Page 45 of Secret Babies For My Brother's Best Friend

“Are you okay?” Scarlett asked, her smile faltering.

I plastered a wide grin on my face to try and cover my misstep. “I was going to say… I don’t come from a violent family.”

She nodded with a little laugh and dipped her head. I took the opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief that she bought my lie and then got busy whipping up the best risotto I’d ever made. I poured the words I didn’t say into every ingredient and blended it all together, trying not to think about the new complication my growing feelings added to our already impossible situation.

“You’re a great dad, you know that?” Scarlett said suddenly.

I looked up at her with a slight frown as I uncorked the white wine. “Uh… Where did that come from?”

She shrugged. “Watching you like this reminded me of Leo and how great he is in the kitchen. I know that’s because of you. And he’s just generally a great kid, Luca. You don’t get that too often when the mom isn’t arou—”

She cut herself off, her eyes widening at the realization that she might have crossed a line.

“It’s okay,” I gently reassured her. “I don’t mind. Leo’s mother was… She would’ve loved to see him in that kitchen last night.”

A few moments of contemplative silence passed, and then Scarlett asked the question I knew was burning inside her.

“What happened?”

I took the saucepan from the heat and set two plates on the table. “Car accident,” I replied simply. “She was working in Paris, Leo and I were here. It was two weeks after his first birthday.”

Scarlett’s eyes brimmed with sadness. “That’s so tragic. I’m sorry.”

“She was the first woman I ever loved.” I shared the risotto between our plates, careful to keep the emotion in my voice from reaching an uncomfortable level. “I was sure she’d be the last.”

Our eyes met, and although nothing else was said, an understanding passed between us—the unspoken declaration. Scarlett’s cheeks flushed, and she dropped her gaze, pulling her plate closer.

“It looks amazing, thank you.” Her voice was soft, almost timid.

She had to have felt it. She must have known what it was I didn’t say before. And judging by her reaction, I was willing to bet my entire fortune that she felt the same. But I didn’t have the courage to ask, to make sure that I was right.

Mostly because I was afraid to be proven wrong.

Chapter 18

Scarlett

“Hey,Scarlett!”Ashcameup behind me in the staff kitchen, and I practically jumped out of my skin, almost spilling the piping hot chamomile tea I’d just made. She laughed and nudged my shoulder with her own. “Missed you at yoga this morning.”

I rolled my eyes at the way she waggled her brows at me. After our last therapy yoga session, I was determined to avoid all talk of Luca with her, no matter how hard she pressed. That morning, I was even less up for her furtive looks and whispered jokes about it.

“I think I’m coming down with something,” I said, which wasn’t entirely a lie.

I’d been fighting off the worst bout of fatigue the past couple of days, and just that morning, an ear-splitting headache had forced me out of bed before dawn.

Ash backed up and gave me the once-over. “You’re not contagious, are you? Because you should stay home with that shit.”

“Nothing like that,” I replied, waving away her usual dramatics. “Just a migraine from hell that I can’t seem to shake.”

Her expression changed from concern to sympathy, and she stroked my arm. “Shit, my mom used to get them pretty bad. She’d be laid up for days, her bedroom in total darkness while she waited for it to pass. Nothing she took helped.”

I frowned at Ash. “Is this supposed to be making me feel better?”

“Sorry.” She laughed lightly. “Maybe you should just call it and go home. There’s no way you’re going to make it through today with a head that’s trying to kill you.”

I’d had the same thought while getting dressed that morning, and all the way to work, in the elevator, when I stopped to drop off my things at my desk… I felt like I could curl up in bed and sleep for a thousand years.

“Maybe after the dev meeting,” I said, taking a small sip of my tea. It was still way too hot to drink, so I placed it back down on the counter. “You know how they get if we miss those.”

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