Page 51 of Bones

“You look…” He swallows hard. “Turn around for me, baby.”

I do a little turn, and he makes a growling sound. “Nope, you aren’t going out in front of the single brothers in that.”

“Yes, I am,” I reply cheerfully.

He stands up and hands me Natalia, who grips onto my hair and smiles up at me. My heart melts instantly. She slowly blinks and tilts her head to the side as she watches me, just like her dad does.

“I didn’t stand a chance with you, did I?” I murmur, while Nate strips down and puts on his swimming shorts.

She makes a giggling sound, and I gently run my finger down her soft cheek. “She’s so cute, Nate. She looks just like you and Skull.

“You look good with a baby,” he rasps, his eyes gentle.

“Don’t get any ideas just yet,” I say, but he kisses my forehead, then Natalia’s, and my throat tightens.

I’ve never had this before, and it’s showing me how sad and distant my life has been. There’s been a wall up between my family and me, and there wasn’t this connection with any of my exes.

I’ve been missing out on this for my entire life.

And although it might be terrifying, I’m going to grab onto it with both hands.

And pray he won’t be my biggest heartbreak.

BONES

“So, you still haven’t told her that we both slept with Daisy and don’t actually know who the dad is?” Skull asks, his brow furrowing. We’re both at Vipers working on a car together. It’s been a while since we’ve done this, and it’s actually really nice spending time with just him.

Wiping my fingers on an oil stained rag, I pick up my bottle of water and take a sip. “No, she thinks Natalia is mine, and we just raise her together because we do everything together.”

And she still doesn’t know how true that is.

I know I should tell her the truth, but deep down, I think I’m scared. Does she really need to know that fact about my past? But I know that the fact I’m actively keeping something from her is a dick move, and the knowledge feels like a weight on my chest because everyone knows but her.

Maybe I should tell her about Daisy, but I don’t want her to know I shared Isla with Skull.

That will change their dynamic, and it might push her away enough that she doesn’t want anything to do with me.

“Are you going to tell her?” he asks, closing the car’s hood and leaning on it. “For the record, I think you need to put it all out in the open, brother. I know that she might not take it well at the start, but once she gets over the shock, I think she’ll be fine. She loves you, and this all happened before you met her. She can’t hold it against you, but if you lie to her, she can.”

“I know,” I admit. “I should tell her about Daisy. Fuck, I will tell her.”

I should have told her already. She needs to know the truth, and she needs to hear it from me. I’ve been avoiding this conversation, not wanting to scare her away, but now that we’ve told each other how we feel, it’s time to put everything out in the open.

“Good. Are you going to tell her about Isla?” he asks.

“I don’t know. I think that one is going to hurt her the most. She might have some questions about Daisy, but I don’t think she’ll care. I’ve just avoided it because it means explaining that we used to share women, and I know she’s going to have a lot of questions about that.”

Which might lead her to ask if I’ve been with Isla. I really want her and Isla to get along because we are one big family.

“Isla was worried that you’d want to share Doc with me, just the one time like we did with her.” He puts it out there. I didn’t tell him I’d overheard their conversation and decided to let him bring it up to me.

“You have Isla now, and I’d never do that to her. I was single when I was with her… it’s different.” And I don’t even know if I could share Doc. “However, I do have another bonding idea, but our women will have to be open-minded.”

Skull runs his hand over the stubble on his cheek. “I’m intrigued.”

I’m about to tell him how I think we should fuck our women in the same room at the same time, just as our garage manager, Mase, comes out with some paperwork for us to complete.

Skull would be down for it.