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“No, I don’t. It’s not normal for me to pop up on a woman who didn’t call me because I never cared that much.

” I smirked when her mouth fell open at my honesty.

I reached across the space between us and softly lifted her chin to close it with my pointer finger.

Her skin felt so smooth against my fingers that I kept it there.

“But I have a strong feeling that nothing I do from this point forward when it comes to you will be normal for me, Bailey.” My tone was serious, and I made sure I looked directly into her eyes so she could see I meant every word.

After a few seconds, I dropped my hand and smiled at her to break the intensity of the moment because she started to fidget under my gaze.

“You’re the only woman I’ve ever popped up on unannounced, and I took a chance that maybe you were a workaholic like me and was in the office. ”

“It’s not like I have shit else to do,” she mumbled under her breath before taking a sip of her water.

“Really? I thought your man would be keeping you busy on your off days.” I meant it as a joke because the thought of her having someone made me sick to my stomach, but her response was serious.

“First of all, I do what I damn well please, even if I had a man, and second of all, if I had a man, you think I would be here with you?”

“You never know these days; people will say they’re single but in reality, they’re married with a husband…

or wife,” I quickly added, “Waiting at home, not knowing their spouse out here laying it low and spreading it wide.” I worked hard not to let the scorn I was feeling creep into my voice as I thought about Eva’s trifling ass again.

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.” Bailey’s beautiful brown eyes focused on me, and it felt like she could see right through me. Now it was my turn to fidget under the intensity of her gaze. I cleared my throat and looked down at the table to break eye contact before I spoke again.

“All I’m saying is, you have to ask and hope people are telling you the truth.

” I purposely looked everywhere but at her until I had my emotions back in check because my face could never hide what I was feeling.

I hated thinking about my ex-wife, so I focused back on Bailey and pushed thoughts of Eva out of my mind where her ass belonged.

“I’m single, I have no husband or boyfriend at my home or at his home waiting for me,” Bailey said while she moved plates out of the way to make room for the waitress to sit our food down.

After the waitress left, she got an alert on her phone, and I watched in silence as she took out her phone and started tapping on it.

“So, your phone does work,” I concluded sarcastically after she put her phone away. Her not calling me really bothered me more than I thought.

“Yup, it works just fine, and it has a long battery life too.”

“I see, your phone just doesn’t work to call me.

” I watched her closely as her eyebrows lowered, causing her forehead to crease, then she put a slice of pizza on a plate and sat it down on the table with so much force that the utensils on the table clattered.

I frowned because I didn’t know what I did to piss her off.

“Look, Titan, I’m going to be honest. I didn’t call you because obviously you want something from me besides my knowledge of marketing and public relations.

I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to call you for anything other than the business we are contracted to do together.

Regardless of what I may feel, I have to ignore it because the best thing for both of us to do is keep this strictly professional.

You hired me to do a job, and I plan to do that without distraction, so if you don’t mind, let's not mix business with pleasure. M’kay?

” When she finished, I saw her shoulders visibly relax like she was relieved to finally get that off her chest. She smiled brightly before she went back to plating food, and I saw right through that smile.

After that cute little rant all I heard was “regardless of what I may feel, I have to ignore it,” which I interpreted to mean that your boy Titan had a chance.

I was about to speak but stopped when the sound of little feet running toward our table was close. I looked up just in time to see her nieces coming around the wall closest to us and were now sliding into the booth on the right of Bailey.

“We’ll discuss your concerns later,” I said, moving closer to Bailey in the semi-circle booth to make room for her nieces. I was on her left and I didn’t need to move at all, but I used the opportunity to sit closer to Bailey anyway, now she was sandwiched between me and her nieces.

“Mr. Tyin, are you my auntie’s boyfriend?

” Rylee asked me after Bailey sat her plate in front of her.

I watched as she began picking the cheese off her slice of pizza and rolled it into a ball before eating it.

I chuckled at the boldness of her question, but it must have caught Bailey off guard because she began to cough shortly after taking a sip of water, and I had to pat her on the back.

I was looking at Bailey as I patted her back when she finally looked at me after her coughing subsided.

I smiled then winked at her as I answered Rylee’s question.

“No. Not yet.” I grinned when Bailey’s eyes widened to the size of the plates on the table.

“See! I told you, Hailey!” She yelled at her sister. “Mr. Tyin can’t be her boyfriend because they don’t hold hands,” Rylee finished, and I was doing my best to hold back my laughter. These girls were so damn perceptive.

“His name is Mr. Ti- tan Rye.” I smiled when she patiently corrected her sister. “And I said he wants to be with Aunty B.” Hailey whispered that last part as though me and Bailey weren’t sitting at the table. “Don’t you Mr. Titan?” Hailey asked, looking me directly in the eyes.

“Ms. Hailey and you too, Ms. Rylee, are officially entering the room called grown folk’s business,” Bailey said in a firm voice and Hailey apologized.

“If it’s ok, I’ll answer,” I said, giving Bailey’s thigh a reassuring squeeze under the table that I didn’t mind the questions.

But as soon as I felt the softness of her skin, my dick jerked in my boxer briefs, and my dick felt like a boulder between my thighs.

This was torture feeling her thigh, but I couldn’t move my hand away and I didn’t want to, but she didn’t move my hand either.

“I would like to get to know your aunt better and if that leads to me being her boyfriend then I would like that,” I answered truthfully.

“Can you protect and provide for her?” Rylee’s little voice asked as she bit again into the cheese she took off her pizza. Her question floored me.

Where did this little girl come up with a question like that?

“My daddy told me to never settle for a man who couldn’t protect or provide,” she continued, and I shook my head because this little girl was something else.

“Ms. Rylee, you have a very long time before you have to think about men. You already promised that won’t be until you’re sixty,” a deep voice said from behind me, causing me to have a jump scare before me and Bailey quickly turned our heads.

As I looked at the tall man with light gray hair walking from behind our booth, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that this was Bailey’s brother.

“Daddy!” Hailey and Rylee screamed before leaving the booth and leaping into their father’s arms just as he was kneeling down to catch them.

The girls had their arms around his neck, squeezing him tight as he went back and forth kissing their faces repeatedly.

The scene tugged at my heart strings, and I looked in wonder as the tall, rigid, stone-faced man dressed in a black suit melt instantly at the sight of his daughters.

After kissing their faces, he stood up with his daughters on each hip and walked them back to our booth.

He gave them each one last kiss on the cheek before he put them down and held their hands as they scooted across the bench seat.

“Hey, sis,” Bailey’s brother said, leaning over to give her a kiss on the forehead before he slid into the booth next to his daughters. I stared in amazement because her brother’s demeanor was so gentle as he spoke to Bailey, like he was talking to his daughters.

“Hey, you! I thought you were going to be gone for another month.” Bailey was now relaxed and this side of her was like a gift to me. I figured her and her brother were going to talk for a while, so I used this time to reach for a slice of pizza.

“I was but we finished things sooner than expected.” I heard him respond but his voice sounded distracted and when I looked up after biting into my pizza, her brother’s dark eyes were glaring at me with a look that could kill.

Totally different from the man who just kissed his daughter and sister a moment ago.

Something about her brother put me on edge, which was unusual because I was not easily intimidated. Her brother was taller than me by at least two or three inches, but his build was a little leaner, like he ran a few miles on the regular.

But his whole vibe was lethal, I noticed how his eyes subtly scanned the room like he was waiting for someone to attack when he walked to our table with his daughters, and now he was sitting so he was facing the door. I assumed he was either ex-military or highly paranoid, maybe he was both.

“How did you know where we were?” Bailey asked, trying to get her brother’s attention again.

“You know I have a tracking app on everyone’s cell phone,” he responded without breaking eye contact with me. “Who the hell are you?” Her brother finally asked.

I see where Rylee gets her greeting to strangers from , I thought to myself.