Page 63 of Sins of Innocence

"Where would I find a bread knife?" I ask her.

I could use my tactical knife to cut the pastries, but I have a feeling that would not meet with either Maureen or Áine's approval.

Neeve points to a drawer to the right of the sink.

Opening it, I find what I'm looking for.

When I start cutting all the pastries in half, Neeve smiles again. "Mom does that sometimes, so we can get more tastes."

"Does she?"

Neeve nods. "May I have one?"

"Yes."

"You don't talk a lot, do you?" She picks up half of the honey bun just like Joy thought she would.

"No."

Neeve sits in the chair I'd been sitting in earlier and pulls a napkin from the holder on the edge of the table by the wall. "I don't either."

"Do you feel like you shouldn't talk too much?" I ask warily.

She shakes her head. "I like to read, not talk. Joy and Sadie like to talk."

"Some people do. Some don't."

"That's what mom says." Neeve looks at me for several seconds in silence. "Are you mom's boyfriend?"

"I am."

The little girl takes a bite of her pastry, chewing silently while she thinks that over. "She never had a boyfriend before."

"She hasn't?" Do I feel guilty for pumping Áine's daughter about her?

No.

Hell, if McLaren wasn't Áine's bestie, I would have asked the computer specialist to compile a dossier on her.

"Nope." Neeve looks at me speculatively. "Are you going to marry her?"

"I want to," I answer honestly.

I don't tell her that I'm going to. It might be true, but we're creating a narrative that works for Áine's family and Mick's plans.

Neeve's narrows her eyes in thought. "Would you be our daddy then?"

"Would you be okay with that?" I ask instead of answering.

"I think so. I wouldn't be a bastard anymore, right? Not if you're my dad."

"Who the f—" I break off before I drop an f-bomb in Maureen's kitchen. "Who called you that?"

Neeve's shoulders hunch. "Kids at school."

"Did you tell your teacher?" I ask. I know she didn't tell her mom, or Neeve would already know that she's not illegitimate just because her biological father died.

"Yes, and she made them say sorry, but they keep doing it."