Page 81 of Broken King

And to think my entire family just thinks I’m a jaded misanthrope. Well, maybe I’m jaded, but I love my family.

Matthias swims up to the side of the pool and lifts himself out. Grabbing a towel to dry off, he looks around and asks, “Where’s Sabrina? I thought she was watching Matty.”

“Change of plans. She had to run inside, so I’m in charge of my nephew. I’m telling him all the things he needs to do to have a good time without you guys being any the wiser.”

My older brother looks nervous for a moment before he realizes I’m joking. “Well, thanks. You don’t mind?”

I shake my head and look down at Matty who’s wide awake now. “Not at all. He’s family, and you know how I feel about that.”

Matthias nods. “If you want to swim, I can come out and hang with him.”

“Nah. I’m good. I accomplished what I wanted to do out here, so now I’m just hanging with your little guy. Enjoy yourself, Matthias. You deserve it. We’ll be fine out here.”

He jumps back into the pool, and I smile down at the baby. “We’re just two guys hanging together, right, little guy?”

Matty kicks his legs excitedly, so I tickle his belly again before checking the time on my watch. “I need to make a call, buddy, but no worries. I’ve got my eyes on you, so you’re safe.”

Taking my phone out, I press four and the number comes up on the screen. No name since I’m not interested in having people know my business.

“Hey, you!” she says in a playful way. “Right on time.”

“Always.”

“Are you still at the estate?” she asks.

“Yeah. I’ve done what I needed to do, so I’ll probably be leaving soon.”

“When are we meeting?” she asks, and I hear the impatience in her voice.

I’ve been consumed with watching out for Ronan lately, so we haven’t seen each other much in the past couple weeks. Sincethings are better for him now that he and Kate are together, I can devote one hundred percent of my attention to her, just like she deserves.

I look down at Matty and smile. “How does seven sound?”

“Make it eight and you have a deal.”

“Deal. Are we staying in tonight?” I tease, knowing we can’t go out on the town. Not yet.

“Of course. It’s not like we can go around letting everyone see us. How would we explain it?”

I laugh at the way she says that. “Indeed. I’ve never liked explaining myself when it comes to this kind of thing. Everyone can find out when we decide they can.”

“So eight o’clock?”

“I might be a little late,” I say, looking toward the pool as Ava hands little Theo up to Matthias on the deck.

“I’m tired of waiting. Shame on you for making me wait this long.”

“Mmm…I do love a woman who knows what she wants.”

“Eight o’clock, Marius. Don’t be late. Bring something good to drink for after. We’ll order dinner in.”

“Eight o’clock, Duck. You should wear the little black dress you wore to that party last year. I love you in that.”

She laughs at my demand. “I don’t plan to be wearing clothes for very long.”

“Fair enough, but I’ll enjoy seeing you in it for the thirty seconds before I rip it off you.”

“I love that dress, so don’t you dare rip it. Just for that, maybe I’ll wear shorts and a t-shirt,” she scolds.

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