Page 59 of The Child of Rue Royale
“You’re driving me crazy,” he mutters one day while I’m bent over the floor, playing with Aven.
I sneer at him, fighting the urge to bite my lip just to drive him crazier, but I clear my throat and sit up. “Four days until we’re home and have our own room again,” I say, and he gets up quickly.
“Jumping in the ocean,” he yells and walks out the front door, and I shake my head as Aven coos.
“Your daddy is so silly.”
That evening I go into Chantal’s room and am met with shoes, clothes, and luggage littered across the floor.
“Almost done?” I ask, sitting on the bed next to a suitcase.
“Yeah.” She nods. “You know, it’s not that I don’t like it here. The boys are yummy, and it’s beautiful. But I miss my house. I miss my boys. I miss performing.”
Guilt floods me, and I wonder if it will ever go away. “I’m sorry you left everything—”
“This is where I wanted to be. And if we needed to stay longer that would have been okay too. Heck, it’s a paid vacation, right?”
I nod.
“Bastian’s with Aven?”
I sigh. “He’s hell-bent on getting Aven to stop crying with no help from me.”
She looks to the floor, whispers, “Pack,” and with a flick of her finger, piles of clothes begin packing themselves in her suitcase. “I guess your mom was right.”
“Right about what?”
“If there was a good vampire to fall in love with, he’s the one. I see how he loves you, how he loves the baby. It’s real, what you have. I’m happy you have it.” She leans in close to my ear. “And that man is beautiful, like movie star beautiful.”
“God, I know,” I exhale.
“Just don’t let it get us killed.” Her mouth straightens, her face serious, and it breaks my heart and fills it at the same time.
“I won’t let it get any of us killed. I swear, Chantal. I won’t. We have our magic, and bonus padding with Nicola and Cassius’s protection.”
“You think Nicola is really going to protect us?”
“I think Nicola will do anything for Cassius and Bastian, especially Cassius. And Cassius will do anything for Bastian. And Bastian will do anything for me. And I will do anything for you. Domino effect.”
“I hope you’re right,” she says, twisting a lock of hair between her fingers.
“Me too.” I groan, looking at the door. “It’s quiet. Bastian must have finally got him to sleep. Better get to bed.”
“Goodnight, baby girl,” she sings, causing a smile to cut across my face.
“Goodnight. I love you,” I say, bending to kiss the top of her head.
From our bedroom door, I hear Bastian whispering, so I pause, not wanting to interrupt anything important.
“I’ll play dolls with you or ball with you. I’ll support you any way that you need, any way that I can. You’re all I ever wanted, my love, you and your mommy are all I ever wanted. Do you understand? You are going to have every opportunity this life can offer, and I will spoil the shit out of you, I don’t care what your mom says, okay? You want a pony? I’ll get you a pony. You want a rocket ship? Done. You’re my miracle and will have the world at your fingertips, okay?”
My hand grasps my chest, the words that every mother wants to hear the father of her child say, and I just couldn’t love this man more. He’s adjusting, he’s getting better, and I know he loves Aven more than I could have ever imagined. And there’s no feeling quite like that.
There’s a pause, so I open the door to Bastian walking around the room, bouncing Aven, one of his little hands wrapped around Bastian’s finger.
“A rocket ship might be a little much,” I say, placing a hand on Bastian’s back as we stare at our son.
“Yeah, well. It’s his.” Bastian’s face reaches down to place a soft kiss on my lips, and I gasp at how tender he is, how much I love every part of him. “The world is his.”
