Page 32 of Love Me Forever

That must have been terribly boring for a little girl. Whoever her other parent was, they must have left or passed away, leaving her with no memory of anyone but her Mama.

“No family ever came by to see you or Mama?” asked Sébastien.

“No. We didn’t have a family. It was just Mama and me.”

“I just wanted to know if there was anyone else. My family is gone too.” Sébastien scooped her up to set her on his lap while he straightened a few feathers on her wings. “Since I’m going to be like your parent, Remus is too. That means you’ll have two now.”

“I just want to stay with you.” She reached for a strand of Sébastien’s hair to look at it.

“You don’t like me?” asked Remus.

Her stony expression said no.

Oh. Great. Sébastien glanced at him and shook his head as if to say to not put much mind to her answer.

“Tomorrow’s a new day, and it’s time for bed now.”

“Sébastien’s going to put you to bed, and I will see you tomorrow, okay?” Remus stood and smiled at her. It wasn’t returned.

***

“Don’t take it the wrong way,” Sébastien said when he stepped out on the balcony. “She’s said she’s not ever going anywhere with you.”

“But-what did I do?”

Sébastien came around the cushioned bench and sat by Remus. “I think it’s because that fucker snatched her this morning, so now she probably thinks you’re going to mean to her. She didn’t understand everything earlier, but he slapped herand was quite rough with her. She understood that. She’s met me before, so it’s different.”

“I figured she’d feel better with you at first for a bit, but I didn’t think she’d see me like that.”

“She’ll see in a few days that you’re not a man who slaps little girls and grabs their arms to drag them around. Just give her some time. When you left, I told her you’re about to be my husband, and I’d never marry a man who hits. I’m not sure if that got through to her. She wanted me to tell her a story called The Prince’s Big Adventure.”

“What’s that?”

Sébastien shrugged and reached for his glass on the low table in front of them. “I don’t know. I had to make up something. I know she’s tired, but I think I bored her to sleep. Oh, she also made me check under her bed and in the wardrobe twice just in case monsters were hiding.”

Sébastien’s reasoning for her dislike made sense. Remus would be distrustful too at the age of five if some lowlife had slapped him, started making demands, and dragged him around. He was pretty big too, and in her young mind, that might mean bad.

In the light of the small crystal lantern Remus had set by the bottle of red wine, he noticed Sébastien’s was a bit rigid. He was probably worried again because not only had he suddenly brought home a kid, she didn’t even trust Remus.

“It hasn’t even been a full day, so I’m sure she’ll feel differently.”

“I’m sorry,” said Sébastien.

“Don’t apologize. We’ll figure this out as we go.”

Sébastien leaned on him, and they looked up at the moon shining down. “I don’t know how you have so much patience for me.”

“Because you’re a good man, and even when I thought you were despicable, you were just trying to protect yourself.” Remus put an arm around him and kissed the top of his head. Sébastien eased against him. “You protected someone else today. Also, I was surprised at you earlier since you took so well to her.”

“Hm?”

“In the kitchen, you seemed to know what to say to her, and you let her sit in your lap. I never thought you’d be a bad parent. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t like me, but how do you know what to do? She trusts you entirely.”

“I made the bad man go away in her eyes. You would have done the same.”

“Yes…”

“You would have been the nice man who saves little girls. That’s all it is. And as a Prince and King, I’m sure I appear quite grand in her eyes. I don’t know any parenting secrets. I’ve barely done anything, and so far, I’ve just been trying to make her feel safe by letting her do what she wants. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

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