I wait. One minute. Two minute. El doesn’t speak. Her face is still in that frozen state of shock as she processes my words. Was this how she felt months ago when she confessed her feelings? It’s almost laughable how times have changed. I am the one begging her to love me. The therapy sessions with Ava must be working. Constant communication.
Enzo honks twice, breaking El from her trance. “Where to, Sir? Ma?” I look to the madam, she tells him our next location. A supermarket. I bury my fingers in her scalp. She moans softly and her breathing grows heavy. I cup her breasts but she grabs my hands above my head, seducing me with her wicked smile.
A brow jerks up as she slides to her knees, I am a goner when she bats those lashes at me. This view of her between my legs, those innocent eyes centred on me is what I want to see every day. My belt comes off first, she pulls the zipper down so slowly I nearly come in my pants from the anticipation
El’s protests fall on deaf ears, I step out of the car and make my way to the door she stepped out from. Someone in that supermarket upset my wife. I need to have a conversation with that fucking someone.The chill air hits first, my hands slide into my pockets for warmth. Haven’t they heard of heaters? I take a tentative step forward, scanning the row of shelves holding groceries and other food items. The inside is smaller than outside, the place is empty except for the lady behind the counter chewing gum like a fool.Turning on my charm, I walk over to her and smile. Her cheeks pink, I fight the urge to roll my eyes as my hands rest on the flat surface. If she was my staff, she would be fired for her lack of professionalism.“Hey,” I say, finger tracing a line on the wooden surface.“Heyyy,” she replies, “what can I do for you today?”Her tone is suggestive, her accent is sim
Jei Clementine is stalling. I don’t know why. Ed passes me another file to append my signature, I do that and return it to him. We continue this in silence that’s interrupted by the growl of a stomach. A guilty smile spreads on his lips, I peek at my wristwatch. 6:30 pm. Way past lunch time and closing hours.“Have you eaten?” I ask.He adjusts in his seat, touching his tie as if to receive strength from it. “No.”I push the rest of the files aside. “We will continue tomorrow. You can leave.”An uncomfortable pause passes between us. He sets his pen on the desk. “I am fine.” His stomach disagrees, growling embarrassingly loud and Ed’s cheeks redden. “We can continue, I will eat later.”“You can go, Ed. We will continue this tomorrow.” But he doesn’t stand. His lips twitch like he is holding back his words. I sigh. These guys act like I
She is not joking. I wait and wait for El to laugh but she doesn’t. Her words sink into my chest, dragging my heart to my stomach. She returns to work and my lips pull into a line as her head hunches over the sheets strewn across her desk. I think I have been dismissed. That too by my wife. She doesn’t want more kids.El doesn’t notice how I sigh with my whole body or when I bring out my phone to check on our girls. Lydia is with them. I place a hand on the small of her back, loving and hating the feel of her body against mine. We are so close yet so far.I shoot a text to Lydia to let her know we would be home soon. I don’t want to be here anymore but one look at El stops me from standing. She’s too invested in the portraits. It reminds me of Bri’s sketch that used to be in the hall. It’s the only thing I have from her. Something she made for her dad, to gift her dad but never got to do.Uncomfortable with the sil
El is awake before me again. It has become the new routine. She sleeps late, wakes early. I prop myself on my elbows, watching my wife labour over an illustration on her iPad. Without makeup, the dark circles around her eyes are more prominent and her collarbone pokes at her flesh. She is skipping meals.Her brows furrow in concentration, she folds her legs underneath her and reclines on the couch. I stalk towards the couch, snatching her iPad which I push to the side stool so I can hoist her on my legs.I pinch her cheeks. “Time out.”“Time out?” The back of her hand goes over her mouth to stifle another yawn, confirming her need for a break. “But I just started.” I press a finger to her lower back, working the tension up to her spine and her body sags in relief. She reaches for the iPad again, I hold it above our heads. “Baby, I need to finish up.”“You need to take a break.”&
The DNA result is the same. 99.9% and my heart is threatening to explode. It shouldn’t fucking matter but it does. That 0.1% makes all the difference. I curl against the window, eyes closed as the car glides out of the parking lot. She must be mine. She has to be my daughter. We have the same nose, his nose. “Thanks,” I hear myself say to Enzo once the car stops. I am home. My heart beats in my throat, I jog up the stairs and pause in front of the door. I run a hand over my face and hair to appear cool. I have been away from them all day, the best I can do is look okay for their sake. The door opens before my fist connects with it to reveal the girls dressed in black tuxedos and matching blue bow ties. They don’t appear fazed or excited by my appearance and their expression worries me. Today is Friday, nothing special about it. Bren steps forward to collect my briefcase, Wyn opens the door wider and flashes me
I don’t. I don’t know where Joshua lives because it never occurred to me that siblings meet outside the office. Has he invited me to his house? Yes, once. But I couldn’t make it and I didn’t try to invite myself.El’s expectant glance has my shoulders rotating in a casual shrug, she shakes her head in disapproval. If she had siblings, she would have made a great sister. I pick a flower from the bouquet on the table and sniff it. El runs her fingers through my hair, moving down to my beards and a wistful sigh leaves my lips.“You kept them,” I say as I tuck the flower with the rest of the roses sitting elegantly in a glass jar. It is part of the bunch Ed sends to her office daily. That and the bars of chocolates. I shouldn’t indulge her with sugar but it makes her happy and I am such a sucker for anything that makes my wife happy.She pouts. “I couldn’t eat them so I had to keep ‘em.&rd
“Why did you tell them about her?” I ask El. Back in the room, I pop the buttons of my shirt. She wiggles out of her heels and sashays to my front to take over. A few seconds later, my jacket comes off. I reward her with a squeeze of her ass, she returns the favour and pouts. “Why did you tell the girls about Brianna?”She sighs with her whole body. “They were eavesdropping.” She rolls her eyes, pausing on the last button of my shirt. “Again.” I chuckle. “I had to tell them. They understand she’s sick but that’s about it.”Her light tone betrays her annoyance, my hand moves behind her neck and she vibrates against me as my fingers caress her skin. I spin her so her back is to my chest, slowly pulling down her zipper. El sucks in a shaky breath, I cup her breasts and wait, giving her time to process what is about to happen.“I’m glad you did,” I whisper against h
“Baby, what do you think of the styles I sent you?” El asks while knotting my tie. She smoothes my shirt and her hands relocate to my shoulders to massage them when I remain mute. “Five is a big number.”The girls birthday is in three weeks. El has taken charge of the birthday arrangements. Between the office, project El, stalking Vincent and trying to sort everything before we move, I haven’t had much time for anything else. El wants to throw a big party for them, the biggest they have ever had and I am fully in support. Five is a big number but I didn’t see the designs. I have spent more time on my phone, learning Vincent’s lifestyle than I have with my wife and kids. It’s almost like the obsession I had with El at the beginning of the year. Stalking has become my thing.“I agree with anything you choose,” I tell her. “Don’t spare any expenses, make our girls happy.” She tilts her head and