“Mama! I spilled!” Riley’s exclamation brought me back to earth.
I stepped away from him, but his hand remained at my hip, maintaining our connection as his eyes demanded an answer.
I blew out a pent-up breath. “This is my life. At 7:00 a.m., at 2:00 a.m.—pretty much around the clock. Which I’m sure you’re not used to. How about we take it one day, one spill at a time?”
He eyed me steadily. “If that’s what you need, Layla.”
I smiled, feeling my chest expand with something foreign but not unwelcome. I swept my hand toward the kitchen. “Okay, well then, clean up on aisle three.”
He chuckled, following me into the kitchen to help me clean up after Riley.
I stopped sharply, a sudden realization sending a shock of fear through me. “Do you think I need to worry about her going to school?” I whispered.
His gaze softened. “No. Because I already have one of the guys watching the school for the day.”
My heart warmed immeasurably that he’d thought about my daughter’s safety and had already taken steps to protect her.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
He shrugged as though it was no big deal, but to me, when I’d been in charge of everything for so long, it was everything.
The cynic in me wondered if he’d still be around by the end of the week. But the dreamer somehow knew he would be.
****
“Layla, seriously, girl, that cat sounds like it swallowed a goat and is trying to barf it up,” Emmie commented as she and Gracie sat perched at my barstools in the kitchen that evening.
I’d just walked in the door with Riley when Emmie and Grace had shown up bearing a bottle of wine.
“He’s deaf, Em,” Gracie chided. “I think he’s cute.” She looked fondly over at Oscar as he settled next to Riley while she colored at the coffee table.
“He’s cute and ornery. But he loves Ri,” I replied with a smile as I took a sip from my glass.
“Why is X out front?” Emmie asked curiously.
“X?”
“Xander, Ginnie’s man.” She explained.
My gaze flashed toward the street where a huge, tattooed biker had sat for the majority of the day, even going so far as to follow me to Riley’s school.
“It looks like someone may have broken in last night,” I admitted, and both women gasped in surprise. “I have no idea who would do such a thing. Cash said someone from the club would be keeping an eye on things.” The puzzlement in my voice was all too apparent.
Emmie and Grace shot each other knowing looks. “I bet he did.” Emmie grinned around the rim of her glass.
“Is this normal?” I demanded incredulously.
“Is what normal?” Grace asked.
“For the men in the club to be so… intense. I just met Cash, and he’s acting like it’s totally normal for him to be around all the time and to have someone guarding me.”
“It’s not normal,” Grace acknowledged. “Until they meet their woman.” She grinned. “They’re not related by blood, but the guys in the club seem to have that in common. Some of them fuck around more than others, but once they meet the girl that does it for them… that’s it.”
I stared at her incredulously. “And you’re saying I’m that person for Cash?” He’d alluded as much, but it was still hard for me to process.
“I’ve known Cash a long time,” Emmie murmured. “We both have,” she added, her eyes on Grace, “and I’ve never seen him take an interest in a woman like this. We gave him a bit of the third degree the other night,” she admitted.
“You didn’t!” I exclaimed, horrified.