Page 43 of Cold

We stayed cuddled together until there was a knock at the door. Sighing, I sat up and frowned. “Why couldn’t we have stayed like that for the rest of the day?” I stared at the door and tugged at my bottom lip relentlessly. “He saw me with that pacifier the other day…” I trailed off.

“Yes, and he asked me about it. But he wasn’t mean, Ro. Trust me, he was curious and then he was fine.”

I gazed at him. “Promise?”

“I promise, baby.”

His soft words made me melt. Baby. It was such a simple term of endearment and yet I wanted to hear it repeatedly. I was someone’s baby!

I stood up and followed behind Vito to the door. When it opened, I peeked out. Six and Amadeo walked through and I stiffened a bit. I kept my eyes on Six’s every move and tried to hold back the glare. I promised I would try for Vito.

“How are you today, Romare?” Amadeo asked.

“Better.”

I’d had more than enough time to recuperate over the past few days. Vito had made sure I was looked after and cared for. And I felt normal now. Or close to whatever normal was.

“Hey,” Six said.

I nodded at him.

Six grinned. “You’re still irritated with me, huh? I’m going to fix that right now.” He held out a bag. “ Ta-fucking-da! I hope you like it.”

I stared at him wearily before I finally plucked the bag out of his hand. We all moved to the living room, but Vito and Amadeo left us to go get coffee. Left with only the two of us, I sat on the couch and Six stood nearby shifting from one foot to the other.

Why’s he so nervous?

I opened the bag he’d given me and stopped. Inside there was a new set of pacifiers with different kittens on them. There was a coloring book and crayons too, this one with animals in it. I ran my fingers over the cover before I looked up at him.

“This stuff is for me?”

Six nodded. “Yeah, once I figured out you liked this stuff, I did a little shopping.” He sat down on the coffee table. “So, let’s start over. Okay? I know you’re possessive about Vito now.” He chuckled and shook his head when I tried to protest. “It’s fine. I’m that way with Amadeo too. When you love someone you can’t help but go a little crazy.”

I blinked at Six. “Love?”

“Yeah, you…don’t have a thing for Vito?”

My face burst into flames. Was I that obvious? I didn’t know if what I felt was love or not. The last time I’d had a boyfriend I was fifteen and that didn’t feel like love. I had no reference. But I did want Vito to keep being my Daddy.

“Don’t worry about it,” Six said. “You’ll have time to figure that stuff out later.” He held out a hand. “So are we out of stabbing me in the face stage?”

I let out a laugh and bit my lip. “Yes.” I shook his hand and Six’s smile made me feel warm and fuzzy. “We can start over. Thank you for buying this. You don’t think I’m weird for it?”

“Nah,” Six shook his head. “We all have our weird shit. Amadeo likes to-”

“I advise you to keep your mouth shut,” Amadeo called from the kitchen.

Six clicked his tongue. “That man has super hearing.”

I grinned. “Sooo he’s your Daddy?”

“Yep, he is.” Six grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV.

“What’s it like?” I asked.

Six thought it over. “Well I didn’t like it at first, but now? It’s different. Ama takes care of me and has my back. And I take care of him.” He smiled. “I love it.”

My heart raced as I thought about Vito. That was exactly what I wanted from him. He could be a Daddy that would love and care for me. And I would protect him too. No one would ever hurt him with me around.

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