Page 66 of Healed Hearts

Is it appropriate for a six-foot-five-inch tall man to giggle and kick his feet? Because every time he tells me he loves me, that’s exactly what I have to resist the urge to do. I rub a hand down my face, trying to wipe the goofy grin there away. Have I mentioned how ridiculous I am? I shake my head at myself and go back to Ruby.

Me

He said yes. We’ll be there around 8. :)

Ruby

Great! We’ll see you then!

I glance at the clock. Only two hours to go. Surely I can make it for two hours.

I’m finishing up packing Wren’s toys she wants to bring with her when I hear Holden’s car pulling into the driveway. I can’t help the smile that knowing he’s here brings. Hopefully I can convince him to stay with me tonight since he didn’t last night, and Wren won’t be here.

I turn to Wren. “Holden’s here.”

Her eyes widen, and she jumps up, taking off through her bedroom door.

I pause, listening for him to come in. The door opens, and then she’s screaming his name. “Oh my. There’s my pretty girl. What a nice thing to come home to. Come here.”

My heart melts. Honestly, all of me does. I’m surprised I’m not a boneless pile of goo on the floor. Is there anything better as a parent than someone loving your child?

“Where’s Daddy?” he asks her.

“In my room,” she giggles. “I’m staying with Mamaw.”

“Oh, you are?” Holden asks, excitement for her clear in his voice as I hear them walking toward her room.

“Yep. Wanna see Unka Ro too.”

Holden chuckles. “I love you, kid. You’re too much.”

Fuck.

They step into the room, and Holden’s eyes seek mine out. When they connect, he gives me a breathtaking smile. I feel my lips tilting up, but I can’t speak or do anything because he looks so fucking stunning. It’s like my brain goes blank for a second.

“You know, I’m surprised that Uncle Ro and Uncle Beck haven’t tried to kidnap her yet.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “Would they really do that?”

“Um, yes. Those two are menaces. Beck pouted all night because he hadn’t seen her in two days. Ridiculous.”

That’s insane to me. They don’t even know me. I really don’t understand how they’re so accepting.

“What are Beck’s parents like?” I find myself asking as Holden sits down cross-legged in front of me with Wren on his lap.

“Amazing. His dad’s a cop. Chief of police now. And obviously, his mom is a nurse. When Ro was eighteen and he and Beck were together, they saved him. Beck did too, of course. But so did his parents. His parents have basically adopted me as well.”

“Roman has bad parents?” I ask softly.

He sighs. “The worst. His dad abused him. Pretty severely. Did you notice the scar above his eye?”

I nod because yeah, I had. He genuinely has supermodel good looks. I wouldn’t say the scar detracts from that, but it definitely seems out of place.

“That was from his dad. He broke his orbital bone. It’s not exactly kid friendly,” he says, nodding to Wren, who’s quietly playing with her blocks in his lap. “But I can tell you more later.”

“He won’t mind?” I don’t want Holden to tell me anything that Roman wouldn’t want me to know. I want the two of them to like me. I want to feel like I actually fit into their little mismatched group.

Holden shakes his head. “No, he won’t mind. Honestly, he’d tell you himself if you asked him. He actually gives talks about what he went through at schools. He used to work for a non-profit that helps kids like him and me before we came here, but he started his own with his dad’s life insurance money.”

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