Page 11 of Legally Binding
“But I want to make sure he’s settled in first.” She looks torn at the decision, but I don’t want her to feel forced.
“My driver can take you wherever you want to go. So how about we go back to my place, you make sure our little guy is settled in, and then he can take you home. I’ll introduce you to the doorman in my building so you can come by whenever you want to spend time with the kitten.”
“This is all really generous of you.” To my horror, she somehow looks sadder as tears form in her eyes and then fall down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“Shhh, come here.” I wrap my arms around her, and she leans into me as I pull her onto my lap. When she’s settled against my chest, I kiss her forehead and wipe away the tears. “It’s been a big day.” She nods against me, and I rest my cheek on the top of her head. “I’ve got you, baby girl. I’ll take care of everything and make it all better.”
Reaching into the carrier, I pick up our sleeping baby and place him in her lap. She cradles him gently and then sighs deeply like she’s releasing the weight of the world from her shoulders. The sound of the rain drowns out the city traffic while I rub my hand up and down her back. A moment later I feel her even breathing against me, and I peek down to see she’s fallen asleep.
The thought of her worrying herself into this state because of Bob Wilson makes me so fucking angry at him. She’s suffered endless amounts of stress while not being able to afford something as small as a can of cat food. I bet if I dug deeper I would find out she can’t afford to feed herself either. I’m going to have to do something about that.
While Piper sleeps against me, I take out my phone and send a few texts. The first ones are to Judith telling her to draft up a contract for our kitten and to make a deposit into Piper’s bank account. It should be on file from Bob’s accounting firm when they paid her for dog walking. Once I get confirmation from Judith, I text my Uncle Dino.
Me: Piper Emily Gray.
Uncle Dino: The usual?
Me: This one is special.
Uncle Dino: Wait a second… has my boy found himself a lady?
Me: Calm down.
Uncle Dino: This calls for a celebration.
Me: You’ll scare her off. Get me what I need first.
Uncle Dino: Consider it done.
I’m about to put my phone back in my pocket when it vibrates again.
Uncle Dino: I’m happy for you, kid. It’s about damn time.
I’m grinning to myself as I hold Piper a little closer and hope that my uncle is right. I may have grown up around criminals, but I think that makes me the best judge of character. I could tell from the moment I looked at Piper that her soul was pure. Now I can only hope that there’s enough light in her to drown out my darkness.
Chapter Seven
PIPER
I let out a small sigh as I roll over, but I’m stopped by a firm grip on my hip. My eyes fly open, and the first thing I see is something burning.
“Fire!” I call out in panic as I jolt awake. That same hand saves me again when I look down and see I was close to tumbling right off the couch.
“You’re okay, Piper.” Landon’s voice is gentle and reassuring while I blink and my mind plays catch-up. “And there is a fire, but it’s safely in the fireplace.”
Right, so there’s no fire, but I’m on a man’s couch with no recollection of how I got here. The last thing I remember is being in his car.
“Where am I?” The question is silly because I know where I am, but my groggy mind is clearing slowly. It feels like I was sleeping hard, so I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, praying that I wasn’t drooling.
“Home,” Landon answers while I sit up.
This is definitely not my home, nor could it ever be. I can’t fathom the idea of having something so nice.
“Oh, you mean your home. Gotcha.” A fluffy blanket is covering my legs, and I pull it closer.
“You okay?” Landon’s brows are pulled together, the concern for me etched in the lines of his handsome face. “You were out cold. Do you always sleep that deep?”
"No, I never sleep deeply." Landon places the back of his hand to my forehead. "I'm okay," I tell him. "I think I must have been exhausted. I promise I'm not sick."
