Page 26 of Best Kept Secret

I looked at Roxy, and then at Fallon, whose eyebrows lifted slightly. Her smile faltered for a split second before she recovered.

"Mira cooked?" I asked, realizing too late how dumb it sounded. What I really wanted to ask was, when the hell did that happen? I'd seen her with Pari most of the day, and she'd been running on fumes.

"What's on the menu?" Fallon asked brightly, her eyes gleaming with something that made me uneasy. She was already dissecting the situation, sizing it up. Fallon was always good at reading people, but in a way that made you feel exposed, like she was figuring out exactly where to poke and prod. When she did that to others, I didn't care, but now she was doing it tomypeople, and Ididcare.

Roxy glanced toward the hallway. "Why don't you ask her?"

I saw Mira, baby monitor in hand. Her shoulders were stiff, and despair was written in her expressive eyes, but she quickly straightened, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, andstepping into the room. She looked tired, but there was a fire in her eyes.

Fuck! How much of my conversation with Fallon had she heard?

"I made a chilled cucumber and mint soup to start." Mira walked to the kitchen counter and set the baby monitor down. "For the main course, there's herb-crusted salmon with lemon-dill sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes, and sautéed asparagus with garlic and balsamic. And for dessert, a fresh berry tart with a vanilla bean mascarpone cream."

There was a pause as the words sunk in. It wasn't a complicated menu, but it was damn impressive. "When the hell did you cook?" I mused.

Mira shrugged. "Pari and I did the prep work before lunch. I'd hoped that would tire her but…."

Fallon's smile barely moved. "That sounds lovely, Mira. Do you usually cook with Pari?" Fallon asked, her tone polite but lacking any genuine warmth.

"Yes," Mira replied tightly. "Sometimes I let her cook as well. She gets splattered with butter and oil, but it's all in a day's work, you know."

Roxy snickered at that.

Fallon narrowed her eyes.

I took a deep breath, knowing I had to do damage control.

"Yes, Fallon, Pari and I always cook together, at least I try," Mira continued. "She bangs around a bowl with a whisk, sings songs, pretends she's cooking. It's fun."

"Pari tastes everything. I'm telling you, Mira, you cookin' with her, letting her feel the ingredients and touch the food as it cooks is why she eats everything." Roxy looked at me with a challenge in her eyes. "Most kids I know are picky as hell, but not our angel."

I didn't know about Mira overhearing my conversation with Fallon, but Roxy definitely had, and she was coming daggers out, guns blazing.

"When will Pari wake up?" Fallon stood up. "I'd like to spend some time with her."

"Not today." Mira didn't even look at Fallon or me as she opened the fridge. "She's not in a good mood, and she doesn't do well with strangers when she's not feeling great. Why don't you come over next week sometime?" She turned to face me, a large plastic bowl in hand. "What do you think, Beau?"

"I think that's a good idea. Do you think Pari will wake up for dinner?" I realized that I'd made a mistake bringing Fallon into our dynamic now, especially since we were still getting to know one another.

"Beau," Fallon bit out and smiled tightly at me. "Can we talk in private?"

I'd asked her to come over so, I couldn't kick her the hell out now. Also, she was a friend, and I respected her.

Then why is she pissing me off?

I knew why. Fallon had implied some not-so-nice things about Mira, and every protective instinct inside me had flared to life.

Mira's eyes flicked to me, and there was something in her expression that caused an unexpected tension to grip me.

She was nervous, yeah, but there was more than that. She was trying so hard—I realized how much pressure she was putting on herself—not just to impress me but to prove to Fallon and probably to herself that she belonged with Pari. That she could hold her own with the Fallons of the world.

The baby monitor buzzed to life, and I used that as an excuse to step away from the volatile situation I had caused.

"We can talk in just a bit, babe." I squeezed Fallon's hand and put her off. I knew where she'd take this, and now I regretted asking her to come over.

I went to Pari, looking forward to the weekend when we would set up a room for her. I'd spent some time online shopping with Mira and Roxy, and Mama was already starting to send more clothes than my daughter would ever wear before she grew out of them.

"Hey, baby girl," I whispered, marveling at the tiny child sitting up on the bed, rubbing her eyes.

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