“Daddy…” Janet tugged on Mike’s sleeve, begging for his attention.

“Never going to happen,” he assured me before turning back to the little girl.

I watched the two of them for a few seconds, my heart growing three sizes at the adorable interactions, seeing a side of him that rarely came out to play. This was a man who would throw on a dress and play tea party. I could see him sitting cross-legged on the floor, painting her nails and doing her hair, simply because that is what his little girl wanted him to do.

I didn’t know if her dad was as great, or if he was really as much of a douche as I’d been told he was, but in that moment, I was thankful Janet had Mike. I hoped that he’d stay a permanent fixture in her life. My tough-as-nails man needed that little girl, even more than she needed him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

~ Mike ~

Janet was a talker. I smiled into my coffee. I swear she hadn’t stopped talking since she’d gotten to L.A. the day before.

I didn’t know where she got it from, considering her mom did most of her communicating nonverbally—a gesture, a roll of her eyes, or just a nasty expression that let me know what she was saying without words. Julie had always been more than comfortable sitting in silence, never talking to fill the void. Half the time, I was sure she did it just to get to me.

I’d been by myself, with coms turned off, for half of my missions. One would assume that once I came home, I would find silence comforting, or that I would at least be used to it. Nothing could be further from the truth. I hated the quiet. There was nothing soothing in silence, or being alone with my screwed up thoughts.

I didn’t have to worry about that with this little girl around, though. One minute we talked about her friends at school, the next about her love of unicorns, and then the conversation had switched to how high she could go on the swing by herself. The topics changed faster than the women who warmed Billy’s bed, but I fucking loved it.

I would sit there all day and do nothing but listen to her talk if I could. I’d missed this. Four years of these chats, four years of stories, four years of not knowing who she was. I wished I could take every minute back and do them over. I would make that dipshit Dr. Douche regret the day he decided to stick his dick into my wife. He could have Julie if he wanted her, but I wouldn’t let him have my daughter.

Watching her tip her head back and giggle as she rambled with Molly about girl stuff over breakfast had made my heart ache. I didn’t want to think about why, and I certainly didn’t want to admit it to myself. Neither one of those women were mine to love. Protect, shelter, care for? Absolutely. But love was not an option.

When Jake sat down at their table, his plate piled high with pancakes, fruit, and breakfast meats, my girls stopped chatting and, as if it was planned, both reached for his food. Molly snatched a strawberry, winking at my son as she plopped it into her mouth, and Nettie grabbed a piece of bacon. A normal kid his age would complain, or whine a little, but not my boy. He just shrugged and asked them if they wanted more.

In that moment, nothing had ever been more obvious. That was my family. The three people that meant more to me than anything else in the world. Denying it, ignoring it, or just plain avoiding it wouldn’t make the feelings go away. I loved them. All three of them.

Molly chose that moment to look up and catch my eye. Her face fell instantly. “What’s wrong?” she mouthed, standing and walking across the room toward me.

I shook my head, offering her a smile. “Nothing.”

Something over my shoulder caught her eye, and for a brief second, she seemed irritated. As soon as it appeared, the look was gone and she plastered her fake smile on. “Good morning, Julie!” she called as she turned toward the coffee pot to get a refill, seconds before my ex-wife claimed the spot next to me.

Julie had never been a morning person, and she grunted a response. After a few sips of her coffee and a few bites of her Greek yogurt and granola combo, she seemed to wake up a bit. “Thank you for inviting them,” she said, pointing toward the kids. They had been joined by Noah and were laughing at something he said.

“Thank you for letting us invite them.”

Janet hadn’t wanted to let go of me the night before, but the kids were exhausted from their day of traveling, so Molly suggested they join the band for an early breakfast at the venue before she and the guys had a full day of rehearsals, sound checks, and interviews.

“Us.” She smirked. “You and Molly are an ‘us’ now?” Her voice was full of disbelief.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Bullshit. Everything you do with my kids is my business.”

“My relationship with Molly has nothing to do with the kids.”

“Yes it does,” she snapped back. “Jake is on cloud nine because he’s hanging out with the next Playboy Playmate.”

I opened my mouth to object but Julie chuckled, holding up her finger.

“Sorry—what do they call the women who pose in Penthouse? Other than whore, I mean?” The witch only smiled when I narrowed my eyes. “And Janet is enamored because she’s spending time with a woman she sees on the cover of magazines. Those kids don’t know any better, all they see are the stars in their eyes because Molly’s famous.” She held up her fingers and put quotes around famous. “What’s gonna happen when you tire of this one? When you think she’s a stage-five clinger and don’t want her around anymore? It’s not going to be you that gets hurt, it’s gonna be them.” She pointed at the kids who were still giggling with Noah.

“Nobody is getting hurt,” I growled, annoyed that I had to keep clarifying that to people. Jesus! How much of an asshole did all of these people think I was?

“Yeah, cause you have such a great track record.”

“Back off, Jules. Just leave it alone.”

Julie looked at me, eyes growing wide in surprise. “You really like her.”

“I said leave it,” I snapped. Unable to control my frustration toward her any longer, I scanned the room, trying to find anything to take me away from this unpleasant conversation before it turned ugly.

“Holy shit.” She laughed humorlessly. “Is Lia finally ‘taken’ enough for you to get over your pipe dream? Have to move on to the next available thing?”

Fucking Christ! This woman… Taking a deep breath, my eyes settled on Molly, and I could feel myself relaxing. “Did you fly all this way to fight with me, Jules? ‘Cause we could have done that shit over the phone.”

She reached out, her hand settling on my forearm, and I had to fight the overwhelming urge to pull away. Her hands were not welcome on my body, and she had no reason to fucking touch me. But I didn’t want to cause a scene. Instead, I glared down at her.

Oblivious as always, she didn’t take the hint. Instead, she stepped closer. “No, I don’t want to argue with you—I spend enough time arguing with Lewis. I wanted you to get to spend some time with the kids, both of them. They needed it, and I think you did, too. Plus, I wanted to talk to you about the kids.”

I softened a little. “Thank you for that. I missed them.” More than I realized. “What do you want to talk about?”

Her eyes moved around the room. “Not here. Do you think some point this weekend you can make some time, just the two of us? I’m sure Nate and Lia wouldn’t mind hanging out with the kids for a little while…”

“Molly could stay with them, I’m sure.”

Julie didn’t hide the disgusted expression on her face fast enough. “They haven’t seen their Uncle Nate much lately—I’m sure they’d love to visit with him.”

Before I could argue, Sam walked into the room, glancing around until his eyes settled on me. Holding up an arm, he tapped on his wrist, letting me know it was time to go. I nodded, holding up a finger. “Thank you for bringing the kids this morning. Sam or one of the guys will take you back to the hotel. You’re coming to the show tonight, right?”