Page 96 of Vengeful Secret

Ciara is dressed in a pretty green dress and has her blonde hair loose and curling around her face.

I smile at her before looking up at Sutton and losing my breath.

She’s put on some finishing touches since I saw her in the hallway earlier.

She looks gorgeous in a charcoal gray dress with a high neck that shows off her strong jawline and the blue-gray of her eyes. She clicks forward in her low heels, sitting next to me and putting Ciara in her booster seat, keeping her eyes averted from the rest of the family.

“It's okay,a ghrá,” I whisper in her ear. “Calm down. I just want to show off my princess.”

Her shoulders relax, and she smiles at me.

Paige and Kael finally show up, fashionably late as always, and we’re all sitting at the table when Marisol brings out the roast, rice, and potatoes.

“Looks delicious,” Declan points out, and she smiles at him.

“Stay here, Marisol,” I say after she puts the food out. “You’re family, so you should hear this, too.”

Marisol waits by the door, looking at me with a blank face. She doesn’t seem curious at all, so maybe she’s already figured it out.

I stand up, standing behind Ciara’s chair and putting my hands on her shoulders. “I know you all know Ciara, but I wanted to officially introduce her as my daughter.”

“I knew it!” Lara blurts out, and as the whole family laughs, I blink, surprised by their reaction. I’d expected at least a few questions, but I guess even I’d underestimated how accepting my family is.

Declan and Kael stand up to hug me and congratulate me while Paige introduces herself to Ciara.

Ciara’s laughing along with everyone else, my happy little girl, and my heart swells.

“I’m your aunt,” Paige says.

“She’s never had an aunt. I don’t have any sisters,” Sutton admits in a mumble.

“You do now,” Lara says, hugging her since she’s sitting next to her, and Sutton looks at me over her shoulder, surprised.

I smile at her and notice that Sutton has tears in her eyes.

I squeeze her shoulder.

Lara turns to Ciara. “Me and Paige are your da’s sisters, so we’re your aunts.”

“And I'm your uncle,” Declan says.

“Don’t overwhelm the poor girl,” I say.

I put a plate in front of both Sutton and Ciara, filling them.

“She’s a perfect Burke already,” Paige says.

Ciara smiles even though she probably doesn’t know what that means. “Daddy gives me piggyback rides in the pool. Even though water gets in his nose.”

Declan laughs. “I’d like to see that."

“Maybe tomorrow,” I say. “I’m still sneezing out pool water.”

I go silent for a moment, worried that someone will say something cruel to Sutton. I’m pretty sure they won’t, but you never know how my family may offend someone. They’re kind and fun, but sometimes blunt, just like Ciara.

But no one says a word about how long ago we met or how Ciara came to be.

“I can’t believe you kept your relationship secret,” Lara chuckles.

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