Page 109 of Illicit

Rocco loses his playful smirk, and his expression turns grave. “I don’t care that you just had a baby. Don’t ever fucking say that again.”

“I figured out how to push Rocco Monroe’s buttons. Point taken.” Sammie’s smile swells into a huge grin. “By the way, if you don’t tell Mom and Dad soon, there’s no telling what will happen. I’m hormonal. It might slip.”

“I have a feeling nothing would make Rocco happier.” I turn my attention back to Marley. “I’m not talking to either one of you. My focus is on Marley. I don’t want to miss a moment of her first day. Go back to sleep, Sammie. She’ll be hungry soon, and Mom and Dad will be back. You need to rest while you can.”

Sammie winces as she tries to get comfortable. She must be exhausted, because she doesn’t argue.

Rocco scoots closer until our sides are glued and stretches his arm out behind me. When he starts playing with the ends of my hair, Sammie yawns and says, “This situation is going to take me some time to get used to.”

I smile at Sammie.

Rocco presses his lips to my temple.

“Yeah, I’m going to need a minute,” Sammie mutters as she closes her eyes.

Marley yawns and squirms in my arms before settling back into her nap.

Rocco

“I’m exhausted,” Teagan says. “I’m going to go home, take a real shower, and go straight to bed.”

I bring our entwined hands up and press my lips to the top of her hand. “My bed. Your parents will be here for the rest of the day. I’m not wasting the opportunity to sleep next to you.”

She smiles through a yawn. “You won’t have to ask me twice.”

I pull her to me for a kiss on the lips this time as we walk to my car. “We haven’t even been back a day, and I’m sick of hiding this. We were going to talk last night and never got the chance. Decisions need to be made.”

I think she’s about to answer me when I hear my name. “Rocco?”

I stop and turn but don’t let Teagan go.

Shit.

“And Teagan.”

I pull Teagan tight to my side.

Evie Emmett stands before us dressed for work. She’s in a patterned dress that barely hits her knees and heels with her hospital credentials hanging around her neck.

“Rocco and Teagan,” she repeats our names together, like she’s trying them out together for the first time. “Well, this is an interesting development.”

“It is,” I agree.

Teagan says nothing as she slinks into my side like she wants to disappear.

“So.” Evie hitches a foot and puts a hand on her hip. She studies us like we’re an unusual virus that she’s trying to treat. “Am I the only one who doesn’t know about this?”

“No. You’re definitely not the only one,” I say.

“Huh.” She smiles and can’t stop looking between the two of us. “Is this new?”

“Yes,” Teagan spouts.

“No,” I answer at the same time.

“It’s no wonder that I’m confused if you two can’t agree on that,” Evie says. “If I’m not the last to know about this, who else knows? Or should I ask, who doesn’t know?”

“Sammie knows,” I say.

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