Page 64 of Sinful King
“Sorry. Thank you!”
The expression in my husband’s gaze when he accepted made my heart melt.
I knew who the better parent would be between the two of us, but before I could let that feeling settle Jaslyn entered.
“Good morning,” she sang, holding the door open for Ashton and their three year old, Ashlyn who toddled behind her dad.
“Bwair Bwear!”
“Someone’s popular with the kids,” Sean mused softly as Ashlyn’s little drunken legs came running toward me.
I scooped her up and gave my husband a wink. Ashlyn and I had only become familiar recently and she happened to pick up on Brynn’s nickname for me along the way.
“You two should have that talk, while Blair and I go over next steps,” Jaslyn said, waving both Ashton and Sean out of the office. “Elijah is in a meeting up the hall, so use the conference room on the other end.”
She took Ashlyn from my arms and handed her off to Ashton, who managed to press a kiss to Jaslyn’s lips during the exchange.
“Let go, daddy!”
Ashlyn had her arms secured around his neck and wanted her legs loose and he obliged, letting her hang.
I cut my eyes at Sean and found him watching me, probably thinking what I was feeling.
But once he and Ashton were gone, I shook thoughts of the baby we lost away.
“You two look happy,” Jaslyn said with a smile. “Glad to see it.”
I nodded, not wanting to talk about Sean and me with Lauren in the room and thankfully Jaslyn picked up on that.
“Okay,” she continued, eyes on Lauren. “This is the hard part. This is where I file the paperwork and you bare all to whomever will listen.”
“I’m nervous,” Lauren murmured, already wiping tears that had sprung out of nowhere. “Maybe…” her gaze shifted to Brynn, who sat a few feet away. “Maybe I should stop right now and cut my losses.”
Jaslyn looked at me and I shook my head.
Something wasn’t right.
“You have the power to do what you feel is best,” I said, ready to drop this and move forward with plan b. “As long as it’s what you want and not someone else.”
Brynn had mentioned something about her crying and our dad but the statement evaded me now.
“Daddy said he’ll let us move in with him,” Brynn said out of nowhere, hopping up and running over to me. “I met him.”
“You met him when, baby girl?”
“She has no idea what—”
Lauren’s eyes met mine and she rolled her lips together.
“When we came to New York last time.”
I nodded and prayed my face didn’t give way to how I felt.
“Did you enjoy meeting him?”
She frowned, her big eyes searching mine.
“No, I didn’t have fun at all,” she said way too fast for it to be true. “You don’t hate me, right?”
