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She quivers, looking around. “Milo…”
“Shh,” I whisper. I drop my mouth to her neck, pursing my lips slightly against her skin. Her muscles loosen and I release my grip on her as she submits.
“Detective…”
The door swings open behind us. Anna falls backward, gripping my jacket out of instinct, and I slip down into the bakery along with her.
We slam to the floor. I catch most of my weight with my arms, locking my elbows to keep from crushing her as she lands on her back.
“Ouch…” She winces.
I tower over her, desperately trying to ignore the splendid feeling of her knees hugging my sides. “You okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m—”
“Ahem.”
We look up at the man standing over us in an apron holding the door open. He glares from her to me and all the way down to her wide-open legs, his scowl digging deeper into his face every second.
“Hey, Vin…” she squeaks.
The muffin guy. Her brother.
Ah, crap.
I slide backward, glancing around the kitchen at the other wide-eyed faces, including the woman in black from outside and another young woman with bright red hair poking in from the front desk.
“So, I’m gonna go,” I say. “It was nice seeing you again, Detective—”
“Stop.” Vincent points a stiff finger at my face. “Who is this guy?” he asks Anna.
Anna’s little eyes hop around, shifting from me to him and back again. “I, uh…”
The wheels turn in her head and I silently wonder just how much information she’s going to spill here.
“This is Milo. He’s…” She looks at me, her lips twisting into an awkward smile of defeat. “He’s Charlotte’s biological father.”
Okay, all of it. All the information.
My breath catches as I glance up at the towering inferno of man standing over me. Vincent crosses his arms and stares at me with a hint of steam billowing from his nose.
I give a quick wave. “Hi. How ya doing?”
His eye twitches.
Yup. I’m a dead man.
CHAPTER 23
ANNA
“Ithought you got a donor.”
I nod at Vincent as he paces back and forth through the kitchen. “I did — and will you please stop moving around like that? You’re making me dizzy.”
He pauses to peek out onto the main bakery floor. I follow his eye-line, catching sight of Milo sitting at the corner table with Evey and Charlotte. My heart skips a beat or two.
Charlotte’s laughing. She’s looking up at him and laughing, almost like they were old friends. And Milo… he’s grinning from ear-to-ear, telling her who-knows-what over coloring books, but Evey doesn’t look at all worried.
