Page 53 of My Ex's Brothers

“Why am I not surprised?” she says, shaking her head. My gaze dips to her mouth.

She has the most beautiful smile.

That’s the moment Lyla decides to make her presence known, belting out a scream.

We both turn, nearly colliding with one another as we go toward her.

“Sorry, I?—”

“It’s okay, I got her,” I tell her, making my move.

“Dane…”

My arms are around Lyla within seconds. She cries, her little face getting all pink and twisted.

“Tell me all about it, sweetheart,” I say softly as she balls her fist, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Amelia reaches out for her, but I hold her a little tighter. I run my hand up and down her small back, furrowing my eyebrows.

“You don’t have to…” she starts.

Suddenly, I am acutely aware of how close she is. Instinctively, I push some loose strands of hair behind her ear, capturing her gaze.

“I told you Iwantto, Amelia. Is that really so hard to believe?”

My voice drops, and I can see her eyes glistening. She settles her hand over mine, where I hold Lyla against my chest. Her tiny head falls onto my shoulder, her tears seeping into my shirt, but she’s quieting down. Fighting, but relenting all the same.

With my free hand I pull Amelia closer and watch as she gazes up at her daughter, then at me. The tears in her eyes are full of pain, full of sorrow.

But there’s also a wistful sort of hope too.

The words I really long to say get stuck in my throat.

Is it so hard to believe that I want you? That I want to give you everything he couldn’t?

Amelia licks her lips, her eyelashes fluttering against her glistening eyes as she sucks in a deep breath, and I lean in closer to her. Lyla fists my shirt in her hand as I sway us all back and forth. Amelia moves with me, in perfect tandem, and I think…

This is how it always should have been.

And for a fraction of a moment, she closes her eyes and leansin.

I only break away because of the obvious, loud sound coming from the tiny human on my chest, followed by the absoluteworstsmell I have ever smelled in my life.

I wrinkle my nose as Amelia grabs her from me.

“My turn,” she says, her voice tinged with humor but also strained. I don’t fight her, knowing as much as I do want to help, I have to remember that Lyla isnotmy kid.

I’m just her uncle who happens to be head over heels in love with her mother.

I’m just a guest in her life right now. A guest who wants nothing more than to make sure she has the world she deserves…

“Yeah, of course,” I say, the moment dissolved into thin air. “Take your time, and then we’ll head out.”

The moment she disappears around the corner, I let out a deep sigh.

If I can barely keep my hands to myself with her here, how the hall am I going to do so when she’s right down the fucking hall?

15

---