Page 45 of Wicked Ambition

“You’ll be fine.” He risked shooting her a quick glance. “You saw firsthand what didn’t work, and the fact you’re worrying about it means you care enough to figure it out.”

“And you said you’d be with me on this, so I’ll have you there to help me learn.”

Oz scowled. “Pollita, we both might need to find out if there are lessons available on good parenting. Mine are worse than yours.”

“Worse? How?”

His hesitation was brief. “Both my parents are serving time in federal prison.”

Chapter 18

Oz took Ayla to a coffee shop near enough to the convent for KW to get over there easily, but not so close that it put her at risk. There were bistro tables with chairs throughout most of the place, but the two small seating areas with sofas, coffee tables, and ottomans that doubled as chairs made it a great place to talk without worrying about eavesdroppers. Both were open.

If Baggs was with him, he’d take Ayla and claim the sofa in the corner, the one farthest from the door, and let his teammate get their order. But he was on his own and he wasn’t about to let her sit alone near the front of the coffee shop. He brought her to the counter with him.

She was uninterested in the coffee, but thepiononothrilled her. “Can I have one of those?”

“Sure.” He didn’t ask if it would upset her stomach. Oz was relieved she wanted to eat something. “Did you want homemade ice cream on the side?”

Ayla shook her head. “Just the pastry. No coffee.”

Oz bought a pionono and coffee for himself. “Head toward the seating in the front,” he told Ayla. He stuck close to her, automatically scanning as they went. No one new had arrivedand the two groupings remained empty. He gestured toward the sofa in the corner. “We’ll sit there.” She took the first seat on the couch. “Slide over, Pollita. I want to be between you and the doorway.”

When she complied, Oz set the tray on the low table and handed her a plate and fork before sitting down next to her.

“Why are we at a coffee shop?” Ayla asked as she dug into the pastry.

“We’re meeting someone. He might have information for us.”

Anticipation replaced curiosity in her expression. “I’m glad we’re finally doing something to find Io. I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to search for her.”

Oz froze for a split second and then reached for his mug. Dangerous territory. “You’ve been chafing about the delays, but it hasn’t beenthatlong, and you needed a new look.”

Ayla nodded, took a bite of her pionono, and sighed. “This is wonderful.” She gestured with her fork toward the plate. “I know this morning was my fault. I needed a little time to recover. But damn it, what if that delay makes a difference?”

It furthered his own plan to keep her on the sidelines, so it didn’t matter. Of course, he couldn’t tell her that. “Don’t beat yourself up,” Oz said. “You were blindsided, and no one can blame you for taking a few minutes to bounce back.”

“More like an hour.”

Closer to an hour and a half, but Oz opted not to point that out. He’d spent the time cuddling her on his lap while they both worked through the ramifications of the pregnancy test. They hadn’t talked, not until she came out of the daze, and then they’d checked out and headed here. Ayla was attacking her pastry, but she had to be starving, considering how little she’d eaten the past two days. “Is your stomach doing okay?” he asked.

She looked up at him, fork still in her mouth, and nodded.

The sound of the bell on the door had him shifting, using his shoulder to hide her face. Oz relaxed.

“That’s my friend,” he said voice low. “You can trust him, but remember to keep your voice low.”

Ayla looked around. “No one is nearby.”

“Always err on the side of caution. We’re dealing with the righthand man of a Russian mob boss, a treasure hunter known only by one name, and possibly a drug lord and an arms dealer. Believe me, Pollita, discretion is required.”

“Okay.” She leaned forward to put her empty plate on the coffee table. “Are you going to eat your pionono?”

Oz handed her his untouched pastry. “No, I’m not as hungry as I thought.” It was a lie, but she was eating, even if the nutritional value was iffy.

“Thank you.”

Her smile was sweet, and his heart turned a somersault in his chest. He hadn’t done anything, simply given her his food, and Oz felt as if he’d accomplished something heroic for her. This woman? She got to him. He wasn’t sure he liked it.

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