Page 72 of Dagger

I smiled. “No, nothing like that. It’s… about me and your dad.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Are you gonna get married or something?”

I blinked. “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know. You’ve been living with us. And you like each other. That’s what happens, right?”

Dagger cleared his throat, clearly caught off guard. “We’re not getting married—yet,” he said carefully. “But we are together. Like a couple.”

Dani sat with that for a second. Then she said, “Like boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“Yeah,” I said softly. “Like that.”

She gave us both a long look, then shrugged. “Okay.”

I blinked. “Okay?”

“Yeah. I mean… you already kind of act like it.” She glanced at me and added, “You make my dad smile, like for real. And you take care of him. And me. It makes sense.”

My heart squeezed at her words. “That means a lot, Dani. Really.”

She looked thoughtful. “You’re not gonna stop being Miss Bronson, though… are you?”

I knelt down beside her. “Well, I was actually going to ask if you’d like to call me Sinclair instead.”

She grinned. “It’s gonna be funny not calling you Miss Bronson.”

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it. We’re just telling you because we want to be honest with you. That’s important. So you already guessed, huh?”

Dani giggled, “I’m not a little baby. I saw the way you and dad look at each other. And you were in his room the other night.”

Dagger and I exchanged a glance. I guess we hadn’t counted on being outed by an observant preteen.

She was quiet a moment longer, then said, “We’re still gonna bake cupcakes, right?”

I laughed, the tension in my chest finally easing. “Always.”

She gave a small grin and whispered, “Cool.”

We sat there like that for a while, tangled together in the quiet calm. Her hand found mine again, and I squeezed it gently.

I didn’t tell her about the baby. Not yet. That conversation would come later when the timing felt right. For now, this was enough.

But deep in my heart, I couldn’t stop the quiet hope that maybe, one day… she’d call me something else entirely.

Something I’d only ever dreamed of being called.

Mommy.

***

The sun was warm and high, the kind of morning that made the open road feel like an invitation. It was two weeks since my half-brother tried to kill me, and life was slowly returning to normal. Or my new normal.

With Dani spending the afternoon with Maverick, Grace, and their kids—happily distracted by crafts, cartoons, and sugar cookies—Dagger pulled on his leather vest, grinned, and reached for my hand.

“Helmet on, sweetheart. You’re coming with me.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Where are we going?”

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