Page 54 of Ruthless Secrets
He frowns. “What?”
I point to his shirt which now has baby vomit on it and laugh quietly under my breath so I don’t disturb Zoe.
Marco rolls his eyes before grabbing his collar and pulling his shirt off in one swift motion.
The sight of his perfectly sculpted torso has my blood heating.
I can still remember what it was like to run my hands all over his chest like it was yesterday.
I look away before he can notice me staring.
Nothing can happen between us. It would only make things more complicated, and I have to think about Zoe.
If things didn’t work out…
I don’t know why I’m even entertaining the idea. Marco might be willing to be civil for Zoe’s sake, but I doubt he’s truly going to forgive me for not telling him about her. He missed out on so much of her life because of me.
“I’m sorry.” I fight back tears. “About everything. I didn’t want you to find out about Zoe that way.”
Marco stands frozen by the crib, his vomit-stained shirt crumpled in his fist. But then his shoulders relax, and he comes over to sit beside me on the bed.
“I understand why you didn’t find me. But if I hadn’t shown up last night, would you have ever told me about her?”
I keep my eyes on Zoe so that he can’t see me cry again.
“I wanted too, so badly. I hope you can believe me.”
When Marco doesn’t reply, I glance up at him, and my breath catches when I find him staring down at me. But there’s no anger in his eyes. Instead, there’s only warmth.
“I meant what I said last night, Clara. I want us to start over. For Zoe’s sake.”
“I’d like that.”
Both of us are quiet for a moment as we watch Zoe sleep.
I’m all too aware of how close Marco is sitting to me. His body radiates heat like a furnace, and he smells incredible. I’m trying not to breathe through my nose because every time I catch a whiff of his cologne, I fight the urge to lean in and bury my nose in his neck.
“Zoe has a pediatrician appointment tomorrow,” I say to break the silence. “Would you like to come with us?”
Marco turns to look at me, and my cheeks warm under the heat of his gaze.
“I’d love to. Is it just a checkup?”
“Oh, uh… Zoe was born with a low-grade heart murmur.”
Marco’s eyes widen, but I wave a hand.
“It’s nothing to be concerned about, but she does need to be monitored regularly.”
“It doesn’t sound like nothing. But I would appreciate the chance to speak to her pediatrician.” There’s a slight bite to Marco’s tone, but I can’t blame him for being annoyed.
If I were him and just found out my kid had a heart murmur, I’d be pretty pissed off too.
“Of course.”
Silence falls between us again but this time, it feels different. At some point, we’re going to have to talk about what happened last night, but I don’t have the energy. I know that it’s going to turn into a fight and right now I just want to sit and bask in the relief that Zoe is okay.
“Is it okay if I call my friend Sam? Just to let her know that I’m okay.”
