Page 28 of A Package Deal

CHAPTER TWELVE

Warrick

Was it normal to want to both press your new wife against the wall and pillage her mouth while also wanting to throttle her? Because that pretty much accurately described how I felt about Emmerleigh every single day I’d known her. Her small stature and big determination were some sort of dynamite duo that flipped the overprotective switch in me. I wanted to ride up on a white steed in knight’s armor and save her from everything that troubled her. But then she opened her mouth to lash out and I suddenly wanted to save her just so I could kill her myself.

Instead of distancing myself from the woman who made me insane, I’d married her and moved her into my house so I couldn’t avoid her. Smart. Real fucking smart.

“More chicken!” Georgia whooped, the last bite of grilled chicken skewer from our dinner at Grass still in her mouth.

“You need to eat your veggies first,” Em scolded her lightly.

Georgia’s perfect face wrinkled into a frown. “I did. The cawots are all gone.”

“You can’t just eat carrots. Eat some of the broccoli,” Em countered, pointing to the pile of miniature green trees on her plate.

Georgia’s face twisted even further and I braced for the argument. “I’m like Uncle Anty. No bwocoli. I want chicken!”

Em sighed and flicked a glance at me. “Welcome to having a kid.”

I grinned, finding Georgia’s temperament quite enjoyable. Served Em right to have a daughter who was every bit as stubborn as her mama.

“Who’s Uncle Anty?”

Em wiped the side of her mouth with her napkin. “That’s my oldest brother.”

“Oldest, huh?” Funny how I didn’t know much about her and yet she was now my wife. “How many do you have?”

Em’s smug grin struck fear in my gut. “Four.”

“Oh, fu—fudgsicles.” I managed to avoid cursing in front of the small girl. In my rush to help Em, I hadn’t exactly thought through the fact that four older brothers might be headed my way right now to bash my face in.

“Is Wa-wy my daddy now that we live together?”

Georgia’s innocent question might as well have been a bomb going off at our table. Em and I both froze, probably for different reasons. We’d agreed to keep our marriage quiet. Not really a secret, but not announcing it either. If people gossiped, so be it, but we’d tell Georgia we were simply moving in until their next house was ready. According to Em, they’d be moved out and done with the court case before Georgia was old enough to have to explain our sham of a marriage. Even knowing all that, I was about to answer in the affirmative when Em beat me to it.

“No, Georgia! We’ve talked about this. Little kids do not need a daddy.”

I winced at the harsh tone. Georgia cocked her head and studied us both.

“What if I want one?”

Em’s face flamed, the first time I’d seen her struggle to not lose her cool with her daughter. “That’s not in the cards for us, okay? Some little kids don’t even have one parent, so let’s count our blessings, huh?”

Georgia’s face fell and it nearly broke my heart. My hand was in the air before I knew what I was doing. Diego, bless him, came right over.

“What can I get you folks?”

“Could we have a couple more chicken skewers and your brownie a la mode after?”

Diego clapped me on the shoulder. “You got it, boss.”

“We don’t need dessert,” Em whispered urgently.

“Brownies!” Georgia cheered at the same time.

I shot the little girl a smile and leaned in closer to Em. “One brownie isn’t going to kill her. Besides, we’re celebrating, remember?”

Em rolled her eyes as her lips pressed tightly together. I wondered what she might have been like before her ex screwed her over. Was she always this much of a killjoy or had that come about solely because of Cayden?

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