Page 156 of Mended Hearts

“We do not have to go to Jameson’s wedding,” she announced, brushing her nose over mine before straightening to look me in the eye.

“What?”

“We need to focus on fending offCruella, not taking another family trip to Florida.”

I smiled softly, affection blooming in my chest as I tucked a curl behind her ear. “I promised to be your plus one.”

“It’s not important right now.” She shook her head, those blue-gray eyes torn. “Jameson will understand. Our babies.That’s all that matters.”

Ourbabies. Goddamn, I loved this woman. Her words wrapped around me so completely, I nearly missed the shift in her tone.

“Speaking of which…”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

She blinked, irritation pinching between her brows—an expression I always wanted to smooth away with my thumb. “How did she know about the baby, Ollie?”

“What?” I snapped, sitting up, only for her to press a calming hand to my chest, guiding me gently back down.

“When Jax was escorting her out, she said something—at first I thought she was just being a bitch, implying I was following in her footsteps—but then she said you’d be done with me by the time the baby was off my tit.”

Rage reignited like dry brush in my chest. My fingers tightened reflexively on her hips and belly.

“Leighton, don’t believe a fucking word she says.”

“I don’t.” She brushed her lips over mine, nuzzling my nose. “But we haven’t told the kids or anything, right?”

“I’ve said nothing,” I promised.

“Well… we’re going to have to now.Everybodyheard her. Pretty sure Beau heard her, although Alice had him in hand by then.”

“I’msosorry,” I breathed, eyes closing. “That had to be so uncomfortable.”

“It wasn’t my favorite,” she muttered with a grimace. Then, sighing, “But I still don’t understand how she found out. My family wouldn’t say shit. Neither would Grey or Alice.”

“I’ll look into it,” I promised, dragging soothing circles over her back. Realistically, Greyson’s people would handle it better than I ever could, and they’d find the leak. “Everyone signs NDAs. When we find them, I’ll ruin them.”

She nodded slowly, clearly weighing her thoughts as she slunk inward. I palmed the side of her neck, grounding her, thumb tracing her rapid pulse.

“Together, right, baby? We do this as a team.”

Another nod, this one a little steadier. She exhaled and whispered, “Yeah.”

“Good.”

“Good. Now. About the wedding?—”

“We’re not missing your brother’s big day.”

Her scowl reappeared. “Making sure the kids stay where they belong—that that raging cuntosaurus can’t sink her claws in and fuck them up more than she already has—that’s all I care about.”

Chuckling, I ran my hands along her sides. “There’s not really anything we can do here that we can’t do from Tampa right now. She delivered hercustodydemands at our daughter’s birthday party—I don’t think the court is going to love that. Besides, Greyson had our legal team on the phone before I even got the kids buckled in.”

She muttered, “Gotta love the grump.”

“He has his moments.”

“I still can’tbelieveher.She’s such a bitch.”

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