Promise

Chapter 7: Baby's Day Out

"Feeding her tons of sugar just for me?" I shot Francis a dry look as I kissed the top of Reyna's head.

"Nothing compared to all the stuff you'll feed her throughout the day, I'm sure," he said, not lifting his eyes from the newspaper. I grinned. Even though Francis knew we all spoiled his daughter rotten, he didn't tell Bella. Otherwise, she most certainly would have come for our wigs by now.

"Nice outfit," he eyed me carefully. Francis wasn't very liberal with his compliments, so I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What does that mean?"

He arched an eyebrow. "It was quite a simple statement, Little Hale."

"Why are the two of you acting so weird about what I'm wearing?" I gestured to my body.

He shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee. "I remember Christian in college. And I've known him all my life."

"And?"

"And," he said with a smile full of mischief, "disons simplement qu'il aimerait vraiment cette jupe."

Before I could respond to try and understand what the hell that was supposed to mean, Bella came behind me, handing me a bowl of freshly cut fruit, popping a piece of juicy mango in my mouth. Only imported Indian mangoes for this one.

"So, listen," Bella quipped, "Francis and I have a dinner tonight. I'm not sure when we'll be back. Would you mind waiting here with her until we do? I promise we will try not to be too late."

"We will not be too late," Francis certified. He hated social gatherings to the highest degree. It was why he and Ariadne got along so well and she was on his team from the beginning.

"Of course! I'll stay however long you need."

"Thank you so much," Bella hugged me. "And you have your key, right?"

I jingled my massive key bunch in front of her. I had car keys, studio keys, the keys to my home, Damon's home, Bella's home, and my parent's apartment as well. There was no shortage of homes for me to crash into whenever I wanted. We all had each other's security codes for safety purposes too, especially after the events that transpired two years ago. I was no stranger to surprise visits from my family just to make sure I was okay. Me living alone in New York was something that stressed them all out constantly.

"Amazing," she nodded. "Not too much sugar before bed. Bedtime is 8 PM sharp. Oh and, she's allergic to bees. Please be careful. Don't let her get too close to the water, she gets too excited and almost falls in every single time–"

Francis chuckled coolly. "They're going to the park, not Thailand, papillon."

Before I could echo Francis' sentiment, a horn blared outside.

Bella rolled her eyes, muttering, "Why can't he be normal and just ring the doorbell?" and headed to the door.

"What about your brother suggests he is normal?" Francis asked, spitting the last word out. I chuckled under my breath, helping Reyna to her feet.

"Are you excited, Reyna? We're going on a picnic!" I asked her. She clapped her hands loudly and placed a sloppy kiss on my cheek as I lifted her up and carried her outside.

My heart fluttered when I saw Christian in his casual jeans and a gray V-neck sweater, leaning against the passenger seat of his car. Bella was talking his ears off too, probably giving him all the same warnings, as she gave me while fastening Reyna's car seat in the back of his car.

When he saw us walk through the door, he pushed off the car and uncrossed his arms, ignoring his little sister entirely. Reyna's stubby arms reached for her uncle immediately and he picked her up, shooting me a quick look. His gaze lingered for a moment as he tipped his Wayfarers down and looked at me, trailing me from head to toe, staring at my face for a second too long.