Page 10 of Breaking Conviction
Naomi huffed some cleansing air from her chest, feeling lighter with her choice. There was no way to know if Dean going to therapy would work, or whether he would escalate even further. She’d promised herself one more shot at their relationship, but now she was making a different promise entirely, defining her line, and allowing him to even touch her in anger again was too far. If he ever made a fist toward her again, she and T were gone.
And now she had the perfect escape plan.
Chapter Four
“Wes, look at all them toys! Now you can be king and my mommy can be queen and I’ll be Princess T.”
Thea curtseyed her adorable yellow and green dress as she bowed to him, and Wes couldn’t help but smile. Hearing his real name for a change, and in her high-pitched voice no less, felt better than he’d realized it would. It helped that she was so damn charming it was impossible not to fall in love with the kid in two seconds.
“Why thank you, milady.” Wes bowed, keeping his hand on his shiny crown and trying to adopt his most regal voice. It’d been a while since he’d played with his sister’s kids, and he hoped he wasn’t too out of practice.
Thea’s giggle reassured him that whatever he was doing, at least he wasn’t doing it terribly. She kept up her chatter while taking out every single toy from the large store bin, setting them up around a small pink table for sale. As she worked dutifully to make sure her stuffed animal royal subjects were taken care of, Wes tilted his head, trying his hardest to hear what Naomi and Nora were saying.
He ventured a look behind him to see Naomi nod, and for the first time, she had what might’ve been a genuine smile on her face.
“Ugh,” Jules groaned long and low as she walked to the store entrance. “Y’all, I don’t wanna bethatpregnant lady, but my feet are about to revolt. And I hate to say it—”
“Come on… say it,say it, you know you want to.” Nora smiled and steepled her hands like a villain.
“These damn shoes are killin’ me.”
“Yes! Jason owes me five bucks!” Nora shot her fist up in the air and Naomi’s jolt made Wes’s lips tighten. “Jason thought you’d wear those damn stilts up until your due date, but I knew you’d cave. Since I’m your lovely chauffeur, I’ll make a detour on the way to the office so you can change.” Nora grinned while Jules rolled her eyes.
Ever since Jules’s car was blown up last year, she’d refused to drive anywhere. Thankfully, being seven months pregnant, her fiancé had absolutely no problem being glued to her hip and when he couldn’t, Nora, her assistant and best friend, was attached to the other side.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you win. Anyway, I’ll see you in the car.” Jules waved to them as she walked out.
“Sounds good, Babs… oh, Sn-a-ke! We need your help!” His name was drawn out in Nora’s pretty singsong voice, but he cringed anyway as he got up. Hopefully, Princess T kept using his real name instead of hiscoolnickname. His nephew had heard it once and never turned back.
“Come on, Wes, let’s go.” Thea grabbed a pair of too big, green high heel shoes before snatching his hand. His smile returned, thankful she didn’t use his call sign.
Feeling a little ridiculous with the crown on, he removed it from his head and placed it on Thea’s. She beamed up at him and tugged him forward while carrying her loot in her other hand.
When they got closer, he tried to go slowly, unsure how much Naomi could see from her wounds. Her eyes had to be a dime’s width away from being shut altogether, and he didn’t want to frighten heragainby surprising her with his six-foot-two frame.
Thea dropped his hand and collapsed against her mom, wrapping her arms around her jean-clad legs. The hitch in Naomi’s breath told him that his instincts were right. She hadn’t been able to see her daughter flying at her. One hand clutched the back of Thea’s dress, while the other searched for balance.
Wes threw an arm behind her back to catch her. Not knowing the extent of her injuries under her bulky sweater, he was careful not to squeeze her too tightly. He tensed against the wild impulse to pull her into an embrace and instead turned to Thea to give her a stern, but gentle, look.
“Careful, Princess.”
Thea’s pale cheeks blushed bright red as she toed the ground with a worried frown. “Sorry, Mommy. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, baby. It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Naomi shrugged out of his hold and if he was reading her swollen face correctly, she was trying to scowl at him.
Yeesh. Don’t scold the kid. Got it.
“Sorry, just trying to help,” he mumbled and wasn’t sure she heard him. Her stiffening body language could easily have been from pain or from being pissed off.
“Snake,” Nora interrupted, using herup-to-somethingvoice. He didn’t like that shit one bit. “Our dear Naomi needs you to drive her home.”
Wes’s and Naomi’s exclamation erupted simultaneously. “What?”
He stepped back to take both women in. “Is this something that Naomi wants?” he asked, only to have the woman in questiondefinitelyscowl at him.
“No,Naomidoes not want that.” She turned her distorted glare on Nora. “Nora—wait, what’re you doing?”
Nora held a brochure about a foot away from Naomi’s face. “If you can read this, babe, I’ll drop it and let you go on your merry way.”
