But that fantasy stays exactly where it belongs: in my subconscious. For her sake and mine.
Lev is my priority, and it will be a cold day in hell before I let another woman get close enough to hurt him the way his mother did.
Mother.That word never should’ve belonged to her. Every time I think about that woman and how she left him after we got his autism diagnosis, how he cried for her and clung to the hem of her shirt, it makes my rage grow. I swear that closed him off even more. It tore something in him, something I don’t think I will ever be capable of healing.
How dare she hurt him? I spent many nights planning the way I would kill her—not quickly, either—but in the end, I didn’t do it. Not because I cared that she came from another powerful family, but because one day, Lev would be old enough to find out, and I didn’t want him to look at me like the monster I know I am.
I didn’t love her. The pregnancy was an accident, and as soon as she found out, she used it to trap me. I did the right thing and married her, and as soon as Lev was born, he was my entire world. He always will be.
Sloane steps back, brushing her hands against her apron. “How about I get you guys your usual table?”
I nod, and she leads us toward the booth.
She looks over at Lev, his headphones around his neck, and gives him a smile, the real kind.
He simply watches her at first before his mouth slowly curls. I try not to react because he rarely smiles, but she is different somehow. I see how much she means to him. How much he wants to talk to her every time we’re here.
He has words, and they have grown in the last few years, but he still is reluctant to speak to people outside the family. Last week, he thanked her for extra curly fries, then gave her something he never shares: his chocolate bar. The one I get himevery weekend. I don’t know what it is about Sloane, but she matters to him, and that means she matters to me.
Then again, she’s mattered to me for a while now…except she has no idea who I am or the connection we share. There’s no reason for her to know. Let her think this is how we met, here in the diner.
“Do you want your usuals?” she asks as we settle into our booths.
Her fingers slip a loose strand of hair behind her ear. My fist curls beneath the table as I wonder how soft her skin is, how warm and tight she would feel around my cock.
I nod, and her mouth quirks…and I curse myself for my thoughts as they continue into dangerous territory. The feeling of her lips, the way she would sound when my tongue is inside her.
“Okay. I…” She hesitates, like she has something more to say.
“What is it, Sloane?”
When I say her name, her brows arch before she shifts like she’s uncomfortable. “I just…I don’t know, needed to thank you again. I’ve never…”
Leaning forward, I lock her with a stare. “Never what?”
“Never had anyone defend me like you did.” Her face falls, and it’s like a knife to my chest.
I knew her sister was a waste just like the rest of that family.
“Unlock your phone and give it to me.”
Her wide-eyed appearance almost makes me chuckle.
“Uh…okay?” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her cell, pressing her thumb against it before handing it to me.
It’s old, at least ten years, with a crack running across the glass.
I open her contacts and add my number, then text myself so I have hers too. When I hand the phone back, her fingers close around it like it suddenly weighs a hundred pounds.
“If you ever need anything, I’m a call away.”
Her mouth parts, and she just gapes at me like no one has ever offered her that.
“Oh…wow. Thank you, but I’m…I’m fine.” Another quick shrug, like she can make the lie believable if she keeps saying it over and over. “Anyway, I should go put in your order.”
She practically flees while I stay where I am, watching her disappear behind the counter, the same question pressing harder the longer I sit with it.
What kind of trouble is she in?
