Page 98 of Greed

I rock the baby gently when she starts to stir. “I think she’s avoiding me, Saint.”

“You messed it up, didn’t you?” he asks, exasperation edging his tone. “What the hell did you do?”

I glance at his face. “I fell in love with Abigail, and the kicker is I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to tell her that.”

Sean’s gaze trails from my face to my open office door. “Your chance is standing right there.”

I turn and see the most beautiful woman in the world smiling gently at me. “Hi, Declan. Hey, Sean.”

“It’s good to see you, Abby,” Sean greets her before he gathers his daughter into his arms. “This little one needs her mommy because it’s feeding time. I’ll leave you two alone.”

As he walks toward my office door, he stops to give Abby a moment to admire his daughter.

“She’s lovely,” she says. “Congratulations, Sean.”

“Congratulations to you, too.” He glances back at me. “You know what to do, Decky. Don’t fuck it up.”

CHAPTERFIFTY-TWO

Abby

I move asideas Declan gently closes his office door after his brother leaves.

“The baby is beautiful,” I whisper.

“Very.” He nods in agreement. “As are you.”

I manage a weak smile. “And you.”

He laughs that off as his hand skims the lapel of his dark suit jacket. “Now that we have all the compliments handled tell me how you are, Abigail.”

That’s not an easy question to answer, and a simple “I’m fine” won’t suffice, so I look into his eyes. “I’m sorry I haven’t returned your calls.”

He gestures toward one of the chairs that face his desk. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

I welcome the chance to sit so I can hopefully quiet my shaking knees. “Thank you.”

He drags the chair next to it closer and sits down too. His hands smooth over his thighs. “Tell me what I did.”

My head pops up. “What?”

“I said or did something that made you retreat, didn’t I?” he asks in a calm tone. “Or I put too much pressure on you regarding the Llura deal. If that’s the case, I’m sorry, Abigail. I wanted Llura’s condom division, but not at the expense of us.”

“No.” I shake my head. “It’s not about that deal.”

His gaze searches mine. “Why the distance, then?”

I skip past that because I still need a minute to collect my thoughts before I dive into the reason behind my sudden disappearance from his life. “Kalina is pregnant, Declan. She gave me permission to share that with you. She was only using Llura condoms for protection when it happened, so she doesn’t feel now is the time to sell.”

His brow furrows. “I understand. I’m happy for her if she’s happy about this news, but I’m more concerned about you... about us.”

“About us,” I repeat. “Us.”

“I’m not sure where you stand on that, but I suspect you just heard me tell my brother I’m in love with you.”

Stunned, I can’t stop my mouth from falling open.

Declan smiles. “Or you didn’t overhear that?”

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