Page 31 of Stealing Home

She puts her hand on my arm, careful not to touch the bruises Nando left. It doesn’t hurt anymore, but I’ve caught all of the men eyeing them while we moved my things. “Take the rest of the day to unpack and settle in.”

“I’m meeting with that lawyer later this afternoon, remember?”

“That’s right.” She jokingly taps her temple. “Mommy brain is real. I swear I’m forgetting everything. I know you’re worried about what he’s going to do when he’s served. We have security systems around the garage. I’ll make sure we are on alert if he comes by. I’m assuming he’d be unwelcome?” Wren asks.

“Yeah, I don’t want to be anywhere near him.”

Wren nods. “We’ll keep an eye on it.”

Griffin moves close to her again and nuzzles into the side of her neck. “She’s probably going to have to start taking off earlier. I don’t like it when she wears herself out when she’s pregnant.”

Liam rolls his eyes. “Maybe if you hadn’t knocked her up with twins last time she’d have felt better.”

“What can I say? I’ve got some pretty strong swimmers,” Griffin taunts his son.

Liam holds his hands up. “What can I say back to that? If I disagree I’m just putting myself down.”

What strikes me the most is how well they all get along.

“I know we take some getting used to,” Wren tells me.

I shake my head. “No, I was just thinking how comfortable you all are with each other. I don’t think Nando and I will ever be able to be okay like this.”

Liam shrugs. “It didn’t happen overnight. And if my dad hadn’t turned my ex wife into my stepmom I don’t think she’d have ever talked to me again.”

He looks down at my arm. “I did some shitty things to her when we were married. I’m damn lucky she forgave me and they gave me a second chance to be part of the family. But I never put my hands on her. So, maybe I’m a hypocrite for saying this, but you hold on to your anger. He clearly doesn’t deserve your forgiveness.”

“We’ll clear out and let you settle in,” Griffin says, recognizing that I’m craving some space.

“You guys go,” Wren says. “Bess and I will stay and help her get everything set up until she needs to leave for her appointment.”

Griffin kisses the side of her head. “Don’t work too hard,” he orders.

She smirks up at him. “Yes daddy,” she says and earns a swat on her butt.

Liam groans, and shoves his dad toward the door. “I’m never going to get used to that.”

Bess looks around the apartment once the men are gone. “This place needs some color.”

Wren groans. “You would think that.”

“I agree. Some color would be nice.” I pull out my bank card. “I’ve got to hit the bank and pull out money before Nando locks me out of everything.”

* * *

The three ofus sit in the kitchen after I withdraw a large sum from our joint savings account. I leave what he needs to pay for the house but I take almost half the funds. It’s not a lot, since we weren’t getting far ahead with his spending habits, but it’ll pay for my attorney, Leena’s tuition this month, and leave me some to cover expenses until I get my first paycheck. That’s after I spent some to make the apartment feel more like my home.

Wren unpacks the takeout we brought back with us after we hit Target. Sandwiches and pickles, her current pregnancy craving. Bess grabs some of the new dishes, brightly colored per her influence and sets them in front of the barstools. She was absolutely right, the place needed a little bit of color. We picked some plants, and some bright rugs and accent pillows for the sofa. When we were done the apartment went from a manly bachelor pad to a feminine loft.

“Tell me about the hottie from the baseball clinic,” Bess speaks around a bite of her sandwich.

I groan. “He’s the pitcher for the team Nando coaches. Totally off limits.”

Wren points to her chest. “My husband was my father-in-law. Off limits doesn’t mean shit to me.”

Laughing, I shake my head. My face almost hurts with how much I’ve laughed today. I wipe tears away, happy ones. “This day should have sucked, but I’ve had so much fun.”

Bess wiggles her finger back and forth. “Nope, I want to hear more about the pitcher. Wren has gotten to hear more than I have since you work together. I mean we can circle back to how awesome we are, but for now talk about the hottie. I saw him. He’s yummy.”

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