Going Deep (Imperfect Love 2)

I click out of it and send my sister a text, asking how she’s doing and suggest we get together soon. Then I send one to my mom’s doctor to ask if there are any updates and when he thinks she might be up for company.

I climb out of bed and use the bathroom. As I’m walking to the kitchen, the front door opens. “Home already?” I yell. “I hope you brought me breakfast.” I’m only joking, but if he really did, brownie points for him.

“Uncle Killian,” a tiny voice calls out. I stop in my tracks, looking down to make sure I’m decent. I woke up in the middle of the night, warm from Killian being wrapped around me, and took off my sweats, leaving me in only a shirt that barely covers my ass.

“I’m so sorry!” Killian’s sister-in-law, Christina, says. “We didn’t realize Kill wasn’t here.”

“Or that he would actually have a woman over,” Dylan adds. Christina shoots him a glare, and I laugh through my embarrassment.

“It’s—it’s not like that…we’re not.”

“We’re not what?”

My eyes dart over to Killian, who is standing in the doorway in a pair of basketball shorts with his shirt slung around his neck. His entire upper half is covered in sweat. When he notices I’m ogling him, he smirks.

“Your family is here.” I say, tilting my head toward them. His eyes move to them and widen. When he sees his niece, he grabs his shirt from around his neck and puts it back on.

“Sorry, I thought Giselle was on the phone…or talking to herself.”

Dylan and Christina laugh. I glare. “Isn’t it a little chilly outside to be running around half-naked?”

“I could say the same for you.” He chuckles. My cheeks heat up in embarrassment, and it only makes him laugh harder. Throwing his arm over my shoulders, he pulls me into his side and kisses my temple. “I was at the gym downstairs,” he clarifies.

“Uncle Killian, you’re so gross and sweaty!” his niece yells, her nose scrunched up in disgust.

Killian looks around at everyone standing in his condo then curses under his breath. “I’m watching Julia today, aren’t I?”

“If you have plans, we can bring her with us,” Dylan says, his gaze darting from me to Killian, who still has me in his hold.

“No!” Julia pouts. “We’re going ice skating and to the zoo, right, Uncle Killian?”

“Right,” he confirms. Then he looks over at me. “Join us.”

“Yeah!” Julia exclaims. “Join us.” She skips over to me and extends her hand. “I’m Julia Blake.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Giselle Winters.” I shake her hand.

She grins wide then runs over to the TV, clicking it on and changing the channel. She’s clearly been here before, which makes sense since she’s Killian’s niece.

“I need to go home. I don’t have any clothes here,” I tell Killian quietly, not wanting to have this conversation in front of other people, especially his family.

Killian, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to care who’s here. “Maybe you should keep some stuff here, so we don’t have to drive across the bridge all the time to get your clothes.”

My gaze bounces between him and his brother and wife. They look more shocked than I do. Killian doesn’t notice. He removes his arm from around me and walks into the kitchen. He makes a cup of coffee then hands it to me—kissing my cheek as he does.

“I’m going to jump in the shower. Why don’t you just grab another outfit of Olivia’s? We can get some of your stuff to keep here later.” Without waiting for my answer, he says to his brother and Christina, “You guys can go. I got Julia.” Then he says to Julia, “Once I’m out of the shower, and Giselle is ready, we’ll go.”

Nineteen

Giselle

I’m swiping through my photo album on my phone, trying to find a particular couch I know I took a picture of. My finger stops on a photo of Killian and me at the zoo in front of the tiger exhibit last weekend with his niece. After I took a picture of Julia with Killian, she insisted on taking one of us. Unable to tell her no, I handed her my phone and stood next to Killian. He wrapped me up in his arms and kissed me on my cheek as Julia took the picture. She laughed and said to smile nice. So Killian did as she asked and smiled for the camera. I can’t even remember the last time I enjoyed myself as much as I did that day. I swipe to the next photo of Killian devouring an ice cream. He didn’t care how cold it was outside. He said when you go to the zoo, you have to eat ice cream. The next photo is one of him and Julia. My heart squeezes at how good he is with her. Had Melanie not have gotten an abortion, I know deep down in my heart, Killian would have done the right thing, and he would’ve been a damn good dad.