Page 31 of Oathbreaker

She has every right to be with whomever she wants to be with.

Even if it kills me to watch it.

“Before we eat.” Jade nudges Royal and he lets her up. She reaches into a bag I hadn’t noticed before, pulling out some kind of clothing. “We have T-shirts!”

“Let me see!” Aspen snatches one and then bursts out laughing. “Aw, I can’t wait to wear mine!” She holds it up against her chest and it says ‘World’s Best Auntie.’ The guys’ shirts say ‘World’s Best Uncle’ and they are pink and blue, respectively.

There isn’t one for me, of course, and I think Jade realizes that around the same time I do because her eyes meet mine apologetically.

“We’ll order one more,” she says softly.

I nod, because what else can I do?

“Pizza’s here,” Briar says, coming inside carrying three large boxes. “And one of them says ‘anchovies’ on the outside.” She gives me a disgusted look. “Seriously? Four years in prison didn’t cure you of this horrible habit?”

I blink for a moment, unsure if she’s serious but before I can respond everyone cracks up.

“Don’t blame me if your palate is less sophisticated than mine.” I shrug.

Banks gets up and takes the pizzas from her so she can set out plates and napkins for us.

“Frankie!” Briar yells into the house. “Time to eat.”

A minute later Frankie skips onto the patio and my heart squeezes. I’m still holding Maisie, who seems pretty content in my arms, and I can only imagine what it would have been like to hold Frankie at this age.

Did Briar think of me as she held her newborn daughter? Wishing I was there? Or was she angry at the way I left her? I still have so many questions and not nearly enough time to ask them.

“What are those?” Frankie asks, wrinkling her nose when Banks opens the box containing half of the pizza with everything.

“That’s called an anchovy,” I say. “You should try it. It’s really yummy.”

She screws up her face in disgust but leans forward to inspect it more carefully. “Is it…a fish?”

“A type of fish, yes. Hasn’t your mother introduced you to anchovies?”

“One bite to be polite,” Frankie murmurs, as if that’s something she’s said often.

“Go ahead, sweetie,” I say softly. “They’re good. A little salty. No bones or anything.”

Everyone freezes, watching in fascination as Frankie picks one of the anchovies off the pizza. Then she pops it into her mouth and begins to chew.

Briar’s eyes are wide, staring as if she can’t quite believe what she’s seeing. Everyone else has similar expressions, but mostly, I’m focused on my daughter. No one’s confirmed anything, but it’s pretty obvious. I’m just waiting for the right moment to ask Briar.

Frankie chews slowly, thoughtfully, and then swallows and cocks her head. “Very salty,” she says. “But not bad. Can I have a piece?”

“Sure.” I grin, turning to stick my tongue out at Briar.

“Mommy, can I have some juice with this? It’s yummy.” Frankie seems oblivious.

That’s my girl. Now there’s definitely no doubt she’s mine.

“Uh, sure.” Briar and Aspen hurry inside and I can hear them trying to disguise their laughter the minute they’re around the corner.

“Let me take the baby so you can eat,” Banks says, starting to get up.

“Nah, I’m good. She’s warm and cuddly and smells good. I like holding her.” I grab a piece of pizza with one hand and take a big bite, watching my daughter happily eating anchovy pizza.

My daughter.