Page 4 of Mass Sins

His eyes met mine, and he raised a brow. He didn’t look too pleased at first, what I had imagined when I bought the bike. He wouldn’t want his daughter to do anything dangerous, but I figured even he would have to let his little girl be a kid.

“There’s also a helmet in there. For safety,” I explained.

“Right. Thanks.”

He wouldn’t show it, but I knew he was grateful. He was never good at these kinds of things, so I didn’t take it personally.

“Come in.”

I followed him inside, and it quickly got loud when we got closer to the other guests. I didn’t expect much from tonight but it seemed as if Sinclair had invited other parents with their children to celebrate Luca’s birthday.

“Do I know anyone?” I asked Tabor, wanting to prevent awkward encounters with people I might have met before, but forgot about.

“Other than the guys and Sin, probably not.”

Good. That meant that as the brother of the probable father of the birthday girl, I wouldn’t be too interesting to talk to. Which was fine with me.

“Joska, hi!” Sinclair walked over to me with a big smile on her lips, and she hugged me, being as welcome as ever. “It’s so good to see you again. How have you been?”

I smiled at her and squeezed her hip before pulling away my hands to not anger the guys. I knew they were watching me. “Good, thank you. You look beautiful. Motherhood suits you,” I complimented.

“Aw, you’re so sweet. I’ve never been happier.”

“Joska got Luca a present,” Tabor told her, showing her the present in his arm.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have! What is it?”

“A balance bike. And helmet.”

“No way, that’s awesome. Luca will love that. She keeps running around like crazy, so a balance bike might just be perfect for her. Thank you, Joska.”

“You’re welcome. Where’s the birthday girl?”

“She’s over there with Link.” She pointed toward the open kitchen, and I caught a glimpse of Link with Luca on his arm, talking to other guests.

“I’ll go say hello.”

“Okay. Oh, by the way, there’s someone I want you to meet later.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Whenever you’re done saying hello to everyone, come back to me.”

I pursed my lips and nodded, then watched her leave before turning my attention to Tabor. “Do you know about that?”

“Yes.”

“And who does she want me to meet?”

“You’ll see.”

Sighing, and decided not to argue. He wouldn’t tell me anyway, so I simply let it go. “All right. I’ll go say hello to the others.”

I went over to the kitchen where I first said hello to Ford and Archer, and after that, I went over to Link. He turned when he saw me, and he smiled, telling Luca to wave at me.

“Hey, sweet girl. Happy birthday,” I said, smiling at her as she reached out her little hand to me. I let her hold my fingers while I caressed the back of her hand.

“Thank you,” Link said for her. He looked at me with a tight smile. He looked tired, but that wasn’t surprising. He worked a lot, just like the others. “How are things, Joska?”

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