Page 77 of The Light to My Darkness (The Light to My Darkness 1)

"And we need Uncle Matt to sleep with us," she said before I could respond.

Matt laughed.

"We don't need anyone else, Scar. I told you I'd take care of you."

"Yes we do!" she yelled. "Because the snake is going to get you and you can't stop it. And then I'll be alone. We need Uncle Matt. We'll sleep in his room tonight." Scarlett pointed to his door.

"Actually, kiddo, you can't go in there right this second." He awkwardly ran his hand through his hair.

Not only had we most likely awakened half the floor, we had interrupted Matt in the middle of whatever normal single people did at weddings. Which was clearly sex. There was no doubt in my mind that he had a naked woman lying on his bed, waiting for him to return.

"Come on, Scar. We're going back to our room. I'm so sorry, Matt."

She gripped Matt even tighter and turned to face him. "But the snake is going to kill my mommy."

My chest hurt. And I thought someone had kidnapped my daughter. And I missed James. And I was seven months pregnant with a son who wouldn't stop kicking me. And I didn't want to die. God, I didn't want to even think about death. It was like her words had pushed me over the tipping point. I couldn't even help it. I burst into tears.

"Mommy?" Scarlett said.

I turned away. "Can you just...can you hold her for a second, Matt?" I tried to wipe away my tears as fast as possible. I tried so hard to be strong in front of Scarlett. I never, ever wanted her to see me cry. And I had just ruined everything. Now she'd know that I wasn't invincible. But clearly she already knew that if she thought a snake would be the end of me. Fuck, stop crying.

"Mommy?" she said again.

I tried to take a deep breath. Ow.

"Let's get you girls back to your room," Matt said and put his hand in mine.

I should have pulled my hand out of his. I should have been able to tell Scarlett no and get her back into our room on my own. But my chest still hurt. My stomach still hurt. Everything just h

urt. And Matt's hand was comforting. The fact that Scarlett was comforted by him was also a huge plus.

"But you'll stay the night?" Scarlett asked as he walked us down the hall.

"Yeah, sure," he said.

I knew he just said it to calm her down. But the thought of Matt coming into my room in nothing but boxers made me cringe. James was jealous enough as it was. This wasn't going to help. I wiped away the remaining tears on my cheeks. "I can take her now," I said when we reached our door.

"No!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "I want Uncle Matt."

She was a little terror. When had she become impossible for me to handle alone? I guess daddy's girls wreaked havoc whenever their fathers weren't around.

"It's fine," Matt said. "Key?" He nodded to the door.

Shit. I hadn't grabbed the key when I had run out looking for her. I reached out and turned the handle, but it was locked. "It's in the room." I leaned my back against the door. Why me?

"You're going to sit with your Mom while I go get another room key, okay, Scar?" he said.

"No," she replied and hugged him even tighter.

He gave me a tight-lipped smile.

"I'll go get it," I said.

"No you're..." his voice trailed off. "You're only wearing a shirt."

I completely forgot that I was inappropriately dressed. Normally James' t-shirts covered me pretty well, but with my pregnant stomach they barely covered my panties. I awkwardly tugged on the hem of the shirt. "But you're just wearing boxers."

He laughed. "It won't be my first time making a scene in a hotel lobby." He adjusted Scarlett on his hip. "We'll be right back." He winked at me and made his way to the elevator.

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