(Aya’s POV)“Daddy, aren’t you going to shake hands with him?” Violet asked curiously, looking at Gino’s hand.“Let me do it for daddy,” Liam chuckled, stepping forward and shaking hands with Gino instead. “Don’t mess up with the big boss, Gino.” He murmured, but enough for me to hear. “Don’t. Come. Near. His. Wife.”Gino flickered his eyes on the man beside me and gasped, realizing he was Red Carlington, the CEO and the owner of The Pacific. He opened his mouth but closed it again and then looked at Addie to confirm if Liam was telling the truth, but my cousin looked away. “Why don’t we finish the game?” Ariana said excitedly to break the awkward moment.Ned rolled his eyes, disappointed that his prize was no longer available. “Your team’s winning already,” he muttered as he took the ball and gave it to her. “And it’s obvious I’m not getting that date.” He glanced at Red, narrowing his eyes as he thought. “How about I get you a drink?”“Sorry,” she shook her head. “Not thirsty. Not

(Red’s POV)Vin knew apologizing for what happened was not enough, and without my wife in the room, he knew his team, including the three nannies who were with the children at that time, would lose their job for failing to keep sight of Katie. If Aya were not there, I would have exploded in anger, disappointed that they fell short of doing their job when there were three nannies around, and three bodyguards, keeping an eye on them. “This wasn’t the first time that this happened, Ana!” I growled, remembering how Violet escaped home without her knowing she had left her room. If not for Violet begging at that time not to fire Ana because it was her fault, not her nanny, I would have kicked her out, not caring about her sick mother.Ana lowered her head, her shoulders shaking as she cried silently with Ellen and Nessa. My twins, who had stopped wailing for fear of not finding their sister, were sitting on the couch with Ariana. My other children were with Liam and Mike, sitting at the n

(Red’s POV)“Oh!” Ariana exclaimed as she closed the door behind her. “You just came back now? Aya’s been waiting for you for hours.”“Did the kids have lunch already?” My hands were on the doorknob when I asked her.“Red,” she rolled her eyes and then glanced at her wristwatch. “It’s past four. The kids fell asleep after devouring the donuts Addie and Leslie brought earlier.”“Where are they?” I asked again, clearing my throat. “I mean Addie and Leslie.”“They went to Wilma to help her with the barbeque and check if we still needed something else. Ned’s just arrived with his cousins. Liam and Mike are at the bar for our drinks later,” she sighed and looked briefly at the closed door.“Aya?”She rolled her again. “Why don’t you check her yourself, Red? Aya’s too upset, and you know what upsets her? She kept on telling me that if she had been there watching the kids, this wouldn’t happen.” She sighed. “I don’t want to feel guilty, but guilt is now killing me because it was my silly ide

(Red’s POV)The squealing and giggling of my six children on the shore were such delightful sounds, and as I watched them playing in the water with their mother, I could not stop thinking about this feeling. Perhaps Violet was right that coming here was a bad idea. Aya and I were happy and had finally made our baby steps toward moving on. Listening to their conversation a while ago made me realize that my anger was a result of jealousy, envy, the thought of being cheated, and fear of losing Aya. My mind agreed with Mike, and I knew that from the very beginning, I snatched her chance to be happy, to have the future she wanted. With Aya crossing paths with Gino again, her first love, and the possibility that he could be Katie’s father, meant a deep connection between them. It hurt my ego that while she was too scared that she had lost her daughter, I did nothing but order my security details to look for Katie, sit and wait while he was outside, giving his time and doing everything he c

(Red’s POV)“Where are the kids?” Aya’s eyes were wide as she turned to me. I could tell she was worried when she saw the kids’ bedrooms empty.“Violet wanted to sleep in Ariana’s room, the triplets stayed with Addie and Leslie, and the boys were with the boys,” I answered. “We’re alone.” I waggled my eyebrows.Her lips curved into a naughty smile. “Alone?”I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me. “Yes, baby. Alone.” I brushed my lips to hers. “We have the whole room to ourselves.” I slid my hands under her shirt, grazing her smooth skin until I found her perfect mounds.She smiled nervously, gasping and closing her eyes but startling me when she caught my hands, stopping me.“Why?” My heart pounded, thinking she had changed her mind after having that short conversation with Gino.She raised her eyebrows, gliding her hands down but stopping at the waistband of my shorts. “Why are you hiding, Red?”I furrowed my forehead, narrowing my eyes for a second. “Hiding?