“Pa!” His excitement startles me for a second. Then I feel his hand on my hair, and I look up at him from my seat on the floor. His green eyes are on me, and I feel his stare deep in my bones. His mouth tilts in a grin.
Smack.
His grin turns to a frown as we both look at Ollie. Holding the frying pan and pulling his arm back to smack Ronan’s leg again.
“Ollie, no.” I reach for the toy but notice his bottom lip poking out. One arm reaching toward Ronan, his little fist making grabby hands.
“I’m not Liam,” Ronan says to him. Ollie drops the pan and is now doing both fists in a grabby hand motion. A giggle bubbles up.
“He’s mad that you aren’t paying him attention.”
Ronan kneels in front of Ollie. As soon as he’s on Ollie’s level, Ollie launches himself into his arms.
“Still doesn’t explain why he hit me.”
Ronan shifts Ollie higher against his chest.
“I think he’s jealous that you paid attention to me before him.”
I scoot closer and wrap an arm around Ronan’s shoulders before looking straight at Ollie.
“Mine.”
Ollie’s little face hardens instantly. He shoves at my arm with surprising force. I laugh.
“Yep. My baby brother is claiming my boyfriend.”
“We share Ollie,” I tell him, trying to reason with him. Ollie is not interested in reason. His bottom lip sticks out, and he stares at Ronan with complete betrayal, like I’m the villain in this situation.
“Pa,” he says in the saddest little voice imaginable.
Ronan looks at me, then back at Ollie.
“I’m not really sure how to handle this,” he admits. “Siri didn’t cover it.”
A laugh bursts out of me before I can stop it. My chest feels so light it almost hurts. I’m smiling so hard my face aches. Ronan may not fully understand what’s happening, but I do. Ollie is attached to him. And maybe I should be afraid of that.
Maybe I should want to pull him back before he can get too attached, before Ronan can hurt him if he ever changes his mind. But I can’t.
“You just need to pay attention to him and make him feel loved,” I tell him softly. “You’re already doing everything right.”
Ronan raises an eyebrow.
“If I had done everything right, I wouldn’t have a bruise forming on my shin.”
He rubs Ollie’s head gently, the same way he touched mine when I first walked into his office.
“I’ll just have to make sure he isn’t holding a weapon next time.”
Ollie immediately melts against him, laying his head on Ronan’s shoulder with a content little sigh. That’s all he wanted. To be seen. To be cared for. And God help me, Ronan gives him exactly that.
“He’s getting tired and so am I. Are we leaving soon?” I want to ask what his dad wanted, but that can wait. Right now I want to go home.
“We really need to stay here. I know that I promised you we could go to the apartment but they still haven’t found the others.”
Disappointment must show on my face.
“If you still would rather go, I’ll make that happen. I get some of the guards to go with us. The building is secure, but not as secure as it is here now. Dad and Mom are just worried. I’ll protect you either way. It’s up to you.”