Page 57 of Scarlet Sins

I hand Sasha his milkshake after we arrive at the park, my men already there.

Personally, I really don’t need to travel with an entourage, but when it’s my son, and with everything going on, my senses still fucking tingling like there’s trouble on the horizon, I do.

When I get the clear text, I open the back door. “We’re here.”

His eyes widen, and he bounces in his seat as I go to release him. “Daddy? My new park?”

“Yeah.” I’m not debating ownership with a two-year-old.

The moment he’s down he spies the kid slide and takes off at a run for it, fast as his chubby little legs will take him. I follow along, my strides eating up the space so he’s not outside of reaching distance.

This park is big, about three times bigger than the one Erin takes him to. And it has a lot more things to climb and explore and Sasha throws himself into it all, slide first.

“Look at me!” His cry lifts my heart and I grin and clap, cheering him on. “Catch me, Daddy!”

I oblige, scooting in and nabbing him as he heads down, feet first, screaming the entire way.

“More!”

He goes down the slide a few more times, and then we hitthe swings. There’s a big kid slide that both entices him and scares his pants off, so I go down with him, managing to squeeze myself onto it.

And together we play. There’s a lot to do. He chases me, and I chase him, windmill him when I catch him, and then I hold him so he can pretend to be one of the bigger kids and attack the jungle gym.

There’s even a small maze and Sasha giggles as I chase him through it, letting him stay just out of reach. And honestly, this is the most fun I’ve had in ages, maybe since I can remember. That innocent fun of childhood that somehow slipped me by.

But it’s something I’m determined to give my boy.

I scoop him up and he screams and giggles. “Put me down, Dino!”

“Never. I’m gonna eat you.”

“No!!!”

And I blow raspberries on his tummy as he wiggles and giggles to get free.

We’ve been there about an hour when I realize we have to go and I tell Sasha.

He stamps his foot, crosses his arms, frowns and demands, “More! More!”

Sasha’s so fucking cute and his little pout that adorable that I cave. “One more slide, okay?”

“More.”

“We’ll come back next week,” I say. “Make it our ritual.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Next week. And maybe we can go see Uncle Ilya today.”

His face brightens. “Chocklit?”

“Okay.” I bend down. “But don’t tell your mama.”

He throws his arms around me and I scoop him up and take him back to the car, securing him into his child seat.

Luckily, he falls asleep as I drive to where the doctor’soffice is. I park a few doors down over on the other side of the street.

I’m early, but so are they. Trouble is, I can’t tell a fucking thing about the visit other than they head toward the clinic with determination. I glance in the rearview mirror. Sasha’s sound asleep, his goat with him, and he looks so adorable that if I was a different man, I’d cry.

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