charity Building Unity Organization, which rebuilds homes and run-down towns in both America and Spain, specifically near where the Morales family comes from.
Not that I was doing much supporting hiding in the corner of the room, but?—
“Daddy?” my precious girl whispers, then begins to cry again.
I rub her back. “I’m here, angel. Please don’t cry.”
“I-I missed you so much.” She sobs, reaching over to throw her arm around my legs, and it breaks my heart into a million pieces to see her so upset. “I didn’t know when you were coming home.”
“I’m here now.” I lean and kiss her head. “I love you so much, Claudina. You’re okay, angel. Back to sleep.”
She looks up through her tearful lashes, batting them for attention. “Butterfly kisses first.”
I lean down, and our lashes flutter together before she snuggles back under the covers, falling asleep within a minute like all is right in the world.
In her world, maybe. But mine, nothing is fucking right about tonight.
I roll my neck and take a deep breath.What did I do?
Claudina will always and forever come first, no matter what. It’s one of the reasons I’ve never had a serious relationship, and never will, or at least not until Claud’s much older and can understand that I’m not trying to replace Camila. None of my personal rationale, though, makes the way I treated Jules okay.
She deserves all the respect in the world, and if I ever see her again, I’ll make sure she knows how sorry I am.
Until then, I’ll accept my punishment and dream of her red plump lips parted in shock and her brown doe-like eyes staring at me with a mix of sadness, horror, and embarrassment as I left her behind without a second glance.
Though out of everything, the fucked-up thing of it all is I called hermon petit papillon,my little butterfly, and that name should be reserved for someone special, not a stranger I may never see again.
I could tell myself it was because of her butterfly mask, knowing deep down it wasn’t.
“Lauren,” I bark, annoyed I have to call for her again. I’m not in the fucking mood today.
“Oh my god, can you stop screaming my name? It’s not going to make me work any faster.” My lovely yet sarcastic assistant saunters into my office without a care in the world, finally giving me the paperwork I requested over an hour ago.
“Took you long enough,” I mutter.
“I’m not a fucking robot, Harrison,” she snaps, and I narrow my eyes at her.
“You’re lucky you’re halfway competent. Otherwise, your ass would have been fired years ago.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’ve been saying the same thing every week for the last ten years. Get a different line.” She smugly smiles and slams the door behind her.
Witch.
She knows I’d never fire her. I’d die without her, she’s so much more than an extension of me—she probably could do this job better, honestly.
But fuck, does she grate on my nerves.
I hit the buzzer. “What?” she snaps.
