“No!” Skyler shouts. “You can’t eat me!” She pats my shoulder. “My knight in shining armor will get you!”
When I don’t move, she nudges me. “Daddy, go get the dragon,” she whispers.
I lunge over the castle wall and put my hands on my hips. “Get back, scary dragon.”
Skyler laughs. “You need this, Daddy.” She hands me a cardboard sword.
I take the sword and point it at the dragon. “Take that, you ugly dragon.” I swing the sword and pretend to cut it to bits.
Kiki screams and flails around as the dragon has a fit. “You can’t hurt me. My scales are made out of titanium alloy.”
“But my sword is made out of steel cut diamonds. It will slice through your titanium alloy like it’s butter. Ha!” I slice and dice that dragon. Skyler giggles as we play fight.
“Ah, but you forget that I have amazing flying skills. I can avoid all of your feeble attempts at killing me.” Kiki flies her dragon through the air, deftly avoiding my sword.
“Get the dragon, Daddy!” Skyler shrieks.
“Your flying skills are no match for my enchantments. This sword has magical powers which makes it twelve times faster than your pathetic little wings.”
I start swinging again, but Kiki jumps out of the way. “You’ll have to catch me, first.” She jumps on the chair out of reach.
I do the only thing a knight in shining armor can do. I run after her, jumping on the chair next to her. Kiki leaps to the ottoman. I chase after her, but she’s always a step ahead of me. I anticipate her moves, and I jump to the couch just as she does. I grab her, slide the alligator puppet off her hand, and hold her tight. I lift the lifeless puppet. “Ha! I caught the dragon.”
Skyler squeals with delight and jumps up and down. “The dragon is dead!”
Kiki laughs and it hits me how I’ve grown to love that sound. I stand there, my arms wrapped around her, and it feels amazing to hold her. I should let Kiki go, but I seem to be unable to do so. I stare down at her, taking in the way her eyes laugh right along with her. The way her nose wrinkles, and how cute her tiny freckles look. My heart pounds as I stare at her face. She really is beautiful. Why did I not see it from the start? Then my gaze dips to her lips. Big mistake.
My chest tightens. I have a hard time breathing. Her lips are parted, and I can’t help but think about what it would feel like to kiss them. I haven’t thought about a woman like that in years, and it startles me.
I jump back from her, my pulse running a marathon. I climb down from the sofa. “Fun castle,” I say to Skyler.
I leave the room, still holding the cardboard sword. I can’t stay in that room anymore with Kiki. I don’t know why, but it’s like someone flipped on a switch inside of me, and now I’m feeling all kinds of things toward her I shouldn’t be.
I walk back to my office and close the door. I lean against it, my heart racing. I haven’t felt these things since Courtney, andthat turned out to be a disaster. I shouldn’t let my feelings get me into trouble again.
I walk to the window and look out at the ocean. I know I need to get a grip, or I’m going to mess this whole thing up. I just have to temper my feelings. Kiki is only here to watch Skyler during the day so I can work. It’s nothing more than that.
CHAPTER 14
KIKI EMMERSON
Ibring the pot of soup I made into the dining room and set it down on a trivet. I sit down at the table, Skyler to the left of me, Micah on the right. Tobias and Levi sit across from me. It feels like a family, and I choke back sudden emotions. I haven’t had that since my grandmother died. And I won’t have it ever again. This is not my family, no matter how much I wish it was. I’m just an impostor who invaded their home for my own purposes.
“Smells delicious,” Levi says. He grabs Tobias’s bowl and scoops a hearty portion for him, then continues to serve everyone else. “Is it made with sausage?”
“Yes, and potatoes.”
“I love potatoes,” Levi says.
I chance a glance at Tobias. I have no idea what to think. Things were going well as we played with Skyler, then he just left. Did I say something that offended him? I didn’t mean to. And now he’s strangely silent.
“You have a tattoo,” Levi says as he places my bowl in front of me. “Can I see it?”
Last night flits through my brain. Tobias said the same thing to me, right before he tenderly touched my skin, and my heart melted. I don’t know why, but it felt very intimate. That intimacy is gone now. I shove my wrist at Levi. “Sure.”
“That’s cool,” Micah says, leaning over to see it. “A phoenix?”
“Yes.”
