Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
“God, no,” he says with a smile that looks a little haunted. “My little cousins. We’re taking a family vacation in Paris and these two have kept my cousin up at night. We said we’d wear them out good in the city today.”
The little boy, about three years old, toddles over to us and points to Lyam’s arm. “You draw?” he says. “Bad.”
“I told him it was bad,” Avril says, shaking her head.
Sergio half-smiles. He looks like the kind of guy that doesn’t smile often, and when he does, he has to remember how to.
“Someone got in big trouble for drawing on the wall. He thinks you drew on yourself with a marker.”
“What it is?” the little boy asks.
Lyam bends to one knee. “It’s a snake,” he says in a low voice, which only excites him further. “Do you like snakes?”
The little boy’s eyes widen. He only nods.
“Oh lovely,” Avril says on a groan. “Another snake lover.”
I watch Lyam with the little ones. I watch the way he gently but firmly guides them away from the elegant vase in Avril’s entryway and instructs them to sit politely at the table when a member of staff brings cookies. I watch him carry them on his shoulders so they can reach way up high to see out the stained glass windows. With every gesture he makes, my heart melts a little more.
I watch him with the children and know: Lyam’s gonna make the perfect daddy.
THIRTEEN
Lyam
I think Cosette would stay all night long if she could, but we have an informant to confer with. Still, I’m glad she talked to Savannah. Thayer was a harder sell, but there’s no one more dedicated to family than he is.
“You gonna propose?” he asks discreetly when Maman says something about giving them goody bags of baked goods to take home and the girls go with her to the kitchen.
“Of course I am. You know it. She’s having my kid, brother.”
“Mmm. It’s soon, though. She’s got a ways to go yet. Take it slow, Lyam. I know you aren’t always the one to do that.”
I know he’s right, but I don’t want to wait. “I know I love her. She’s having my baby. It’s the right thing to do.”
He nods and shrugs. “Maybe, but it’s important to find out everything you can. Do you even know her history?”
He’s right, I know he is, but I also know there’s nothing that’s gonna hold me back from marrying Cosette.
Before I can respond, they come back into the room, both Savannah and Cosette carrying massive containers filled with baked goods.
I stand. “We have to go.”
“So soon?” Maman asks, her face falling.
“I promise we’ll come back soon but we’ve got a few important things to do.”
Savannah and Cosette hug, and before we leave Savannah reaches for me, too. I give her a hug and she whispers in my ear, “Be good to her, Lyam. She’s had a hard life.”
What does she know about Cosette’s life?
Does she know more than I do? I know she was raised by a single mom north of Paris, that her mother hated the city, and her father left them. I know that her mother died when Cosette was in college, and she and Nicolette became friends when they worked at La Maison. I know that while she studied cosmetology she was more called to work in nursing, but after she found her place at Le Luxe, she never went back to school.
And I know that I love her.
“I will.”
As we head out, Cosette looks over her shoulder. “Thayer, did he ask you about Princess?”
Thayer snorts. “Yeah. I’ll have her sent up.” He shakes his head. “No goddamn way I’m bringing her back. Snakes don’t travel so well.”
I kiss her at the bottom step, then again outside our car, holding her to me.
I kiss her when I buckle her seat belt, and before I shut the door.
We kiss at a red light, until finally she giggles and says, “Lyam, we can pick this up later. You have an informant to talk to.”
I do. Fucking duty.
“Shouldn’t be too long though.”
“Where are we going?”
“Remember I mentioned several safe places we have? The warehouse is south of the city. We’ve got a stack of secure locations, and that’s one of them.”
“Gotcha.”
I turn and look at her. “Why do you stare at me when I drive?”
She reaches a hand out to stroke my biceps. “Because you’re sexy as fuck and I love watching how competently you drive. It’s a turn-on.”
I groan. “Cosette.”
“No, for real. All that alpha male commanding authority.” She fans herself. “My God. It’s sexy as hell. And you’re just so good at everything you do.” She sighs. “I want to see you shoot again.”
I shake my head. “You’re strange, woman. And you might get your wish sooner than later, we’ll see.”