Page 43 of Hidden By His Side

“You shouldn’t have let it get so bad,” Summer scolded frombehind him.

When he turned, she held out his coffee. He took it, putting it on the desk without drinking any.

Exhaustion pulled at her eyes, paired with a strained smile. “I know you need to work. I’ll just—” Her words ended with a squeal when he grabbed her up in his arms.

“Did you sleep at all?” he asked.

“I’m fine, Ram. I wanted to do this.”

She didn’t look fine. Biting back the words he wanted to say, he kissed her forehead, forcing his gaze to take in the room one more time.

“It’s perfect. You’re amazing, Summer. This is amazing.”

Her smile eased into one that looked genuine as she soaked in his words, but the dark circles beneath her eyes wouldn’t go away with a compliment.

“Thank you for taking care of this. I didn’t expect it, though. You don’t work for me here. This is your home.”

Her smile fell away. “I wanted to do this.”

“And I appreciate it. It really is a wonderful gift.” He scanned the room again, seeing the piece of Summer that it’d become. “But there’s no way you cleaned up this pigsty in a couple of hours. How long have you been awake?”

Her lips pressed together as she stared at the buttons on his shirt.

He remembered her waking up in the middle of the night, the way she’d looked sprawled on the bathroom floor, and his heart thudded into his stomach. “Did you wake up nauseous?”

She stiffened. “It’s just morning sickness. I can handle it.”

He didn’t want her to handle it. The idea that she’d passed out again, and he hadn’t been there, made him want to kick his own ass. “I should have been there.”

She bit her lip, her eyes squeezing shut.

“I could have held your hair back for you like I did before. Tell me you wanted that.”

She sighed, trying to hide her face in his chest. “I do want that, but it’s not fair to you. This isn’t your baby.”

Ramiro hated hearing her say it. She was his. The baby should have been his.

Not that he wanted a baby at all. He only wanted to take care of Summer, and even her voice sounded tired.

“You’re taking a nap,” he decided, carrying her out of his office.

As he approached her room, she grew stiffer in his arms. When he strode right past, she let out a soft gasp against his chest, and her tension faded away.

He’d needed her to choose him, needed her to voice her desire, but that wasn’t what was best for her. Summer never asked for what she wanted. He should have remembered that.

His bedroom was dark, the curtains blocking out the morning sun. Instead of setting her on the bed, he lay down with her still clutched against him.

“You don’t have to stay with me,” Summer said even while she clutched his shirt.

His hands soothed over her back. “Stop fighting it, baby girl. Sleep. I’ve got you.”

It took long minutes of gentle massages for her clutching fingers to relax. He didn’t stop even after her breathing evened out. Summer was there in his arms, and he decided to let himself enjoy it, whether it was good for her or not.

Chapter 15

When Diego showed up with Ash later that afternoon, he did the worst thing that Ramiro could have imagined; he handed Ramiro his daughter. “Here, keep hold of Emma while I help haul all of your secretary’s shit inside.”

Ramiro fumbled not to drop the toddler while taking in the demonic smile she gave him. Her bubbly giggle knew things he hadn’t even considered; he was sure of that.

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