Claiming His Unexpected Baby (Assassins Guild #2) - Michelle Howard Page 0,14

wonderful job, Scarlett.”

“Thanks, Ame.” Scarlett glowed and had every right to since she had been on the planning committee. “I think we did great. It’s nice seeing it all come together.”

They neared Fleur and the kids’ area. Her daughter was already seated and happily scrawling images with her finger on a huge digital display mounted to the wall. The colors were...imaginative. She exchanged a look with Scarlett and they both snickered. Fleur’s artwork did not reflect a gift in that direction but they’d never say such to her.

“I should make sure she eats before she’s fully engaged. I’ll never be able to pull her away if that happens.”

A brief silence ensued. Neither of them were going to be comfortable leaving Fleur alone after the incident at the learning academy three days ago. Their home here had always been safe but having a stranger approach and question her daughter left them both guarded. More so because the man’s face hadn’t been clear in the vid and security had been unable to identify him.

Madame Tessa assured Amelie the authorities were involved and wouldn’t stop trying to discover the culprit.

Scarlett waved Amelie off. “Go fix her something and bring it over. I’ll keep my eye on her.”

Amelie blew out a soft breath, her shoulders easing. She gave Scarlett’s arm a quick squeeze of thanks and turned to find where the food station was located.

When she found it, the elaborate arrangement and variety of food left Amelie stunned. She stared at the over laden table. There were meats on wooden sticks, vegetables on spiral shaped skewers and row after row of cookies and tarts as well as mini palm-sized dishes.

“Nice, right?”

Amelie jerked around. Standing beside her was Ezra and Tula from the garden center. “Hello, Amelie!”

Amelie hugged them both. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

The community event was for everyone but tended to favor a younger crowd. The late hour also prohibited some of the older members of the community from attending.

“We wouldn’t have missed this. It’s our opportunity to keep up on what’s going on around us,” Ezra said.

Amelie’s face hurt from smiling so hard. If it wasn’t for them, she wouldn’t have discovered her unknown before passion for gardening, her ability to run a business and her desire to create something for her daughter to see and respect.

“I’m glad you came. I don’t get to see you anymore.”

Tula patted Amelie on the shoulder. “When we walked away from the business it needed to be a clean break. Otherwise, we would have stuck our noses in every little change you made.”

They all shared a chuckle.

“How is your lovely little girl?” Tula asked.

Excited to share about Fleur, Amelie fell into conversation about her daughter and all of the mischief she got in to. Taking Fleur to work the first year after her birth had allowed the couple to grow close to her daughter too.

Their conversation grew animated and they hopped from topic to topic until Tula said, “Well, I think we’ve monopolized you long enough. Thanks for indulging an old couple with your time. I’m sure you’d rather be dancing or having a good time.”

Amelie glanced around and noticed that the crowd had grown. The space was filled with laughing people and children raced about while adults looked on indulgently. She spotted Fleur shrieking and running amongst the crowd. Scarlett held up her skirt up with one hand giving chase. Both wore bright grins.

“I better grab some food. I have the feeling my child is going to get cranky soon if she doesn’t eat and all this running catches up to her.”

They hugged their goodbyes and Amelie fixed a plate with a little of everything. Fleur was a good eater but could choose to be picky. Amelie nibbled a few things for herself along the way to avoid a headache from all the music and excitement.

“Amelie. I didn’t expect to see you.”

Every muscle in Amelie’s body froze. She turned slowly and the little food she ate twisted and knotted in her stomach. “Roan? What are you doing back here?”

Tawny hair was ruffled about his head in a sleek new cut that emphasized his features. Thick brows slashed over sharp green eyes that eyed her from head to toe. Amelie recognized the unwanted gleam of attraction in his gaze and grew uneasy.

“Ambassador Trigodor is doing a goodwill visit for a week. As a part of his team, I’m expected to accompany him.”

There last run in had nearly resulted in a disastrous result. Swallowing, Amelie