Locked Hearts (Chained Hearts Duet 2)

I nod as I face him. “Keir…” I break eye contact and focus on Wren. “I need you to watch my daughter, so I can go to the doctor.”

“Why are you going to the doctor? And it’s our daughter,” he states.

“I need birth control.”

“You plan to be fucking other people?” he growls, absolutely no shame that others are standing around, one of them being his mother.

“As long as one of them isn’t you, that’s all that matters,” I retort, removing the bag from my shoulder and handing it to him.

“As if he would touch you anyway,” Paige scoffs.

I face her. “He did… last night, in fact. I had to kick his ass out.”

Paige rolls her eyes and then looks at Keir. When he doesn’t deny it, her face goes even redder, and her hands bunch up at her sides into fists. “You slept with her,” she seethes.

“I’m going to take Wren upstairs. It was good seeing you again, Sailor,” his mother says and steps back into the elevator, taking Wren up with her.

I’m glad. She shouldn’t be around all this crazy.

“Have fun, you two.” I take a last look at Paige and Keir as I wave my hand and head off, not wanting to be a part of any of that bullshit. I’m not going to lie, I get a pang of jealousy that he’s marrying her, but that’s normal, right?

I’ve been married, and it didn’t really turn out how I had hoped, and I don’t plan on getting married again. Why trap myself when I don’t have to?

“No birth control,” Keir says angrily, coming up behind me as I pass through the doors. I pull my purse up my shoulder and shake my head.

“Take that bag to our daughter,” I say before I spin around and keep walking. He can’t follow me—Wren needs that bag, it holds all her bottles and diapers.

“Let me come.”

“No,” I scoff out while shaking my head at his words. “That is not happening. I’m a grown-ass adult, I can do things by myself. I don’t need you to come with me.”

“That may be true, but I want to come.”

I look past him to see Paige standing in the lobby against the glass wall, watching us.

“Go back to your fiancée and stop annoying me. The only way we are connected now is because of Wren. We don’t need to have conversations about anything except her,” I inform him. “Now, please… go so I’m not late.” I turn, but his hand captures my arm, and he pulls me around to face him. Keir steps closer so our bodies are touching and looks down into my eyes.

Why, when I look at him, do I feel the need to run my hands through his hair and hold him to me?

I don’t, thank goodness, because that would be bad.

“Please wait. I wish to accompany you…” I pause at his words then shake my head.

“I’ll call when I’m on my way back to pick up Wren,” I reply before I get into the closest cab and drive off.

I don’t look back.

Keir doesn’t open his door when I arrive to pick up Wren. I knock but no one answers. I ran a few errands while I was out and have just managed to come back to get Wren before dinner. Turning the handle, the door opens, and I head inside. I hear the soft sound of a television when I enter, and I find both Keir and Wren asleep. He’s lying on his couch in front of his television with Wren snuggled on his chest. I walk over and go to reach for her, but my wrists are captured, and dark, sleepy eyes stare back at me.

“She was upset. I have only just managed to get her to sleep. Let her be.” I pull my hands away and he lets them go. Looking around, I see not much has changed since I was here last.

“Which house do you stay in the most?” I ask.

“This is my winter house,” he says, moving slightly to a sitting position while keeping Wren in place on his chest. “The house you were at is my summer one.”

I nod. That makes sense. The other one is near the beach and has an amazing pool.

“I have a room ready at the other house for her,” he mentions, and my eyes find him, amazed by his admission. “I hope you will both accompany me next weekend. It’s meant to be warm.”

“What about your fiancée?”

“She’s not invited.”

“Why are you marrying her? And don’t tell me it’s because of a contract. Clearly, you don’t want her if you’re trying to fuck me.”

“I did fuck her.”

His words make me stop.

What the ever-loving fuck?

“Not long after I found out,” he says, nodding to Wren, who is still sound asleep.

“Why?” I ask, shaking my head. “Actually, don’t answer that… I don’t want to know.” Then it slips from my mouth before I can make it stop, “Is she the reason you never came back?”