Page 26 of Dangerous Love

“Because you deserved a new beginning, away from this mess, Sienna. Away from the hell my father caused you. I couldn’t do that to you.” His voice cracked as he added, “I still can’t. You deserve so much more.”

I leaned forward and put my arms around him. “It’s beautiful. I love it.”

He cleared his throat as his arms tightened around me. Then, like his brain ticked over, he tilted his head my way, his eyes narrowed and his lips curling slightly. “Hang on,” he called out. “How’d you know what I posted on my social media months ago?”

Oh god…My cheeks felt warm as I stumbled over my words. “Huh, I might have checked once or twice.”Or a thousand times. Who’s counting?

He chuckled. “I’m happy I got to sing it to you.”

Behind us, a bunch of little pitter-patters echoed in the hallway until their cute giggling shook the walls of Riley’s office. Like two mini tornados, Lizzie and Scott toddled in, followed by their mother. Based on the locks stuck to her forehead, these kids were giving April a run for her money. “Sienna! It’s so good to see you here.” She dashed towards me and gave me a quick hug.

The five-year-old little girl rushed to my side, and when she lifted her palm in the air, I high-fived her. “How’s the best big sister in the world?” I winked in her direction.

Hands on her hips, she stared at the toddler climbing all over the furniture and groaned, “Scotty is sooo annoying. He keeps stealing all my toys.”

“Hmm. I see.” I smirked at Riley before answering his adopted sister. “Boys can be very annoying. They’re also stubborn and smelly!”

She exploded into laughter before she ran off and grabbed a puzzle box stashed in the corner. Next to her, Scotty frowned, tossing a soft toy her way.

“Can I dump them with you for forty-five minutes?” April asked Riley. Cheeks flushed, she didn’t wait for him to answer before she dropped a nappy bag by his desk. “Forty-five minutes. Not one more.”

Riley saluted her. Then he turned towards me and said, “See? Told ya. The office is just for show.”

April chuckled in the background. “I’ll make it up to you. You’re the best.” She closed the door behind her, leaving Riley and me in charge of her two little monsters.

My mouth opened, uncertainty teasing me. Not that I hadn’t babysat before, but this was new territory. “What are we supposed to do with them?”

The kids’ screams filled the room, and when Scotty hurled a book across the office, missing his sister by a hair, Riley rushed to their side and knelt on the floor. Scotty instantly settled on Riley’s lap, his thumb drifting into his mouth. “Good boy. We don’t want to hurt our sister.” He pulled blond locks away from the toddler’s eyes. “Say sorry to Lizzie, buddy.”

The little boy rubbed his chubby belly in large circles, crocodile tears welling in his eyes. “Lizzie hurt me first.”

“No, I didn’t,” she yelled at him.

Mirroring Riley, I knelt on the floor and motioned for Lizzie to sit next to me. “Why don’t we make something, guys?”

Riley’s face softened, his eyes studying me. He gave me a tender smile as he pulled another box from under the coffee table. Wooden blocks of every size landed on the floor, and both kids settled instantly. “All right, so boys against girls.” Riley split the blocks into two piles and pushed one lot near Lizzie and me. He turned his face towards his new partner in crime. “You reckon we can make the best building, little man?”

The kid nodded and giggled as he attempted to pile blocks into towers. Lizzie shuffled back, grabbing ours. “Don’t trust them, Na. They always cheat.”

I nodded, a competitive alliance shared between her and me, as we all began to build our novelties. The boys laughed, Riley’s connection to them enticing. He looked so youthful. I was babysitting, but Riley was genuinely having fun. And without any effort, he shifted the dynamic between the siblings into something out of a movie. While watching them interact together, my heart burst in my chest as I wondered what kind of father Riley would be.

A bloody good one.My ovaries crooned as I pictured him holding his own child, a look of mesmerized love lining his beautiful face. When he noticed me staring at him, he paused, an innocent expression lightening his features. “What?” he chuckled. “Too immature?”

I licked my bottom lip as I cursed my biological instinct, now drawing me to him like an oversized magnet. Lost for words, I shook my head and passed him one of my blocks, our fingers touching in the process. An electrical current zapped me, and based on how his smile faltered, he felt it too.

The vein at the base of his neck pulsed harder. “Don’t distract me,” he murmured. Then he laid the block on top of the other ones and made sure their makeshift house was somewhat steady.

“We win,” Scotty yelled. The toddler jumped to his feet and ran around the room as he clapped.

“Here we go.” Lizzie rolled her eyes and pushed her fingers into her ears. “They didn’t even win. Ours is prettier.”

I patted her head, smoothing her hair back. Then, I placed my index finger on my mouth and whispered, “We definitely won.”

Riley’s eyes crinkled and he shook his head, laughing. “Jesus, what am I gonna do with you both.”

A clunking noise drew us out of the moment. We turned around, and as soon as Riley computed that it was his guitar Scotty was dragging around, he was on his feet and had rescued the instrument from the toddler’s hand in less than a second.

“No way, mate.” He plucked the child from the floor and settled him on his hip. “That’s mine.” His guitar safely tucked under his arm, Riley straightened as he stepped towards us. Then, with his brother in tow, he fell back on a tub chair, Scotty leaning into him, a thumb in the small boy’s mouth.

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