Enzo (Jinx Tattoos 1)
“Why? Because it doesn’t fit in a
pretty little box the way you like things to?”
“Oh, don’t you turn this around on me.”
“If that search comes up blank, it means she has no one looking out for her. She’ll be another hungry mouth and a faceless person in the system. Sure, she might get adopted out right away and have a good life, but I’m not counting on it. All you need is one person to care and look out for your well-being.”
“And that’s you, is it?” Aibhlinn countered.
“Yes, I’m making that decision now,” he said.
The stubborn set of his jaw and the determination in his eyes told her he wasn’t hearing her. “You can’t just take someone’s baby.”
“I didn’t. They threw her away. Don’t act like I crept through a window and stole her from a crib.”
Aoife began to squirm.
“I knew you’d balk at this because I didn’t go through legal channels. But what do you expect? I’m not even registered to be a foster parent. You think they’ll just hold her until I go through the lengthy process of classes and information gathering?”
“No, but your mother knows people. She could take her—”
“Saying they did allow her to, what then? You think they like to give foster girls to single men?”
“I’d help you.”
“Doesn’t matter in the eyes of the law unless we’re married.”
Aoife began to fuss. Aibhlinn removed the bottle from her mouth, and placed her over her shoulder, patting her back. Guilt gained her silence. The little one knew the mood in the room had changed.
“You going to rat on me, Aibhlinn?”
“Leahys aren’t rats,” she spat, furious that Enzo thought so little of her.
“No, but you have one hell of a rigid moral compass,” Enzo argued.
“Suddenly, that’s a bad thing?” she asked.
“I didn’t say it was—”
“You didn’t have to, Enzo.”
He ran a hand over his head. “See it from my point of view. I’d never be able to look at myself in the mirror, if I did wrong by this little girl. Could you just hand her over to some stranger and never hear about what happened next? The minute we alert the authorities, this is out of our hands.”
“So ... we just hope she’s okay?”
“Once we have the paperwork I can take her. If you’re that worried, we can call on Snake’s doc. I thought this out. It’s not some split-second decision.”
“So why are you telling me? You’ve already made up your mind.”
“Because I need you, Aibhlinn ... we need you.”
“Don’t do that.” She rocked back and forth. When Aoife burped pride filled her chest; a warmth she’d never experienced spread through her body. “Please don’t lay this on me.”
“I am. Because it’s true.” He dropped to his knee in front of her. “Let’s do this properly, give her a family.”
Her heart raced as she gazed down at him. Is he asking me what I think he is?
“We both deserve to give this a real try. One year is all I’m asking. If we don’t work, then we’ll annul it.”