Page 10 of Blissful Devotion

And not just her.

A child.

Fuck, I’d always said Oliver was more than enough for me; he was a great kid, but parenting is hard and something I’m not really sure I was ever cut out to do.

We worked so often that I didn’t feel like it was fair to split my time even further, but Kat was born to be a mother. I would never try to keep her from that, and I wouldn't want to.

I down my third glass of wine, and the only thing that stops me from asking for something stronger is the look of disdain in my brother's eyes when he sees my now-empty cup.

He knows what's happening; he always does.

Perks of being the older brother, I suppose.

Nathan can read me like an open book, and right now, I wish more than ever that I could shut down and keep my broken pieces to myself.

They go over what happened, the man with the tattoo, and then they go back from there. Discussing everything from the week prior.

“Carter is dead, though, and so is her other stalker. Jade made sure of that.” I’d said it to ruffle feathers, looking for something to do other than just sit here, but Elio seems unfazed.

“Of course she did.” A pretty little blonde walks in, moving behind the couch to drape herself over Elio’s shoulders, resting her head against his lovingly.

The smile on his face takes on a softness that tells me this is his woman, not his daughter, though either would have been an acceptable guess, if you ask me. Though I suppose I can’t say much on that topic myself, Kat is my son’s age after all.

“Carissima,” he calls her, turning his head to press his lips to her cheek, and it’s impossible to miss the emotions on his face or hers.

She smiles, her cheeks dusting pink, and just that simple blush is enough to make my heart squeeze.

“Do you have anything stronger?” I ask, holding up my wineglass and ignoring the glare from not only Nathan, but Des and the sigh from Oliver.

They're not often on the same page, but if anything could do it, I’m not surprised it’s her.

Elio pushes to stand, but she rests her hands on his shoulders and tells him she’ll get it. She moves to walk away, but he snags her hand and pulls her back for another kiss.

“Where are the others?” he asks, though he doesn’t seem to care. I’d guess he’s more than content with her company from the looks of them.

Muffled voices sound down the hall, the sound of many sets of feet, and if I’m not mistaken, arguing?

“Here they come,” the pretty blonde sighs before slipping away, and I hope she’s gone to grab that drink.

Sounds like I’m going to need it.

The voices get louder, and while I might have questioned whether they were arguing a moment ago, I’m positive now as they come down the hall.

Jade leads, her face clearly showing her annoyance with whatever they're arguing about.

“Keep your hands to yourself, and we won’t have a fucking problem.” A tall, bulky, blonde guy says, and I recognize him as one of the men who were with Jade the night she brought Carter to the house, but that doesn’t tell me much.

“Yeah, how about you do the same then, huh?” A guy with darker skin and a shaved head says to him mockingly, making Jade crack a smile.

“Yeah, Trent, keep your hands to yourself, why don’t you?” she taunts, spinning around to press up on her toes as if she's about to kiss him, only to stop an inch away.

Trent growls, and for a second, I think he's going to pull away and leave in a huff, but he does the opposite. Instead, he reaches out, wrapping his arm around her waist and yanking her into his chest, kissing her as if his life depends on it. The guy with the shaved head and the man next to him pull a face and mock gagging.

Both the boys look different, yet close enough that they might be her brothers, though I can’t be sure.

Jade pulls back and barks a laugh before she spins around to face the whole group she just came in with.

“We’re all adults. We can kiss and touch who we want so long as the one we're touching is okay with it,” she tells them all, giving pointed looks to the two who might be her brothers and the blonde one who just kissed her.