Page 12 of Breaking Conviction
Naomi took off her boots and stuffed them in the remnants of the paper bag before stepping into her new green heels. She twisted her feet to look at them. “Shoot, these actually fit pretty good.”
“Don’t forget!” Thea stretched on her toes and Naomi bent low so that Thea could place the rose gold crown with green gems on top of her mother’s dark auburn hair. She clapped her hands against her cheeks before exclaiming what was obviously something she’d picked up. “Gorgeous!”
God, this kid is adorable.
Naomi held the crown to keep it from falling and her bruised lips lifted in a small smile. “I love it, Thea. Thank you, baby.”
That pleased Thea to no end and she giggled before looking at Wes. “See, Wes? I toldya Mommy would look even more beautifuler.”
“You’re right Princess T, the queen is more beautifuler than I could’ve imagined.”
Chapter Five
He felt Naomi’s eyes appraise him, but he refused to look at her. She’d already gotten mad enough at him during the short time they were together and he still had to drive them home.
“Alright, kid, let’s move out. Nora, can you just shove that box of electronics in the office?”
“Got ya covered.” Nora waved them away with her eyes on her phone. “Hawk said he just finished a client meeting so he’ll be able to pick you up. Just shoot him the addy.”
Wes nodded and began to walk out the front door until a small hand slid into his. He schooled his face so Thea couldn’t see his surprise at her sudden show of trust. When he looked down though, he noticed that Thea had her mom’s hand in her other, and damn, did that jump-start his heart for some reason.
He cleared his throat and led the way around the building, where he assumed the gray Nissan Murano was Naomi’s vehicle. When they got to the car, Naomi fiddled around in her purse and gave him the keys. Before she could stop him, he opened the door for Thea and helped buckle her into her car seat. When he held the door open for her, he tried not to laugh at her jaw, literally hanging open.
When he got in the driver’s side, Naomi was still staring at him through her narrowed eyes. He started the car and raised his eyebrows.
“Where to, queen?”
“Don’t call me that.” Her rasp came out forcefully before giving him the address, and he imagined there’d be a bite to it if she had her full voice.
He texted the address to Hawk before plugging the route into his phone GPS. After lodging it into the phone holder, he headed to the growing part of town where neighborhoods were being built on top of each other. He got lost in thought, trying to block out Thea’s fucking shark song that his niece and nephew couldn’t get enough of. At least this one sounded like it had a cool remix in it.
“You got a kid?”
Her words startled him, and he frowned before taking a turn. “Uh, no. Can’t say I’ve had the honor yet.”
“Really? You’re good with them. At least Thea. She isn’t usually so... free.”
Wes propped his elbow on the door window and scrubbed his shaven chin with his hand, trying to think of what to say. Her leg bounced in the seat next to him as she fiddled with the strap of her purse lying in her lap.
“My sister’s got two—a boy and a girl—and they’re the coolest kids I’ve ever met.” He turned around briefly to wink at Thea. “But Princess T is right up there.”
Thea grinned around a sour apple sucker that must’ve been in the back seat. Her dimple winked back at him before she retrieved an iPad from the hanging car seat organizer in front of her.
They were silent again and Wes bit his tongue to keep from asking Naomi the question he’d been begging to know the answer to for years. He tasted copper before finally giving in.
“Why don’t you leave?” It came out in a hushed whisper, but her fidgeting stilled and at the way she tensed up, he knew he should’ve kept his goddamn mouth shut.
But hell, he’d never understood why women in her situation didn’t see what everyone else could. He’d met her less than an hour ago and already he could tell she was smart, protective, and fuck, he felt like a skeeze to admit it, but he’d noticed her curves more than once. Why the fuck did she stay with someone who treated her like anything less than the queen she was?
He’d asked that question plenty of times before, with another woman in what felt like another life, and he’d never been satisfied with the answer.
“I don’t see how any of that is your business,Snake.”
The way she hissed his nickname made him bristle. He’d never been a fan of his call sign, but he especially didn’t like it when she said it likethat.
“It’s Wes,” he gritted out, before relaxing his jaw. “Please… call me Wes.”
She was refusing to look at him again, and he noticed her hand scrunching up the bottom of her thick sweatshirt.
