Vengeful Secret (The Burkes Mafia #3)

26. Gray

26

GRAY

I’m early, so I’m the only one in the kitchen.

Declan and Bree trail in, and Bree groans as she sits down. She’s so miserable at the end of her pregnancy. I feel bad for her, but Declan rubs her back, and she smiles at him.

Sutton and Ciara enter the room, and I smile at my daughter.

Ciara is dressed in a pretty green dress and has her blonde hair loose and curling around her face.

I smile at her before looking up at Sutton and losing my breath.

She’s put on some finishing touches since I saw her in the hallway earlier.

She looks gorgeous in a charcoal gray dress with a high neck that shows off her strong jawline and the blue-gray of her eyes. She clicks forward in her low heels, sitting next to me and putting Ciara in her booster seat, keeping her eyes averted from the rest of the family.

“It's okay, a ghrá ,” I whisper in her ear. “Calm down. I just want to show off my princess.”

Her shoulders relax, and she smiles at me.

Paige and Kael finally show up, fashionably late as always, and we’re all sitting at the table when Marisol brings out the roast, rice, and potatoes.

“Looks delicious,” Declan points out, and she smiles at him.

“Stay here, Marisol,” I say after she puts the food out. “You’re family, so you should hear this, too.”

Marisol waits by the door, looking at me with a blank face. She doesn’t seem curious at all, so maybe she’s already figured it out.

I stand up, standing behind Ciara’s chair and putting my hands on her shoulders. “I know you all know Ciara, but I wanted to officially introduce her as my daughter.”

“I knew it!” Lara blurts out, and as the whole family laughs, I blink, surprised by their reaction. I’d expected at least a few questions, but I guess even I’d underestimated how accepting my family is.

Declan and Kael stand up to hug me and congratulate me while Paige introduces herself to Ciara.

Ciara’s laughing along with everyone else, my happy little girl, and my heart swells.

“I’m your aunt,” Paige says.

“She’s never had an aunt. I don’t have any sisters,” Sutton admits in a mumble.

“You do now,” Lara says, hugging her since she’s sitting next to her, and Sutton looks at me over her shoulder, surprised.

I smile at her and notice that Sutton has tears in her eyes.

I squeeze her shoulder.

Lara turns to Ciara. “Me and Paige are your da’s sisters, so we’re your aunts.”

“And I'm your uncle,” Declan says.

“Don’t overwhelm the poor girl,” I say.

I put a plate in front of both Sutton and Ciara, filling them.

“She’s a perfect Burke already,” Paige says.

Ciara smiles even though she probably doesn’t know what that means. “Daddy gives me piggyback rides in the pool. Even though water gets in his nose.”

Declan laughs. “I’d like to see that."

“Maybe tomorrow,” I say. “I’m still sneezing out pool water.”

I go silent for a moment, worried that someone will say something cruel to Sutton. I’m pretty sure they won’t, but you never know how my family may offend someone. They’re kind and fun, but sometimes blunt, just like Ciara.

But no one says a word about how long ago we met or how Ciara came to be.

“I can’t believe you kept your relationship secret,” Lara chuckles.

I look at her. “What made you suspect?”

“Her eyes. But the truth is, none of us knew, not for sure. Well, maybe Da.”

“Da has eyes in the back of his head,” Declan says with a chuckle. “If it helps, I didn’t know.”

“You wouldn’t,” Bree says, laughing, and Declan gapes at her.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“No offense, Declan, but you can be a little self-involved,” Kael points out, grinning.

“Don’t make me hit you again.”

“Love to see you try,” Kael shoots back, but it’s all in jest. The worst that would happen is that they would spar together downstairs later.

Sutton starts to slowly relax as we all talk around the table.

“What do you do for a living?” Paige asks.

“I’m a freelance advertising executive,” she says. "I used to work for a big firm, but after Ciara, I needed some flexibility.”

Lara hums. “I've thought about going into advertising. What's it like?"

Lara and Sutton talk for a while, and I look around at my family.

Declan is watching Bree rub her heavily pregnant belly, looking at her fondly with one hand over hers on the table. Kael and Paige are speaking among themselves, probably arguing since that seems to be their love language.

My family, with all their problems, with all the danger that we have in our lives—they’re wonderful.

Tears prick at the backs of my eyes. I’ve been so ready to shut down anyone who asked any questions, but not a single one has been asked.

It doesn’t matter how Sutton and I created Ciara, or where we are now. All that matters is that my family knows that I care about them. They’ve accepted them instantly.

Sutton turns to me, smiling and raising an eyebrow.

“You okay, Gray?”

“Never been better.” I take her hand, bringing her knuckles to my lips to kiss them.

She flushes and smiles.

“This pot roast is delectable, Marisol,” she says, and Marisol smiles and thanks her before exiting the room.

“I was thinking that it’s been a long time since we’ve had a family picture,” Lara says, and I hum.

I don’t think we've had one with the whole family in years, so she’s right, but Ma had been the one that loved pictures. She was an amateur photographer, and that’s why we had so many photo albums.

I can’t help my emotions taking over as my eyes burn with tears, but I manage to hold them back.

“That'd be nice, Lara."

We all crowd around as Marisol holds our phones, taking pictures.

Declan cracks a joke, and Sutton bursts out laughing in one of them.

It’s my favorite picture of her. I want to blow it up and put it on my desk.

For the last picture, with Marisol’s phone, I reach out to grab Marisol’s hand.

“Put it on a timer,” I suggest. “You’re part of the family, too.”

Marisol looks touched and puts the phone on a timer, setting it up on the roast bowl before hurrying over to stand next to me and Sutton.

“These are all great,” Lara muses. “Which one are we going to put on the wall.”

“The one with Marisol,” I say quickly.

“I’ll have it blown up,” Declan offers.

Kael and Paige leave first since they have a little date night planned, and then Declan and Bree, citing needing to put up Bree’s swollen feet.

“I wanted to play with everyone,” Ciara whines and pouts, but she’s so tired herself she can barely keep her eyes open.

“Tomorrow,” Bree promises her.

Ciara nods, even though she’s still pouting, and I pick her up.

She lies her head on my shoulder, and she’s dozing in moments.

As I take her upstairs with Sutton in tow, I can’t help thinking that that photo may symbolize the future—a future with Sutton as a part of the Burke family.