Page 65 of The Art of Deception

“Peanut?”

“It’s the baby’s name.”

I raise my brow. “Peanut. We can work with that for now.”

“’Cause I love peanut butter,” Levi clarifies, making me smile.

“Okay,” Tomi chuckles.

“And I’ll love the baby—”

“Okay, you’re getting yourself excited now. How about you turn on your game and relax a little while Xander and I go make dinner?”

Levi smiles, then leans forward, taking Tomi into a tight embrace. “It will be hard. But we will be okay.” He pulls back, and I see Tomi’s eyes glistening as she leans in, kissing Levi on the cheek. “You’re so freaking awesome, you know that?”

Levi nods. “I am.”

I chuckle as Tomi stands, grabbing my hand. Levi focuses on the television and his game. Tomi’s cheery demeanor fades. She glares at me as we head for the kitchen.

She leans into my side, her mouth against my ear. “We need to talk… in private.”

The tone of her voice sends a shudder down my spine.

She has that glare about her, and her anger is aimed directly at me.

Again…

Chapter Nineteen

TOMI

I’m furious right now as we walk into the kitchen. I don’t even know where to begin. Today has been nothing but freaking whiplash. Xander’s tense, like he understands he’s in hot water, as we round the corner out of Levi’s earshot.

I turn to face him, folding my arms in defiance. “What the hell was that?” I blurt out.

His eyes widen. “What’s going on right now, Tomi?”

I scoff. “We didn’t finish discussing me going into the new tattoo studio, and yet, here you are, telling Levi it’s a done deal. You can’t do shit like that with him, Xander.”

His brows furrow as he takes a step closer to me. “Itisa done deal.”

I scoff, turning to walk away from him. “No, it isn’t. You think I’m going to waltz into a new place and just accept this handout from you? I don’t do that kind of shit, Xander. I work for what I get, I don’t get things handed to me like you.”

He shakes his head, stepping up to me again. “Tomi, you’re not getting it handed to you. We’re a team now. We’re going to be a family. I’m the man of this house, and so I need to provide for you, for all of you.”

I scoff and throw my hands in the air. “You think I can’t provide for us? Just because you’re some hotshot, wiz-bang business mogul that you’re the one going to be bringing inallthe money?”

He slumps. “No. That’s not what I meant at all, Tomi. You’re twisting my words. You’re just as capable as me, and that’s why I want you to work. But I know with the mortgage on this house and with Levi’s school fees, you can’t afford all of this and therent in the new shop…” He exhales. “I don’t expect you’ll let me help pay for the mortgage or Levi’s school. So, let me help our family, Tomi. Let me help by paying the rent on the shop so you can pay for what you need to. I want Levi to keep going to his school, or if you want to move him to a better one, we can do that, too. I’ll happily help to pay for something more if he needs it.” He reaches out to grab my hand as I soften toward him. “But if we’re going to be partners, Tomi, you’ve got to share the load. You hear what I’m saying?”

As angry as I was at him, the asshole is making sense. I want to provide for Levi, but the truth is that Xander outearns me at every turn. I need to bow out of this fight. I see he’s only doing this to help us, even if I don’t want to admit it.

“Damn you, Xander,” I spit out.

He smiles, pulling me in and wrapping his arms around my waist. My arms loop around his neck. I stare into his deep sapphire eyes. They’re just as brilliant as I remember as we stand here in each other’s arms with our eyes locked together.

He is stunning. His gorgeous lips slowly turn upward, causing his left cheek to dip in, the dimple making him even sexier, if that’s possible.

Yeah, damn him.

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