When the basketball sailed through the hoop, Parker gave a roaring growl and raised his arms straight up. “Score,” he yelled.

Alex bounced the ball back his way and shook his head. “Two out of three, shithead.”

Angie blew a whistle and said, “Go!”

He bounced the ball slowly and eyed Alex’s defensive posture. If he broke to the right and suddenly pivoted, there was a chance he’d make it to the basket.

Dammit if Alex wasn’t ready for the move. Without much effort, he tapped the ball away, scooped it up, and took a shot. It sailed in a perfect arc and dropped neatly into the basket without moving the net.

“Boom!” Alex shouted even though they were just a few feet apart. “Who’s your daddy now, huh?”

Angie made annoying use of a fricken whistle and blew into the damn thing with gusto. He made a plan to put her sexy mouth to much better use later.

“It’s official. The winner of this magnificent red, white, and blue sash is none other than lord of the manner, Alexander Marquez.”

She waved at her brother. “Come on over here, cutie pie, and put on your prize.”

Alex gave a regal hand turn and grinned like a beauty queen. Stephanie cracked up. “That’s right, shugah. Lots of teeth with that wave and don’t forget a little wiggle in your walk!”

Parker had to laugh. Dripping sweat and dirt from the afternoon’s feats of strength and ability, Alex swaggered like a drunk Marilyn Monroe over to Angie and dipped his head as she slipped on the sash. Everyone roared with amused approval at the garish patriotic accessory. Bella and Angie went a bit nutty with the sequins. Add a fancy bow where the two sides came together and a waterfall of red, white, and blue ribbons and the finished product was quite a sight. Made even funnier worn by a man of Alex’s size.

Sweat trickled down his neck. Goddamn it was hot. He needed a cool drink. Joining his charming wife on the sidelines where the Justice Ladies congregated, Parker stroked his finger down her arm and enjoyed her slight quiver.

“May I get you anything, Mrs. Sullivan? Water? Juice? A slab of beef?”

The ladies all chuckled. His adorable wife was barely four months along but already her carnivorous passions were Justice legend. Just last week, she inhaled two oversized servings of ribs and then complained there wasn’t more.

“What I want is an ice-cold beer.”

He gave her the one-eyebrow scowl. She was kidding, of course.

“Water it is then.” He chuckled. “Be right back.”

As he made his way to the picnic area, he heard voices and slowed down to check it out. He peered through a break in the thick hedge of tall junipers that surrounded the pool.

It was Sawyer and Domineau. They were having an animated and what appeared to be a friendly conversation.

Alex scared the crap out of him when he peered over Parker’s shoulder. “Whatcha looking at?”

“See for yourself,” he replied.

Shifting to the side, he let Alex have a good look. “They seem awfully chummy to me. Does it seem that way to you?” he asked with a frown.

“I didn’t realize they knew each other all that well. But what the fuck do I know? It’s not like we ever read each other’s diary.”

Alex just grunted.

“Hey, did you know Rafe had a kid?” he quizzed.

Parker recognized the annoyed, snarling grimace Alex made. He did not react favorably to surprises.

“Apparently, there are quite a number of things I’ve been kept in the dark about.” His head tilted to indicate the friends summit happening on the other side of the trees.

Quickly assessing whether he had anything to tell his best friend, Parker was relieved when he came up empty.

Deflecting Alex from his irritation, Parker elbowed him playfully. “Good job with Paddy O’Brien.”

“Oh, shit,” Alex barked. “Thanks for reminding me. Paddy’s got an announcement to make.”

“Then you’d better make an appearance. I’m off in search of water for my bride and a beer for me. Can I get you anything?”

“Yeah”—Alex chuckled—“a damn scorecard. There’s so much subtext going on with this group that I can’t keep it all straight.”

“You mean Carmen and Duke? Or Finn and Remy? And let’s not forget about Jace and Sophie.”

“I mean all of the above. But add Domineau and Rafe to the roster. Apparently, he and Molly are going to hang out all summer.”

“Wow,” Parker mumbled. “Closure or second chance?”

Alex didn’t pretend not to know what he referred to.

“More like final chance. One last shot.”

“Hmph,” he grunted. “Been there, done that.”

His wife’s brother eyed him critically, but it was his best friend slash brother who answered. “Maybe you can offer some pointers.”

“One more question,” he asked. “Who and where is Molly’s mother?”

A thoughtful frown moved onto his friend’s face. “He hasn’t said, and a family picnic doesn’t seem like the time to cross-examine him.”

Parker laughed. “Well, word of advice. When you do? Let Roman do the interrogating if you want real answers.”

* * *

“I think I might explode,” Remy groaned. “Ate too much.” She clutched her belly and performed with playful dramatics.

“You’re supposed to pop the button on your pants.”

Remy sat up and looked at Bella Jensen. She was walking by and stopped to comment.

Mrs. O’Brien smiled and asked for clarification.

Bella, who knew a little bit of something about nearly everything, earnestly and with a straight face explained.

“Well, that’s what my daddy does when he’s stuffed. Pops the button on his pants. My Heather, she’s my mom,” Bella explained in an aside, “she always laughs and makes a funny face. You should make a face, Finn! And then maybe Remy will be funny.”

Ka-Boom. Isn’t that the sound of children seeing right through the bullshit?

Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien snicker-laughed, coughed, and made a lame attempt to appear serious. Part of her wanted to run screaming in the other direction, but a larger part was starting to loosen up and see the humor in her very fucked life.

She needed to find a way to thank Bella for helping peel back the outer layers of her defensive shell. Well, small correction. Bella and FiFi.

A snort of laughter ripped out of her throat. Oh, how funny! Bella and FiFi were hardcore Finn Fans. Then a second snort because Finn Fans sounded hilarious. Jesus Lord! What was happening to her with all this laughter?

When Bella turned her attention to Finn, the rest of them might as well have been invisible. Remy saw Finn’s mom nudge her husband. They carefully watched the love-fest that was the Bella and Finn show.

The little girl stood at Finn’s shoulder and leaned against him as she spoke. For his part, Finn always gave Bella his full attention. It was as if he knew she saw him more as a beloved older brother than some random guy her parents knew. In Bella’s storybook, Finn was the model for her version of a knight in shining armor.

“I gave FiFi the treat. You don’t have to worry, Finn. She likes the kennel.”

“Oh,” Mrs. O’Brien exclaimed. “I wondered where my son’s fur baby was hiding.”

While Bella explained, Finn looked over and winked. Remy responded with a smile.

“The Major said no dogs at the picnic. He said babies or dogs – pick one.”

Everyone laughed.

Right on cue, Alex, Meghan, and the twins joined the party. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

“Oh, Bella was just explaining to my folks how bossy you are.” Finn snickered. “She’s got your number, Zorro.”

Remy leaned to the little girl and playfully tugged her ponytail. “Daddy’s calling, Miss Bella. See him waving? You’d better run along.”

“I gotta go,” the child happily yipped. “Molly’s daddy and Matty’s daddy are making plans with my daddy for us to take an ATV excursion. That’s a big word. I like it!” She waved bye and zoomed off.

It didn’t matter what the setting was – Remy always stood at mental attention when Alex Marquez entered the picture. The man had a way of commanding everything in his orbit. It came naturally to him. She could tell by the confident way he held himself and the way other people reacted to his presence. Hell, sometimes just hearing his name was enough to snap her into form.

Finn jumped up when his dad did and began rearranging the seating to accommodate the expanded Marquez family. While the men had a committee meeting and talked chair logistics, she and Mrs. O’Brien went to Meghan and gushed over the babies.

Remy liked babies. They were okay. She wasn’t one of those snotty adults who automatically griped when kids were part of the equation. In fact, D Squared were a shit ton of fun. Dylan Cameron and Danny St. John were regular visitors to the garage. Drae brought them by at least once or twice every week.

Each boy had an electric car that Drae insisted be part of the Justice fleet. He didn’t want the kids to view their cars as toys, so the white BMW and silver Mercedes were tagged and entered into the system she was in charge of.

The boys were well behaved, and though still just toddlers, they already had a childlike grasp of manners. They were curious, smart, and full of energy. She liked their vibe and said so many times to Drae.

Remy studied Aiden’s face. He was going to resemble Alex. And the little girl? Stevie? Oh, my god – she was the cutest little thing. She and the Cameron’s new daughter, Lily, would team up with Bella Mia some day and rule Family Justice.

When everyone finally settled, the seating arrangement was a story by itself. Somehow, she ended up perched on Finn’s thigh instead of with her butt in a seat. He certainly didn’t seem to mind, and the expression on Mr. O’Brien’s face suggested he approved.

Meghan and Alex couldn’t sit still – and it was pretty funny to watch. They switched off the babies in a continuous round robin. When Finn asked to hold one of them, Alex quickly rebuffed him.

“No. You’ve been drinking.”

The man on whose lap she sat gave a hearty, whooping laugh. “So have you. And I do believe I saw my sister imbibing too.”

Remy snicker-snorted when Meghan flipped her hair and gave a starchy sniff. “As hostess, I was just checking to make sure the kegs were cold. I’d hardly call that imbibing.”

Paddy O’Brien’s deep chuckle made her look. Finn’s dad was a hoot and a half. She’d liked him from the start when they met last year. Might be because he was a police detective. She understood the life that came with a uniform.

“Using the big words again, are you now?” Paddy teased in heavy Irish. “Imbibe. Good one for a bar man to know.”

Father and son shared a laugh and high-fived.

Remy noted when Alex cleared his throat.

An almost-laugh wanted out, but she’d rather walk into oncoming traffic than be caught snickering at the Major. He was gearing up for a redirect. A change of subject. It was funny that even relaxing with family, he was still large and in charge.

“Dad, don’t you have an announcement? That is what you said, right?”

Mrs. O’Brien sat up and smoothed her hair. Remy recognized the signs. Mr. and Mrs. were up to something.

“Correct, Alex. And I have news. About Deval.”

She felt Finn slightly stiffen. He’d finally reconnected with his brothers. It would suck big time if Paddy’s news was a downer.

Knowing the effort he put into clearing the air and moving forward with his family, she wanted to offer him some comfort – slight though it might be. Finn was a good guy. She didn’t want him to be upset.

Carefully and slowly, she slid her arm around and rubbed his back. He responded with an arm around her hips. The placement gave her stability, and she unexpectedly relaxed. It was a big deal – a very big deal – because it happened naturally. She hadn’t forced it.

She took a shaky breath. His arms felt safe. She felt secure. Protected. How long had it been since she felt that way?

Paddy chuckled. “Even though I practiced how to say this, it’s still gonna be a mad mess, so here goes. Dev quit his job and …”

A chorus of shouted words rained down.

“What?”

“Why?”

“Is he all right?”

“No!”

Tamping down the furor with a lower the volume hand gesture, Paddy suggested everyone take a deep breath. She looked at Finn and read the shock on his face.

“Now, hold up. It’s a good thing and here’s why.”

Mrs. O’Brien reached out and touched Paddy’s hand. She made a reassuring sound and nodded for him to continue.

“No other way to say this. Turns out that Mary Kate is a C word.”

“The big C,” Maggie O’Brien sneered. “You know. The one we don’t say.”

Another chorus.

“Bitch.”

“Ugh.”

“Yikes.”

“Anyhoo”—Paddy chuckled—“the thing is, those kids took her behavior hard. She chose another life over her children. Deval stepped up when it all fell apart. He’s done everything possible to reframe their lives with nothing but positive.”

Mrs. O’Brien’s angry sadness was evident. “But it’s hard when nearly everyone knows and chatters.”

Remy got her first glimpse of the fire and brimstone inside Finn’s indomitable mother. She might have that soft-spoken thing down pat, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of incinerating anyone who threatens her family. When Maggie O’Brien’s eyes met hers and she saw the woman’s nodding head, it occurred to her that she was part of Finn’s family now.

“Absolutely right. So an opportunity came to Dev quite by accident, but the result is nothing short of amazing. Your brother is relocating to Oregon, of all places. He’s going to be the fire chief and public safety director for a mountain town going through a tourism growth spurt.”

Alex smiled and said, “Whoa!”

Finn looked at her. Remy gave him an encouraging half smile.

Meghan just looked flabbergasted.

Since she was the only one to retain her wits, Remy did the recap for clarification.

“Let me see if I have this straight. Mary Kate is a C, so Deval is kind of giving her the finger by hauling the family three thousand miles away. Where he gets to be in charge of what sounds like an entire town. Did I cover it all?”

Meghan finally found her voice. “When is this happening, Da?”

“Here’s the thing, daughter, you know Dev. He can turn changing a light bulb into a four-hour seminar. His new position starts after Labor Day, so he’s decided to make the move a learning experience. Once the decision was made, he emptied his place, put everything in storage, and bought an RV.”

Alex suddenly leaned forward. “An RV? My folks have an RV.”

Paddy nodded with a big grin on his face. “Yes, they do, son,” he said. “And that’s where I got this whole idea in the first place.”

“What idea?” Finn asked.

“Wait for it.” Mrs. O’Brien giggled.

“Well, you know how I said that maybe it’s time to retire?”

Meghan screeched, “Whaaat?”

“Easy, daughter. You’ll scare me grandbabies.”

“Da,” Finn drawled. “What have you done?”

Maggie put out her hands, making it clear she was taking over. Finn’s mom sniggered and rolled her eyes while looking at her and Meghan.

“He still can’t tell a story! Let me take it from here,” Maggie drawled.

Paddy made a loud aside to Finn and Alex. “This is what you have to look forward to, men. The wife always takes over.”

Something insidious slithered up and down her spine at what Paddy was saying. At first, she thought it was the usual – angry fear. But not this time. She couldn’t pin down what it was.

“Deval and the kids are embarking on a cross-country adventure in a very nice RV. They’ve mapped out the things they want to see along the way. I expect they’ll be pulling into Bendover around the tenth.”

Meghan gasped and covered her mouth as her mother continued.

“At which point,” Maggie chirped with glee, “your da will run to Flagstaff and pick up the RV we’ve rented. That’s when it gets interesting! Meghan! Guess what? Your folks and the Sullivans are going to caravan with us when we head out to explore the Grand Canyon. Isn’t that grand?”

Alex cracked up first. “Wait a minute. My parents are involved in this crazy scheme?”

Paddy answered with a booming guffaw. “Involved? Hell, son, Cristián and Matt took charge of getting us a traveling palace. In a way, they’re acting as our tour guides.”

Finn was next to let loose with a thunderous laugh. “You guys are gonna have a ball. Dev will drive you crazy with study guides and daily quizzes. Ma will take RV cooking to new heights! I fucking love it.”

Remy put in her two cents. “I’m surprised there aren’t a few more people trying to get in on this caravan.”

Meghan agreed with an enthusiastic nod.

“We have a week carved out. When we head back here, Dev and the kids will continue their adventure. After they make it to the Pacific Ocean, they’ll mosey up the coast into Oregon and their new home.”

Finn grumbled. “Wish I could go with but there’s no way. Barry and Shelly have some days off for a wedding in Lake Tahoe. Grey could handle the bar, but the kitchen is another thing entirely. My guys are good but not good enough to fly solo.”

She consoled him with another shoulder rub then Finn called a time-out. “Wait a minute. Back it up, buster. The RV adventure we got. But didn’t you say something about retiring?”

Every head swung to look at Paddy.

“That I did, my boy. That I did. Had enough,” he announced. “Been there and done that far too many times. But when it comes to retiring, I’m not sure. Don’t know what I’d do with my time. And with everyone scattering, well, it makes a decision tougher.”

“But we found a wonderful solution, didn’t we?” Maggie happily gushed.

Paddy nodded. “Just like with Dev, I was in the right spot at the right time and scored a faculty position at the police academy. Teaching a class. Holidays and summer off. Plenty of time to go adventuring and visit with my grandkids.”

“Daddy!” Meghan exclaimed. “This is fantastic. You can live in the casita when you’re here, or if you want, we can build you a little cottage like Calder and Stephanie did. That way, Dev and the kids will always have a place to hang out.”

Finn exploded with energy and picked Remy up as he stood. “We’ll decorate Pete’s in Irish green and dedicate a week to the old sod. You and Ma can tend bar and tell stories.”

Alex had a good loud laugh at Finn’s enthusiastic suggestion. “And maybe you can shoot the shit for Justice. Do a seminar on urban terror response.”

Remy was agog as everyone’s spirits rose. The joyful camaraderie these people shared impressed her. She adored her mom and dad, but the two sides of her biological family were so diametrically opposed that she’d never felt comfortable with either and had been stuck in the middle her whole life.

“And you, little lady,” Paddy unexpectedly boomed in her direction.

She pointed at her face and said, “Who? Me?”

“Of course, you!” He chortled. “Maybe I can convince your boss to let you teach me and the missus how to handle a sports quad. My Maggie fancied herself a biker gal until she took a spill.”

“Never again,” Maggie said with a grimace. “Nothing with just two wheels. But a quad? I’d love to take one out into the desert.”

Alex stood and gave his father-in-law a hearty back slap. “Remington’s boss gives you both full access to any damn thing you want. If it moves, Remy’s your gal. We’ve even got some Segways down in the compound. Perfectly useless on rough terrain but fantastic for finding center mass and developing balance.”

She wasn’t sure whether she should feel uncomfortable or not. Finn moved into a huddle with his father and Alex, leaving her to do the same with Maggie O’Brien and Meghan.

Stevie and Aiden were propped up side by side on a padded lounger with Mommy stretched out beside them. Maggie sat at the feet of the twins, leaving Remy unsure what to do. Luckily, Meghan grabbed her hand and forced her to squeeze onto the lounger with them.

“Men are so easy sometimes,” Maggie drawled in a voice dripping with amused sarcasm. “Just promise some toys, and they’re off to the races. Look at them! Plotting and planning.”

Meghan gave a snorting laugh. “I thought it was just Alex, but after all my time spent here in this boys camp for wayward alphas, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s in their DNA.” She bent to kiss Aiden’s head. “Pretty sure this one is already manipulating us. He hates it when Stevie cries and can be quite disagreeable when he can’t see her. He’ll cry, and when we check on him, he’s happy as a leprechaun. It’ll be Stevie who’s upset. He looks out for her.”

Aw, that touched Remy’s heart. How sweet. In a weird way, it was kind of like her and Jace. Even though they were just cousins, their close relationship was more like a sibling’s.

They chatted about the party, and she listened to a bit of gossip about Carmen and Chief Winston that she found drop-dead funny. She’d been to plenty Justice gatherings during her time here, but this felt different. No one had ever made her feel like an outsider or a fifth wheel. No. That call came from inside the house. She was her own worst enemy at times. This felt different because of the ease with which she’d been welcomed into Family Justice. And she was way more comfortable around Finn than she’d ever been before.

Things were changing, but she knew nothing more could come of it until she faced what nearly killed her spirit. Jace was after her twenty-four seven to open up and tell Finn. Every morning, her sent her a text that said, ‘Today seems like a good day to get real.’

So far, she’d remained a devout, card-carrying coward.

* * *

She was fucking exhausted. Staying off radar for a little bit was no problem, but she’d been ghosting the damn barbecue for hours and was feeling the strain.

Domineau twisted to one side, held it, and then twisted to the other. Her back made dramatic cracking noises. She looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink and immediately found evidence of strain etched on her face.

Seeing Rafe again was more difficult than she imagined. Was that because he had a kid? One she had no goddamn idea existed.

She’d pressed Sawyer about it, but the asshole hid behind his wife and kids.

For the hundred millionth time, she wondered how much Justice – and Alex, in particular – knew about Bentley Sawyer’s incredibly strange life.

They’d been introduced through Justice, and for the longest time, that was all either of them knew about each other. Until one afternoon right after she was reassigned to D.C., when she stumbled upon the modern-day Radar O’Reilly in the lunchroom at Langley. The last time she’d seen him before then, he’d been taking bets on a Sunday football match-up while lounging on an old truck bench seat sitting in the Afghanistan dirt and dust. He was the last person she expected to see in a suit and tie, hanging around CIA Headquarters.

On that occasion, she went straight for his throat and demanded to know what the fuck he was doing. The only thing preventing her from dragging him by his shirtfront into a broom closet where she could terrorize the man into telling her everything was the beep-beep-beep warning in her brain. If Sawyer was CIA, that’d explain a whole hell of a lot. It also led to questions – questions that he’d never actually answered to this day.

And then, of course, there was the whole silent partner thing Sawyer had going on with Roman and Julian Bishop. She wasn’t supposed to know, but Julian let it slip one night when they got drunk together. He’d been pissing and moaning about his ex-wife and how much she took him for in the divorce when he accidentally went into alcohol-infused detail about the Red Club’s financials.

Fucking Bentley Sawyer invested heavily at start-up and now owned a silent ten percent of the club with Julian and Roman equal controlling partners.

But even with the knowledge she had, when she tried nailing him to the spot and demanded he spill whatever he knew about Rafe, he Michael Jackson moonwalked away as fast as he could.

Asshole.

Making matters worse was Rafe’s kid getting sucked into the Matty and Bella dynamic.

Ergh. She grimaced at the mirror and made a face. “Why’s it gotta be this way?” she asked her reflection.

She’d hidden long enough. Dammit. And she wouldn’t be surprised if Matty and his gal pals were lurking nearby ready to pounce the second she left the bathroom.

Her little buddy was over the moon and wanted to share his enthusiasm.

With one last glance in the mirror and a muttered, “Don’t be such a pussy,” she left the relative privacy of the washroom and stepped none too confidently into the shitstorm of her own making.

Exactly as expected, Papacito was on the job – impatiently waiting. She gulped a lungful of air and let it out.

“Domineau!” he shouted. “Look!”

With his posse of little girls right on his heels, Matty ran to her and excitedly demonstrated his cartwheel skills. He performed two surprisingly perfect kiddie cartwheels as Bella and Rafe’s kid cheered.

Then Bella showed off a few karate moves she learned from a class she was taking.

Their enthusiasm and childlike joy tap-danced on her last nerve. The kids were adorable, yes, but she knew firsthand how quickly and permanently that joy could be extinguished by the actions of another.

Bella and Matty encouraged their new friend to do something.

The battle raging inside Domineau was taking a toll. She didn’t want to look too closely at the little girl. Didn’t want to feel anything. Knew she shouldn’t get involved.

But she did.

Fuck.

“I can do ballet,” she explained. Her ponytail of blond curls swayed with her movements as she performed a wobbly pirouette and some pliés.

She had Rafe’s eyes.

And his mouth.

It took Domineau mere seconds to recognize that Rafe’s daughter shared his physicality. She moved with confidence and had a way of standing that reminded her so very much of her father.

Instead of running for the hills, she froze. A mighty battle was raging inside her, and she wasn’t sure who the winner would be. The side she kept on lockdown laughed at her failed attempts to keep personal details hidden. With no forethought and ignoring the very real possibility that what she was about to do and say would cause a major disturbance in the force, she went for it anyway.

“Nice moves, Molly.” The kid’s name stuck in her throat, but she made sure to speak in a pleasant tone. “I took ballet when I was your age. Have you seen The Nutcracker?”

Molly nodded and smiled just like Rafe. “Uh-huh! Daddy and I go see The Nutcracker at Christmastime.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Too much information that Domineau didn’t need in her head, but she kept going anyway.

“Well, I wanted to be the Sugar Plum Fairy sooo bad!” She informed her kiddie audience. “But I did get to be in the Nutcracker March!”

She demonstrated a few dance moves and managed a fairly steady arabesque that earned ‘Oohs’ and ‘Ahhs’ from the kids.

The sound of slow clapping brought her up short. She stumbled awkwardly and tried to right herself.

For half a second, she considered ghosting away, but it’d do no good. She’d been caught in the act, with a bunch of kids, and nothing she could say would change that fact.

“Daddy!” Molly yelled as she ran straight for him.

Matty informed her of the obvious. “That’s Molly’s dad.”

Rafe caught Molly as she launched into his waiting arms. At that moment, part of Domineau died a thousand deaths.

He’d gone and done it. Had a kid – just like he said he would.

She couldn’t swallow. Couldn’t speak. A rush of memories swamped her emotions. He wanted a family and had said so. And he wanted her to want the same thing with him.

The blinding panic that made her run all those years ago, reignited deep inside. This was a mistake. A very bad mistake. She simply couldn’t do this. Still.

A feeling of profound sadness made the moment nearly unbearable.

“Did you see, Daddy?” Molly asked. “Domineau is a ballerina.”

Could this get any worse?

“You make a lovely ballerina.”

Five words. Five motherfucking simple, friendly words. Five words resonating all the emotions she desperately feared.

Even after all these years, and with his daughter in his arms, she heard the love.

So, to answer her question – yeah. It did get worse. This scenario was the very reason she stayed far away from him when the team got back together for a mission.

Say something, you fucking idiot!

“Hello, Rafael.”

It took a hellacious effort to stand still and let this moment unfold. And with an audience, no less. An audience of kids. How fucking perfect.

“Domineau,” he drawled. His eyes sparkled and momentarily made her forget where they were. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you.”

Say what? Did he just … what? She squinted hard and dropped her mouth open but was at a loss for words.

“Uh, excuse me?”

Rafe chuckled and ruffled Matty’s hair. “This young man informs me that he’s your gatekeeper.”

“My what?”

Matty giggled. So did Bella.

“Gatekeeper. And he claims you’re his first girlfriend and Bella, his second.”

She felt like a broken record but barked anyway. “What?”

“And here we traveled all this way to see if you wanted to be my girlfriend only to find you taken.”

Matty put his little fist out for Rafe to bump. The manly tribal gesture took this surreal conversation off the charts.

Were they kidding? Was this Rafe and Matty yanking her chain? Should she laugh?

“Daddy said you were pretty,” Molly told her with a smile. “But he never told me you could do ballet.”

The top of her head began to pulsate. A creeping chill moved into her neck and marched down her spine. She couldn’t feel her legs or feet.

“Guys,” Rafe exclaimed. He was using what she assumed was his dad voice to get their attention and cooperation. “Run along and go keep D Squared occupied. Let me have a chance to talk with Domineau.”

Matty hugged her legs like he always did and smiled into her face. “I like Molly’s dad,” he whispered when she bent over to return the hug. “I really think he wants you to be his girlfriend.”

She was going to kill Rafe.

Yep. No other choice.

Not now that he’d discussed her with a bunch of kids.

Matty tugged on her arm. She looked him in the eye. “I love you.”

Aw, shit. Why was it always the kids who reminded us of things we’d rather not think about? Roman and Kelly gave her crap about this very thing. She loved Matty. That was right. She loved and there was no running away from that truth.

Knowing Rafe could hear, she stroked Matty’s face. “Love you too, papacito.”

The exuberant squad took off to find trouble and left her alone with Rafe.

Domineau held her breath and waited.

* * *

Rafe considered buying out the Lego store for Roman’s boy when he knocked the wind from Domineau’s sails with his love pronouncement.

He saw her infinitesimal hesitation fade in the face of actual feelings. For a four-year-old. At that moment, Rafe realized that maybe there was a chance to sneak behind Domineau’s impressive defenses instead of trying to break the wall down.

He understood why she needed the wall and had spent his fair share of time attempting to avoid the emotional pitfalls she used to keep people at arm’s length.

But when he heard the tale of Matty, Bella, and the girlfriend triangle involving Domineau, he felt in his gut that coming here to put it all on the line was the right thing. Destiny.

She let a little kid in, and the karmic irony of that wasn’t lost on him.

That must be why he went with an in-your-face declaration right out of the gate.

“He’s a great kid,” Rafe declared while his eyes tracked Molly’s safe arrival with a group of adults. With a slight smirk, he took it one step further. “I can see why you fell for him. But he’s a bit young, don’t you think?”

Please laugh. Or smirk. Or come back at me with something snarky. Please!

She rolled a shoulder and produced a world-class Elvis lip curl. “Yeah, but he’s rich as shit. Did you know? Worth millions.”

Rafe mentally spiked a touchdown ball. Domineau gave good snark. She hadn’t lost her touch.

He chuckled and crossed his arms. “Oh, so you’re a gold digger now? Robbing the cradle for a payout?”

A boom went off in his chest when she quite uncharacteristically bit her lip and looked away. There was far too much rushing water under their shared bridge for them to flirt or play word games.

“Domineau.”

She looked at him; only, this time when their eyes met, she didn’t lower the shade quick enough, and he caught a rare glimpse at her true feelings.

He didn’t care if the entire U.S. Military tried to keep him away from her – he’d fight anyone and anything that stood in his way now that he’d seen some real emotion and a tad of regret.

He wanted her to remember, not react with knee-jerk defiance, so he chose his next words carefully and spoke softly.

“I didn’t come to start shit. Yes, I knew you were in Bendover. It’s time for us to talk, don’t you think?”

So much hung on whatever she said next. His heart gave an erratic thump. If she shot him down without a hearing, he wasn’t sure what he’d do.

Her display of atypical behavior struck him straight in his center. Another lip bite and a bit of foot shuffling shook Rafe. It almost didn’t matter what she said. Seeing her in a moment of fluster sent a louder signal than any words could.

She pushed some invisible hair behind one ear. The movement caught his eye, and he spoke before she answered.

“Let me just say that I’m loving the highlights.”

Whatever she was planning to say got swept away when she laughed. “Dammit, Rafe! If you were gay, I swear you’d make the best girlfriend ever.”

“Guilty,” he quipped. “Just without the gay.”

When the single most badass female he’d ever known – and he’d known quite a few – blushed a lovely shade of scarlet, his curiosity was piqued.

“Yes, well, I can attest to the not gay thing.”

Did she just glance at his crotch? Holy shit. This was going way better than he imagined.

And then she regrouped and fired a warning shot across his path. If she wanted his undivided attention, she certainly got it.

“Why now, Rafe? Why not when we were in Pakistan? Clue me in on what’s going on inside your head.”

Domineau wanted direct, so that was what he gave her.

“The team had to stay focused. That wasn’t the time to get into anything. And Molly wasn’t there. She’s part of me, Domineau. I can’t make a move without considering her.”

“Rafe.” If she had more to say, it was blown away by a deep sigh.

“Answering the why now question is simple. We never closed the book. There are still pages waiting to be written. Walking away wasn’t the answer, honey. When I talked to Alex after the twins were born, he told me you’d be taking over at Justice. That’s when I decided enough was enough. My feelings haven’t changed. The wild card is your feelings.”

She snapped back and reminded him who she was. “Are you fucking serious? My feelings are the wild card?” Her voice rose considerably and hovered on the edges of yelling. “I’d say your daughter is the wild card, Rafe. She didn’t sprout to life in a pumpkin patch. And unless you’re hiding some sort of divine intervention, that kid has a mother. Don’t talk to me about my feelings when you’ve just dumped a dozen questions onto the heap.”

“Marielle’s mother isn’t in the picture,” he explained. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Her immediate look of disbelief almost knocked him over. He was an idiot for phrasing it that way.

“It’s not me who you should worry about, you dumb fuck.”

Domineau’s angry growling accusation hit the mark. He inwardly cringed. The weight of his daughter’s privacy pressed uncomfortably on his conscience.

A loud cheer went up, jolting them from the intensifying conversation that was veering into confrontation territory.

“This isn’t over,” he grumbled. “We need to talk.”

She glared at him. “You let me know when you get your story straight. Until then? Fuck off.”