Page 31 of If You Were Mine

“I hate that I have to do this, but fine,” I said as I handed the baby over reluctantly. She let out a huge wail as she reached for Cale’s chest, and I laughed.

“Don’t think she’s going to be getting food from there.”

“It’s been an interesting time for sure,” Cale said with a dry laugh.

I gestured towards the door and Harper and I exited, leaving the happy family behind.

“I think my ovaries just exploded,” Harper said with a laugh.

“I don’t know what that means, but if it means that they’re the cutest babies in the world, then yes, you’re right.”

“They are. And I hear you’re going to be an uncle again.”

“I guess we’re getting to be that age. All of the Cages are producing the next generation.”

“Why does that scare me?” she asked, her eyes dancing with laughter.

“You’re ridiculous. But I don’t blame you.”

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re here,” I said after a moment, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with my dead best friend’s little sister.

Because what I wanted to do was push that lock of hair that kept falling in front of her face behind her ear. And then maybe feel the back of her neck and finally figure out if her skin was as soft as I thought it was.

But what the hell was I thinking? She was too young. And off limits for more than one reason. She probably thought I was a damn creeper.

Since my attention was on Harper and not the stairs in front of me, I took a step too quickly, and my thigh and knee twisted wrong. And when I tried to move backward, overcorrecting, the scars on my side stretched.

“Fuck,” I grumbled as I leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath.

Harper was there in an instant, one hand on my side, the other on my thigh. “Dorian. What’s wrong? Do I need to call someone?”

What’s wrong? Her hand was less than a foot away from my cock. What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to think? Instead, I just let out a deep breath and tried to ease my way through the pain. Because now I was going to get a damn erection with Harper so close, and that would be the most idiotic thing to do. Especially since I wouldn’t be able to hide it as her face was damn close to it since we were at an odd level on the stairs.

“Seriously, let’s get you sitting down.”

I shook my head, but I didn’t shake off her hold. “I’m fine. Really. Just took a step wrong because I wasn’t thinking.”

Because I was thinking about you.

No, I wasn’t going to say that out loud.

She looked up at me then, studying my face, her hands still on me, and neither one of us said a word.

“So, looks like I’m interrupting,” Hudson said from the bottom of the stairs, and Harper lifted her hands quickly as if she had been burned, and I cleared my throat.

“Just took a step wrong.”

“If that’s your answer. I thought you should know Mom’s here.”

I blinked as Harper stiffened, and then I knew tonight was going to go downhill from here.

Because why the fuck was my mother at a place where she wasn’t welcome? And why the hell did I feel I was the one who had to deal with it?

Chapter Seven

HARPER

“Mother.”