Page 29 of A Seed Of Peril

I lifted my head and looked at Daddy. I sniffed and smiled as he walked us out of the rink.

“I want strawberry.”

Daddy laughed and smiled. “Of course, you do.”

Dominic wiped my tears for me.

“I’m sorry for crying.” I looked at Dominic, leaning into his palm as I said, “I have no idea why I just apologized.”

We laughed, sharing a tender kiss. As I laid my head on Dominic’s shoulder, he took me under his arm.

“We should take Katrina ice skating some time,” I thought out loud. “She’d love it.”

“It can be arranged.”

“Shoot, does she know how to ice skate?”

“No idea. We can ask her when we get home.”

“Her birthday’s coming up,” I mused. “If it’s still safe enough on that ice, can we bring her then?”

On February 12th, Katrina would turn nine. We hadn’t even begun planning any kind of party for her, and a pang of guilt tightened my chest.

“We’ll see,” Dominic said. It was difficult to make plans in this business. An issue could arise at any moment. Taking her here would likely be a spur-of-the-moment gift to her. “What does she want for her birthday, anyway?”

My stomach sank at his question. Aside from missing her grandfather on a regular basis, Katrina recently expressed how much she missed Bianca. Dominic hadn’t spoken of her since putting her back up at that hotel, and I didn’t want to press.

I looked up and over at Dominic, my expression saying, “Really?” He then looked at me, reading my mind.

“Besides the obvious.”

“Well…” I gathered the words, looking again at the scenery, “last time I tucked Katrina into bed, she told me she missed your mom.”

He drew in a deep breath before slowly releasing it, but he remained tense. “I don’t know, Lilith.”

“Is the place across the street ready yet?”

“No. It won’t be for another month.”

Deciding on a change of plans for his mother, Dominic was having the vacant home across from our place remodeled for her to live, but that wasn’t quite written in stone. Anything she did or said from here on out that rubbed Dominic the wrong way could cancel everything and keep her in Tenafly.

“So, you’re still giving it to her?”

He waited a breath before answering. “I guess so, yeah.”

I still planned on talking to her. With everything with Wyatt and that fiasco, it slipped my mind.

Bianca had tried calling Dominic at random times, but he neglected to answer. He needed a bit more time and space.

“If you want,” I said, sharing an idea, “I can arrange for Katrina to see Bianca myself. I don’t know where yet, but I can also talk to her. You won’t have to see her—not until you’re ready.”

Dominic kissed my head. “Thank you.” He placed his palm on my belly. Smiling, I watched him feel it and then bend over to kiss it.

“I can’t wait to meet him,” I said.

He sat up and kissed me, smiling sweetly. “Me, too.”

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