Page 43 of Broken Prince

“Lovely.”

I snorted. “Indeed. Anyway, it’s always him and me for birthdays and since I can only see him on Thursday afternoons, we’re doing it today.”

He nodded. “Fine, we’ll do something on Sunday then. You, me, and…Dom.”

My chest warmed at the attention. This man was supposed to be a scary beast and yet he was showing so much more attention than my parents ever showed me.

“Luca, no. You don’t have to.”

“I know I don’t. I want to. Come on, we all need a little celebration. Sunday—it’s a promise.”

I smiled and gave him a nod. I remembered what he said—he didn't make promises lightly and somehow I was excited for my birthday for the first time in a very long time.

“Oh, I left some new books for your brother on the console by the door. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Of course. Thank you again.”

I watched him walk out of the room and I left my eyes trail down his butt. I may have been innocent but I was not a saint, and this man’s ass in tight jeans was a work of art.

* * *

I frowned when I parked in front of the foster care home and found Jude and Amy waiting in front of the door.

Jude was wearing his jacket, grinning from ear to ear and bouncing on his feet with excitement.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, getting out of the car, my heart already speeding up.

“Cassie!” he shouted, running toward me and throwing himself at me, making me huff as all the air exited my lungs. “We can go out!”

I hugged him back and threw a questioning look toward Amy. I hoped he hadn’t misunderstood; it would break both of our hearts.

She smiled at me and nodded. “Yes, you can take him out this afternoon. Just bring him back by five,” she said, approaching us.

“How?” I shook my head. “You know what, never mind how. I get to take him out.”

Jude let go of me and turned to Amy. “Thank you.”

She winked at him before looking at me again.

“Does it mean that all this mess is behind us?” I meant the FBI interest in me, but I didn't want to worry Jude any more than he already was.

She shrugged. “Not completely. It’s on its way but the bureaucracy is never-ending. But my boss said a Federal Judge Martin had cleared it with the district.” She shrugged. “Unsure what happened here but just enjoy it—no more supervised visits.”

I looked up to the sky and blinked back my tears as my heart swelled with gratitude for the broken, scarred man I was sure was the source of this small miracle.

“I’ll bring him back at five.” I looked at Jude. “So what do you want to do?”

He shrugged. “Anything, I don’t care.”

“Okay.” I opened the back door of the car and waited for him to fasten his seat belt.

I sat in the driver's seat and met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “What do you say I take you to the bookstore and you can pick some books, and then we can go have a hot chocolate and a muffin from Starbucks?”

“Can we go to the comic book store instead? I love the books your boss is giving me.”

“You do?” I asked, turning around on my seat and looking at the small pile of books I'd set on the seat beside him.

He nodded, running his fingers on the burgundy leather cover of the book on top. “Yes, you will need to pick up the other ones when you drive me back.”

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