Didn't Expect You (Against All Odds #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,83

Perhaps the feelings I have for her are real—and as I learn to love her, I’m discovering to love myself along the way.

The driver drops us close enough to Bow Bridge. We walk toward the center of the park and find the Brassards taking pictures and pointing at the ducks.

“We’ve never been that happy with our family, have we?” Ford asks.

I shake my head. “Our family is us, Langy,” I remind him using the annoying term of endearment Mom used for him. “We had something when Grandpa and Grandma were around.”

“But never with our parents,” he remarks.

“If you play your cards right, you can have that with them,” I suggest.

“And you?”

I look at Nyx, who turns around and smiles when she spots me. My heart drums inside my chest with the same rhythm it always does while she’s around me. No matter what time of the day it is, she’s the sun shining upon me. The best part of my day.

“What about me?” I ask, because that’s not a question I have to ponder upon since Nyx became a part of my life. I am an afterthought. She’s the only one who matters.

“Will you ever have a family?”

The silence stretches for a couple of minutes. Just a few weeks ago I wouldn’t have entertained the question, let alone the possibility of having someone to love—and a kid. But there she is, an intelligent, fun, gorgeous woman. I just need to figure out how to fix myself and how to convince her that I’m worth giving a chance.

“I’m working on it, Ford. Keep up, won’t you?” I say exasperated and walk to Nyx handing her the lunch box I brought for her.

“Here. Let’s keep the little fig fed,” I say.

“You’re ridiculous, and this week she’s a plum,” she says, placing a lingering kiss on my jaw. I love when her eyes look at me like I’m the only person around her. It’d be so easy to bend and capture her lips.

“Sometimes I lose track of the fruit of the week,” I say, trying to lighten the intensity between us.

She stares at my lips, then looks at me and whispers, “Thank you.”

“Just making sure the little fruit is growing strong.”

Eros glares at me and shakes his head. Ford goes to Persy, who hugs him tight and kisses him like a woman who hasn’t seen the love of her life for years. Nyx’s parents hold hands while they continue sightseeing.

I grab Nyx’s hand and walk her to an area where we can sit so she can eat.

“What happened between you and Ford?” she asks.

Taking a deep breath, I glance at where my brother stands and then at her.

“We decided to visit our parents next weekend,” I skip everything we discussed before it. “Would you like to join us on this quest?”

She tips her head to the side, with a curious expression. “You’re visiting your mom too?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and nod. “It’s time to get some answers. You mentioned that maybe she lost custody of us, and if that’s the case, I want to know what happened.”

She opens the container with carrots and then the one with the dip. She grins and licks her plump lips. Fuck, I need to stop watching her eat. Even that looks fucking hot. Lately, everything about her makes me want to strip her naked and…I remind myself that I can’t screw this up, literally and metaphorically.

“And you’re just visiting your dad?” she asks between bites and then adds. “I never thought avocado, green salsa, and yogurt would taste so good.”

“You will eat anything that has avocado.”

She gives me a strange look, licks her lips, and chews her lip. A part of me wonders if she’s feeling sick. The perverted part wants to think that she wants to drizzle me with that sauce and lick me. And I like the idea a lot.

“True,” she agrees and clears her throat. Those hazed eyes look toward the bridge. I want to ask what she’s thinking, but when she turns her attention to me, she’s wearing her poker face. “So, back to your dad. Are you planning on just visiting or is there an agenda?”

“We can’t stand his wife and Clyde so…we want to let him know that as much as we love him, from now on our visits have to be just the three of us.”

She nods approvingly. “That’s pretty grown up of you two. However, I’m sure that’s not why Ford was about to blow up