Page 148 of Velvet Corruption

“So am I.” I took a slow sip, watching her over the rim of my cup. “Unless you want to start another fight, you might want to let me drink my coffee before I go.”

A car approached. We both ignored it, glaring at each other.

She huffed, but before she could say anything else, footsteps pounded back toward the house.

The back door swung open.

Rosie.

My stomach clenched before I even knew why. She ran in, breathless, curls bouncing as she bolted toward Ruby. “Mami! I forgot my bunny!”

Ruby turned, instantly softening. “Mi amor, your bunny doesn't need to go with you to breakfast.”

“What? He's hungry. Do you want Carty to starve?”

"Sweetheart, he'll be okay…"

Rosie pressed her hands against her chest like she was making some kind of solemn vow. “Please.”

Ruby sighed but smiled, brushing a curl from Rosie’s face. “Okay. Did you put it in the bedroom? Grab it quick before your dad comes inside to look for you.”

That was when Rosie looked at me.

It should’ve been nothing. Just a kid glancing my way. I wasn’t supposed to feel anything. I didn’t want to.

But something in my chest twisted. Tightened. Locked up.

The breath left my lungs like a punch—sharp, silent, brutal. A hit I never saw coming. Her face…her fucking face. The shape of her mouth. The color of her eyes.

Green. Not Ruby’s warm brown. Not Julian’s dark hazel.

Light green. My father’s green. Cam’s.

Mine.

And then she moved—some small, fidgety adjustment, a twist of her mouth in thought—and I felt it again. That crack down the middle of me. Something about the way her little hands fluttered as she spoke, the way her brow furrowed when she concentrated—

I’d seen that before.

Not on her.

On my family.

I gripped the edge of the counter. The ceramic coffee mug burned into my palm like a brand.

“Hi!” she chirped. “Who are you?”

“I’m Kie—”

“This is my friend,” Ruby cut in, sharp. “Key.”

Rosie blinked. “Like a house key?”

“Like a musical key,” I said automatically, my voice too calm, too even.

Ruby’s throat worked as she swallowed. “Go get your bunny, tesoro.”

“Wait,” I said, eyes locked on the kid. “How old are you, sweetheart?”