Page 50 of The Secrets We Share

“Right, well—” Alina breaks off. “Thank you.”

“We’re not doing this for you.” I try to keep the venom from my tone, but there’s only so much I can do first thing without coffee.

“I’ll have the doctor reach out from now on. There’s no need for us to be in contact.”

“Sounds great to me,” I throw out in agreement. “Oh, and Alina.”

Pausing, she stares me down.

“Don’t ever show up here again. You’re not welcome in our house.”

She scoffs. “You mean Harkin’s house.”

“She said what she meant,” Harkin confirms.

The couch shifts when he stands, ushering her out of the living room to the front door. I slump back against the couch, a giant smile pulling over my face. It’s one more thing on the list to take care of, and once it’s done, I can write her out of my lifefor good. An ache in my chest pushes down through my stomach when I realize the little girl I’m helping is someone I’ll never know. It's just another nail in the casket of the blood family I’ll never have.

It is what it is. I’m ready to squash the rest of the shit and move the fuck on. To what? Who the hell knows, but I’ll figure it out when I get there.

“Coffee?” Harkin calls from the kitchen.

“Is the moon round?” I answer him, enjoying the rare chuckle it steals from him.

I let my eyes rest while I wait, reviewing the mental checklist of what my day needs to look like. The meeting is moving in swiftly, and I dread seeing Domenico again. But the nervousness of meeting someone from my mom’s side of the family is almost debilitating.

What if he blames me? I was the one she kept. I’m why she hid and broke off all communication with her family. I got her full attention for eight whole years when I’m sure he had other plans for her.

I shake my head free from the morose jabs. Fuck all that noise. Maybe I saved her from a messed-up life of living as nothing more than a piece to be manipulated and used at her father’s whim. Then again, maybe I’m projecting my short and limited experience with Domenico onto something that doesn’t matter anymore because she’s long gone.

“Didn’t think you’d still be tired after that,” Harkin interrupts my mental spiral.

Holding the mug out for me to take, I steal it and draw it up to my nose, taking in a deep sniff of the warm aroma. “Nothing wakes me up like a cup of your caffeinated tar.”

“Hmm, I seem to recall something else doing a damn better job.”

I take a sip, letting the heat warm my chest and send my body the signal that it can wake up and start to function on all cylinders now. “That’s not the same,” I finally add, watching as his eyes drift up the expanse of my exposed legs.

“How so?”

“Your coffee is like a shot of adrenaline spiking through my veins, straight to my nervous system. But your head between my legs or your cock slowly driving into me is like being swept down a lazy river that slowly brightens the scene around me the further I make it. It’s like wakeful dreaming, peaceful and euphoric as I scream your name from my lips, and then the reality hits. I’m not dreaming, but that’s even better because you’re there.”

“Sounds terrible,” he says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Hmph.” I chuckle. “The worst, but If I have to wake up, I might as well start the day on a high.”

“Noted.”

“So, where are our counterparts this morning?” I ask, looking around like they might be hiding somewhere.

“They never came home from the club.”

I sit up with that knowledge, almost spilling my coffee. Harkin must see the worry written all over my face.

“Hey, calm down. They’re okay. James thought we might need some time alone after last night, so they went to Stacey’s.”

Taking a settling breath, I let my heart rate slow from its Olympic speed. “Do you think—” I break off, trying to decide if it’s a good idea to ask.

His knuckle tucks under my chin, lifting it to meet his gaze, eyebrow raised in question.

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