Page 65 of The Disputed Legacy
“I think he’ll enjoy it,” she admitted with a secret smile.
An hour later, when the three of us walked back into the apartment, I saw how right she was. He was excited that I came to the school to pick him up with her. He bounced and grinned the whole way home, telling me how cool it would be to have me at the apartment for a while.
For a whilewas becoming the phrase of the hour, but when we all went to bed that night, I wondered how long it would be.
Oscar fell asleep quickly, and to my surprise, Willow did too. Lying in bed with her, I watched her and tried to anticipate how to get her to lower her guard with me more. It would be the most important mission of my life. This was a matter of my soul being complete. My heart being full. And the start of my own personal legacy being fulfilled with a family she could make happen.
In the morning, I got up before her to make breakfast and give her a few minutes to sleep in.
Oscar was good company at the kitchen table, and I looked forward to being able to become a steady presence in his life. I didn’t want to pry and ask him about his past, about why Willow would’ve painted the picture of an unstable life. It wouldn’t be right to interrogate him. He was too young, too innocent. I wanted Willow towantto trust me with her secrets.
With a domestic flair, we had breakfast together again. I walked with her to drop off Oscar, but instead of her staying at the apartment, she got ready for work.
“Maybe you shouldn’t walk me to the diner,” she said as she grabbed her purse.
I tugged her close for a kiss. “Why not?”
“I can’t help but worry that the shooters were aiming for you. You were the only one hit.”
I kissed her again, softly, and hid a smile.Iknowthey were there for me.She was sharp.
Hugo texted that he had a couple of men there to watch over her. Because if those shooters were Romanos, my presence there would be a danger, not a plus. I hated to be a cause of harm, but sooner than later, once she was with me for good, she’d never be unprotected again.
“I think it was a random act of violence,” I lied, kissing her once more.
“But if it wasn’t…” She sighed against my lips again.
“You tell me what you want to do,” I advised her, showing how I’d compromise and appease her. “I could walk you halfway there.”Until I see Ivanov security undercover.“Then come at night like usual.”
She seemed hesitant, likely thinking it over, and I didn’t push. I knew this ad to be difficult for her. For whatever reason,she’d resisted having me, or anyone else, in her life like this. I would allow her space and patience.
“Okay,” she agreed.
We set out, walking side by side toward the diner. Because she didn’t take the initiative, I didn’t try to hold her hand, kiss her, or act like she was with me as one half of a couple. I couldn’t wait for the day when I would show the world that she was mine, but that wasn’t today.
Once she walked off, waving me goodbye, I checked with Hugo and the other two soldiers assigned to this matter. Then I doubled down another alley to watch her from a distance, making sure she had cover on her.
That impulse to linger and watch her made me late for a meeting my brothers had called, but I didn’t care. They’d had their time of insanity when they met their women. If this was my turn to devote my efforts to my woman, then it just was.
Early this morning, Nik texted me to meet at a bar on our turf, and I didn’t delay in walking through the establishment. It was closed right now on the public front. It’d operate as a bar later in the afternoon. The downstairs business was hard at it, with men counting drugs and overseeing the packages we’d distribute later. In the private VIP rooms of the bar, though, we were alone.
“Who is this woman?” Maxim started with once we were all there.
I rolled my eyes. Of course, he’d come on strong like that.
Nik grinned, sitting back. “I knew he’d be next.”
“No shit, he’d be next,” Damon growled. They were all taken and I knew they wouldn’t ever part from their wives to consider anyone else.
I shrugged. “I was the last man standing…”
“Well, who is?—”
I held my hand up to Maxim, cutting him off. “I’ve got to take it slow with her. She’s a civilian.”
“So was Sloane,” he countered. He glanced at Damon. “So was Lucy.”
“They were. And I’m not in the mood to kidnap her or force her to marry me under false pretenses,” I argued, pointing out how they’d gotten their wives. “Let me handle this at my pace.”
