Page 83 of Secret Bratva Baby
She ignores me, drifting back to sleep.
I walk over to Rose, where she’s busy making coffee, and I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close to kiss thecurve of her neck. “Good morning,” I whisper against her ear, then kiss her cheek, too.
“Morning,” she replies politely.
My frown returns.Why won’t she tell me what’s wrong?
“I was thinking we could go to the giant toy store near the park. Lily can pick out a few things, then we can get ice cream or hot dogs, and she can feed the ducks in the park?”
“Sounds great,” Rose answers.
I clench my jaw.
I don’t like this at all.
It’s time for me to step up my game plan and win her back.
It’s time for me to make her mine again.
Actions speak louder than words.
Sneakily, I make arrangements for a surprise for Rose.
While we are at the park, I’m having a new Range Rover delivered for her. They’re pulling a few strings because I wanted a specific shade of blue at very short notice. But the guys are making it happen for me.
I’m excited to spoil her. After having to struggle for so long without me, this is how I can prove to her that I am able to—and want to—take care of her. I don’t just want to be a dad. I want to be her man. Her support. Her home.
Lily runs ahead of us through the park, with a fist full of bread tightly gripped in her little hand. It’s probably so mushed it’s almost dough again, but she’s happy, and that’s what matters.
She lobs the ball of dough at the nearest duck, and it squawks angrily, flapping its wings, lecturing her about basic duck-feeding manners.
Rose laughs, and I step closer to her, slipping my arm around her waist. Instead of leaning into me, her body stiffens.
I do my best to ignore it, but it worries me. All day she’s been off. Distant and polite. For some reason, she’s building that damn wall again.
Just when things were going well, we have been enjoying the most incredible family days together—why does she want to shut me out now?
I’ve tried to ask her a few more times since this morning, but she brushes off my questions. Despite her reassurance that nothing is wrong, I’m not blind.
I sigh, stressed, wanting that connection with her.
All I have to do, though, is wait till we get home. She’ll see her surprise and she’ll understand what she means to me.
I smile, glancing from Rose’s beautiful face to my daughter’s.
Lily is sitting on her haunches, pressing the bread dough ball into the grass while several ducks hover around her.
“Wherever we take her, she ends up getting covered in dirt,” Rose muses.
“That’s how kids get strong. Healthy immune systems and lots of life experience.”
She nods, falling quiet again.
***
As we drive into the mansion, my heart flips with excitement. The Range Rover is parked in front of the house, with a giant red bow around the hood.
Rose frowns at it.
