Page 15 of Harmless Secrets

Bridget chewed on her bottom lip. “The man doesn’t smile that much.”

She thought back to that night in Las Vegas. “He used to.”

They walked back into the kitchen and Bridget watched her as she cleaned up the table.

“Why did he sound funny when he talked?”

“Why did he…”

She trailed off when she realized what Bridget was talking about. “Maybe he’s not used to getting such pretty pictures.”

“Oh. Okay.” She accepted that answer, like most four-year-olds would. Alicia knew some day it wouldn’t be so easy to explain things away. Then, this life she had been living would bite her in the ass.

“How about we have some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner?” Alicia asked.

Bridget smiled. “Yummy.”

“Go on and play. I’ll call you when it’s done.”

Bridget skipped out of the kitchen and Alicia sat down at the table. She had so much to think about, and she didn’t know where to start. The only thing she knew for sure was that no one would hurt her little girl.

Five

In the last few days, Devon had ridden a sick rollercoaster wave of emotions. Now, he was numb. He couldn’t even drum up an emotion about how he felt at the moment. He needed to regroup, recharge…think about things. Unfortunately, Dee wouldn’t shut the hell up. The one emotion he could accept was irritation. Sisters just didn’t know when to stop poking the bear.

“You need to stay out of it, Dee,” Devon said as he walked down the hall to the apartment they rented for the vacation. She had been berating him since they left Alicia’s house. Dee was the worst when she got something between her teeth. It made it very hard not to resort to their childhood scuffles.

“You wouldn’t even have a phone number to call her if it hadn’t been for me.”

How many times had she said that to him in the span of thirty minutes? At least five freaking times. There was only so much he could take off the woman, even if she was his twin. Devon unlocked the door and ignored his sister. Micah was sitting on the couch in the living room.

“If either of you wakes up Alana, I might just have to beat the shit out of Devon.” Dee walked over and gave him a kiss. Micah touched her stomach. “How are you doing?”

“Doing just fine, although, I’m starting to get hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” Devon said. He looked at Micah. “And why just me?”

“Because, Dee is the light of my life, carrying my child.” He looked at Devon. “So?”

“She’s definitely Dev’s. She has his eyes.”

“I don’t need you to answer for me, Dee.”

She made a face but thankfully shut up.

Micah didn’t take his gaze from Devon. “And?”

Devon dropped into the chair beside the couch and scrubbed a hand over his face. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since that day at the market. The days had all started to bleed together and he knew soon he would crash. Before that though, there was always a chance for him to make some very bad decisions.

He sighed. “And nothing for the moment.”

“You just left your daughter there?” Micah asked.

“Well, he doesn’t have a right to her,” Dee said.

That sent rage coursing through his blood. “I have every right to my daughter.”

Dee shook her head. “I didn’t mean like that. I meant legally at the moment. You couldn’t just snap her up and leave. And besides, you wouldn’t want to do that. It would scare Bridget.”

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