Page 23 of Broken Grump

I’m aware of Teddy’s eyes on me, but I don’t care. He can think whatever he wants about the moment we’re sharing.

“She was the notorious dog in their village that was rumored to have given birth to all the puppies. Abuelo swore every little mutt on the street had the same white patch around its right eye and black heart pattern on its chest as her.”

We laugh together, both knowing how ridiculous that claim was.

“Plus, he said she had the biggest nipples—” Addie jokes.

“Maybe we should just stick to business here,” Teddy suggests.

“Right.” She looks down with red cheeks.

After that, the mood is brought down a bit, and she glances back over at the pages. Instead of joking around or telling more stories, I decide to be silent for a bit to let her observe the drawings in peace.

“So, this is the ‘special project’ I’ve been hearing so much about,” she mutters while shaking her head after placing them down again.

Teddy fails to say anything, so I jump in, placing my hands in my pockets and walking a few steps closer to her. “Yes. But as Salvador has made it abundantly clear, he wants you to step in and be his eyes and ears in this thing. Plus, given your background in architecture—”

Her head snaps in my direction. “You know about that?”

“I—” I tug on my lower lip as I navigate the best way to respond. “Um, yes. I mean, I remember you telling me you dreamed of following in the footsteps of the great Zaha Hadid someday.”

When her hero died some years ago, I thought about her. But I was too chicken to reach out.

“Wow,” she says with a gasp and a head shake. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

“Of course, I did.” More than ever, I want to reach out and touch her, but I clench my fists in their fabric compartments to further stop myself. “And then I heard rumblings recently about you finally graduating from U of A. Congratulations.”

She looks down, and I can see her blush. “Thanks.”

Then, I admit to the culprit. “Your grandfather was very proud of you.” She mentioned his hometown being his favorite thing to talk about, but she’s wrong. It was her.

A small tear falls from her eye, and she wipes it away. “Thank you.”

“Alright,” Teddy butts in. “It seems as though you’re happy with the design—”

He is then cut off when a small girl with long brown hair in a sparkly purple tutu busts in. “Mommy! Mommy!”

Addie’s demeanor turns cold again.

. . .Mommy?

Chapter eight

Addie

This is bad news.I think as Luna slides down the front of my body and stands on her feet again. I’m coming to understand that by accepting my grandfather’s terms, which include working with Hayden, he would likely come to learn about my daughter eventually. But I didn’t think that moment would come mere seconds after I learned about their partnership in the first place.

“Mommy, who are these men?” Luna asks shyly, retreating behind my leg. She hasn’t done that since she was really little, so I can tell she’s picking up on some of the unwanted tension in the room.

“They’re just friends, baby,” I tell her. “Just run along up to your room. I’ll be right there. We’re almost finished here. Right?” I glare at Hayden.

He seems oblivious to my stare. However, he’s glancing at my child with similar intensity.

“Uh, right. Yeah.” He takes one hand out of his pocket, rests it on his chin, and grazes his lips with his finger.

“Go on,” I pat Luna lightly on the behind to encourage her to do as I say, which she does.

My heart is racing as I brace for the impact of whatever he’s going to say next.

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