Page 51 of August 20

She followed him into the kitchen. He handed her a glass of root beer with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream floating on the top. She took it from him. His fingers skimmed her fingers.

She jerked her gaze up and met his eyes. Her heart raced. Every little touch was too much.

"Mm." Skye slurped the pop out of the glass. "This is good."

She needed to distance herself from Maverick, so she moved around the table and sat down. Maverick handed her a spoon. She scooped out a bite and let the coolness sit on her tongue as her body overheated. Not even the ice cream could cool her down.

"Y-you've never had a root beer float before," she said.

"Yes, I have." Skye scooped another bite. "I've had them."

Taken by surprise, she set her glass in front of her and looked at her niece. "Did your mom make you one?"

Skye rarely talked about Janelle anymore. It was hard to bring up her sister when she feared upsetting Skye. But she wanted her niece to remember her mother.

"No." Skye wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. "My dad."

Her lungs deflated. She glanced at Maverick, seeing if he had heard the conversation. By the way he stared at Skye, ignoring the dessert in his hand, he'd heard.

Skye's attention never left her ice cream. She shoveled scoop after scoop into her mouth until the only thing left was the creamy root beer.

Brooke's appetite left her. If Skye retained memories of her father, why wouldn't she recognize Maverick?

The hope written all over Maverick's indifferent expression was hidden except to her. He'd taken that memory Skye brought to life and desperately held on to it. She sensed he wanted to ask her more questions, even telling her she was right. Maybe even tell her he was right here, ready to be her daddy.

Brooke's vision blurred. It was such a monumental moment for him.

But Maverick kept his wishes to himself, and the pain that caused him filled the room.

He ducked his head and looked at Brooke. She met his gaze, silently asking him why he'd keep his relationship with Skye a secret. Who was he protecting?

Skye had Brooke in her life, but her niece needed everyone to support her. To know her father hadn't left her and was here ready to love her was more important than...

Brooke swallowed.

It was more important than having an aunt take care of her.

She knew the truth, and no matter how much it hurt her, she understood what Skye needed better than any of them because she'd grown up without a mom and dad, only having her grandma to love her.

Brooke got up from the table and put her root beer float in the sink, washing the melted ice cream down the drain. Maverick, for how wrong he was in his approach, deserved to be a part of Skye's life.

She gripped the edge of the counter. Now, she was married to him. He expected her to act like his wife.

But she wouldn't let anyone use her.

Despite her attraction to him, the only reason he wanted her here was to keep his ass out of prison. He'd married her to keep her quiet about what he'd done, holding her prisoner and scaring her to death.

She straightened and turned. Skye had finished as much as she could eat and laid her head on the table's surface, using her finger to draw on the condensation outside the glass.

"Honey, go brush your teeth and hop in bed." She entered the dining room. "You've got one more day of school before you can stay up later."

"I don't wanna—"

"There are going to be a million things you don't wanna do in your life." She lifted Skye from the chair and gave her butt a pat in the right direction. "But, you'll do it because it's the smart thing to do. So, go brush your teeth."

Skye lunged away from her and grabbed Maverick's hand. "Tell her I'm big—"

"Brush." He prodded her toward the hallway. "Go."

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