Luna shakes her head. “At my old school, all the other mommies and daddies live together, but you and Mommy don’t. I want a family like that. A real family with a mommy, a daddy, and a baby sister. But I’ll take a little brother, too.”
I choke on a laugh at her truthfulness. “I want that, too.”
“You do?” she asks, eyes wide.
“I do.”
My back tingles with awareness, and when I glance at the back doors of the diner, I see why. Selene is headed toward us; her hair pulled back into a messy braid that does nothing to take away from her beauty. That little red dress doesn’t hide her legs and the curvy backside there. The one I’m itching to get my hands on. She looks beautiful. She always looks so fucking beautiful.
She places our plates before us, a smile on her face as she stares down at Luna. “A special cheeseburger for my special Luna Bella.”
“Thank you, Mommy.”
Selene then slides my plate in front of me, avoiding my gaze. She’s been doing it a lot lately. Hell, she’s always been shy. But it’s like now, she purposely tries not to look at me and I hate it. I just want her to look me in the fucking eyes once so she can see everything I’m unable to say out loud in front of our daughter.
“Guess what Daddy bought me today?” Luna singsongs between bites of her food.
“What did he get you?”
“He bought me the Barbie Dream House I’ve been wanting, and he bought me more dolls to go with it.” Luna is practically vibrating with excitement on her side of the booth as she tells her mom.
If it weren’t for the amusement glinting in her hazel eyes and the smirk twisting her lips, I’d think she’s mad at me.
“You spoil her.”
She doesn’t say it like it’s a bad thing, just merely stating a fact. I can’t hold back the grin that takes over my face. I shrug my shoulders. “She makes it hard to say no.”
Selene laughs, and fuck me, the sound hits me square in the chest. She’s so goddamn beautiful when she smiles, which is obvious because no man in this joint can keep his eyes off her. We share a moment, her standing there, staring down at me with the best smile I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing, and me, looking up at her like she’s every fucking star lighting up the darkest sky.
There’s a sharp whistle followed by, “Hey, sweet cheeks. Can we get some service over here?”
Selene’s smile falters, and her shoulders stiffen. Color settles in her cheeks. I glance around her, and my eyes narrow when I realize whose table the shout came from. Seeming embarrassed by the attention or being called out, she tucks a few hairs behind her ears and drops down to press a kiss to Luna’s head.
“I should really get back to work,” she whispers.
The entire time I watch her go, glaring at the table of rowdy men. The biggest asshole of all is sitting there, looking sleazy as shit, arms slung along the backs of the booth with his eyes glued to my fucking woman. I can’t hear what he’s saying to her from here, but whatever it is, it has Selene’s perpetual pink cheeks turning a bright shade of red, and she shifts on her feet, obviously uncomfortable. The men around the booth laugh hysterically, and I grip the edges of the table.
“They laugh a lot,” Luna observes, her gaze glued to their table, just like mine is.
“Yeah, they do.” My voice is all gravel and displeasure.
“It happens all the time around Mommy.”
“What does?”
“That.” She points toward them. “Nana says the boys love Mommy because they can’t have her.” She shrugs. “Whatever that means.”
Hearing that come out of my daughter’s mouth only drives me closer to the edge. I want to stake my claim on Selene right here, right now. I want to march over there, pull her into my arms, and kiss her. Let all those bastards know that she’s mine. She carried my fucking child. No one else’s. It’s only been me, and fucking hell, I plan on keeping it that way.
Rita stops by our table. “We still doing okay over here?”
I’m nodding when I glance behind her and see fucking red. That slimy bastard is toying with the hem of Selene’s dress while she tries to push him away, looking around for help.