Page 22 of CurVy Baby

Her lip wobbles. “Another night without you?”

“Takes time to make a brother, Princess.” Donnie states without a hint of mirth, the nameRyanstill a dark glint in his gaze as he walks from the kitchen towards the lounge room.

That changed the disappointment in her eyes. “You’re going to make one tonight? For me?”

I feel my core protest to the mere thought. Stifling the concern I have over another night of fucking, I simply nod. “We will start building. It takes time.”

She tilts her head. “Building?”

“Well…” I pause.Fuck. Think, Vallie.“I think I’ll use pop sticks for his legs, watermelon for his head, maybe jellybean toes. What do you think?”

She stares at me, unblinking, a dubious expression fixed with weaved blonde brows. “Are you serious?”

“No,” I reply, honestly. “I don’t know how to make them. Donnie, Tyler, Dexter, and I will just try, and if a baby ends up in my belly, my body does the work by itself, putting him together. Like you breathe without thinking. Heart beats without thinking. It is kind of like that. A mummy’s body just does it.”

Her eyes widen. “Woah.”

“Yeah,” I agree, smiling. Her awe is warranted; it is a miracle. “A woman’s body is the real magic, Sweet Pea.”

CHAPTER TEN

DONNIE

“Ryan,” I grit out as I walk into the living room, scanning the space for Dexter. A faux fur blanket is crumpled on the cushion, but he’s not here anymore.

I follow the corridor toward the first-floor office, finding him sitting in my chair, scanning the Tenders file on the desktop.

“You’ve done well,” he acknowledges without looking at me. “In my place.”

I sit opposite him and lift my ankle to my knee, leaning back, relaxed. “I didn’t do anything.” I undermined my efforts because I care little about them. “I signed papers. Attended a few meetings. Cut a rope once. It’s yours. Take it back. The investors are willing to work with you again as long as you stay sober; that’s the condition.”

“Why do I hear abutin that sentence?” He turns to face me, eyes locked on mine, questioning.

I cross my arms across my chest. “ButMolly, Vallie, and Tyler are not yours. We have a very strange life. It doesn’t suit everyone. But it suits us. Tyler was never able to share me with a woman unless she loved him, too. We are one in his heart and head. He was never going to be able to love a woman unless she loved me. His happiness balances on understanding, acceptance, and open-mindedness. If you want to be a part of this, you need to accept us. The way things are. If you fuck things up, the things I have fixed, I will not give you another chance.”

My words aim and hit their mark.

His jaw muscles pulse, working to hold his tongue. He knows it is all true. “Consider your warning heeded.”

“Good to have you home, brother.” I stand, still only in my underwear and shirt. “I need a cigarette. The app has Vallie marked to ovulate today. We are going to chase her through the forest and corner her in Dad’s old hunting cabin. Come?—"

“Donald?”

What the?

Kathleen…

I sigh hard, exasperated. “Jesus Christ.”

Dexter cocks a brow. “Who the hell is that? And who the hell is Donald?”

Without answering, I walk from the room towards the front door, where Quinn takes Kathleen’s woollen, orange coat and hangs it on the brass hook.

“Where is she?” Kathleen asks, peering around, her raspy, yet feminine tone singing out. “I have a basket of candy and eggs.”

“Quinn.” I motion towards the old biddy. “Why?”

“She insisted,” he says with an apologetic shrug that means nothing because he isn’t the slightest bit sorry. “You know she’s alone all day, Donnie, in that house. We made her our problem when we held her hostage. And she adores Molly so much. Come on, don’t be an arse about it.”

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