Hearing my movement, he glances my way before quickly finishing, closing the door with a heavy click in the silent room.
"Penny..."
Steadying my breathing, I force my feet to move. Searching for the stroller, I find it against the wall. "I know. You need it to protect us." Dragging it a little, I huff at its weight. "It's okay."
It really is. I can't pretend that all of these guys only fight with their fists. If Ace wants to keep Leliah safe, then I can't hold him back because I get a little uncomfortable because of a gun or two.
He carefully approaches before taking the stroller from my grip. I'm more upset by how easily he lifts it. "I'll always keep them locked up if there isn't a threat."
Even now, it's like he can read my mind. That, or he's thinking about Leliah as much as I am.
"Thank you." Nodding, I notice his shoulders slump in relief. "Let's go get that ice cream."
nine
Ace
I'm a twenty-five-year-old guy getting overly excited over pushing a stroller.
If I'd been told a week ago that this is what I'd be doing, I would've thought whoever thought I'd be taking care of a kid and a mother was on something.
Yet, here I am, walking with Penny on my arm and Leliah waving to every passing car. Everything feels good in life.
It feels good to see Penny more focused on what's in front of us. Despite her grip on my arm starting stiff at first, she's slowly relaxed as we moved along with the rest of the foot traffic. During the daytime, this part of town isn't too bad.
Occasionally, there's the familiar rumble of a bike in the distance, but she doesn't even flinch.
If any of my brothers caught me in the act, I don't think any of them would let me live it down. Those who chose the bachelor'slife would be doing a double take. Hell, they'd be looking at Penny like she was secretly holding me hostage.
Maybe in one way or another, she does have me locked down. I'm definitely here by choice, though. Especially here, out in public.
I need everyone to get a good look at how I've got it. A gorgeous woman on my arm and a cute kid. I want them to be jealous.
God, I'm going to have a permanent jaw strain for how much it hurts from smiling.
When we make it to the small shack, Leliah insists that she doesn't need to be in the stroller anymore because of how she wiggles and struggles to get out. Her grunts and groans are pretty easy to read.
Penny leaves me to help her, amused to let her out to run in the direction of the large menu posted on the wall with plenty of sugary treat art to catch any kid's eye.
"She's going to want everything," she warns with a little sigh as she watches me pull out my wallet. "She's going to have a sugar rush for hours."
"And then she'll crash hard, yeah?" Lifting a brow, my mouth curves into a smirk. "Then it'll be just us two. Oh, what will we do to pass the time?"
Learning how easy it is to make this woman blush, she turns such a lovely pink at my words. Then she nods, and it's my turn to feel heat on the back of my neck.
"Yeah?"
Another nod. "Yeah."
This kid needs to eat a lot of ice cream, stat.
At the vibration of my phone, I pause when seeing who it is. The perfect bonerkiller, my smile tightens.
"Everything okay?" Concerned, her brows lift when I plant my wallet in her hands.
"Get whatever you want. I need to step back for a second." Reassuring her with a nod, my smile falls when she takes Leliah's hand to decide on what they want.
Returning my eyes to my phone, I take in Hex's message.
