Page 99 of Shark Bait

My mom answers, and he moves to the table. Also, our team is losing big-time, and Dad hates losing.

We are alone. Shark and I are alone in the living room. I turn up the TV to cover our conversation and lean back as if I’m watching it intently, but my eyes are on him and Mira.

Thank you, he mouths, and I think he’s thanking me for letting him hold the baby.

But I have so many things to thank him for. Thank you for disabling the monitor. I don’t know how you did it, but you did.

Thank you for risking everything to move here.

Thank you for saving my life.

Thank you for accepting Mira as yours.

Shark sighs as if he’s releasing the worries of the world when he brings her to his chest. Then he gets up to stand by the window. I catch the moment he kisses her head, and something inside me mends. I think it might be my heart. It also might be my soul. Or it’s the feeling of rightness in my gut, settling in and informing me that my man holds my baby and we’re now a family.

I wait a few minutes until my parents pull out UNO cards and everyone gets really loud before I approach Shark. I standas close to him as I possibly can without rubbing on him. Which means our elbows are touching.

Night’s fallen, but we have an operating streetlight near our house, so I can make out a tall figure dressed in a long black coat standing beside a sleek black car. The man rubs his hands and blows in them, then gets into his car.

“Alessio?” I ask.

Shark nods. “I went on my first annual Thanksgiving vacation before I completed all the items on his list. He got suspicious and tracked me down.”

I chuckle. “He’s welcome inside, you know. I don’t hate him as much as I did when you peeled off in that car under the bridge.”

Shark changes the subject. “I must complete the list. I’ll be leaving tonight, but I’ll be back.”

“I know. How long will you be gone?” I want to converse in more depth, but I’m afraid someone will overhear us as it is, so I remain vague. Shark’s not a big talker anyway, and his answers are generally short.

“Not long,” he says.

“Do you think Denver will recognize you?”

“He might.”

Damn. “What then?”

“I’ll handle Denver.”

I gasp. I don’t like the sound of that.

Shark side-eyes me. “Not like that.” He pauses. “Unless you hire me.”

I bite my lip when he smiles. We’re funny together.

“Is she fed?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“So I can have her for a few more minutes?”

“You can have her for as long as you want, Shark Daddy. She’s yours.”

He grins, but, then his eyes soften when he looks at me. Really looks at me. “How about you, Troy? Are you okay?”

Tears well up in my eyes, and I can’t answer because if I do, I’ll cry. So I nod, wishing I could kiss him, wishing I could touch him, but for now, I’ll take him any way I can get him. We’ll figure out the rest as we flow with the passing time.

I pinch my lips, we hide the truth,

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