Unbelievable. He wouldn’t stop until she answered. Anika laughed softly and stared out the window at the deck. Finally, she responded. “Idate.”
“But you’re not seeing anyoneseriously?”
“Not at themoment.”
“I find that hard tobelieve.”
“Why? Different people are searching for differentthings.”
“What are yousearchingfor?”
“You’re not mytype,Reed.”
“I don’t believe that. Venice saysdifferent.”
“I was hurting then. I needed to feel better, and you helped me feel better. I appreciated it so much, but that’s all it was. We made each other feel better. I’veacceptedthat.”
“I thought that’s all it was, too, until I saw you again. Dammit, Anika, I know it was just six days, but I keep thinking about what happened between us. How perfect we were together. At least I thought we were perfect. Did you?” His eyes blazed with an earnestflame.
Shallow breaths left his lips, and her own breaths shortened at the memories. Touring the city on a scooter, an achy hunger filling her as she pressed her breasts against his firm back. Spending the night in deep conversation like an old couple, sharing a meal, licking the sticky sweetness of chocolate and sugar off each other’s fingers. Waking up next to him each morning and burrowing deeper into his embrace as his hands caressed her hypersensitive breasts, belly, and hips. She’d never experienced anything like it before or since. Reed easily embodied all the traits of the men her love quotes wereabout.
“I did think we wereperfect,but…”
“Butwhat?”
She held herbreath.
“I don’t want to hurtyou,Reed.”
The tip of his finger touched her wrist and slowly dragged across her skin, leaving fire in the wake of histouch.
“Thendon’t.”
Anika’s inhibitions lowered as she drowned in the intensity of his eyes. Her heartbeat tripled in rate, the temptation to forgive and tell him everything—the ugly truth, her own fears—trembled on the tip of her lips. She opened her mouth to reply, but the slamming of the front door and the sound of a little girl’s voice sidelined heranswer.
“Daddy! Look what I got. Whereareyou?”
They both took a step back, and Anika clutched the briefcase to her chest, as if to stop the pain that blossomed behind herbreasts.
“I’m in the kitchen,” Reed called out. Regret filled his eyes and his jawtightened.
A little girl dressed in jeans and a gray sweatshirt withButterfly Girlin a glitter design on the front raced into the kitchen carrying a plastic container of strawberries. She stopped abruptly when she sawAnika.
“Brielle, this is MissAnika.”
She sidled up to her father’s thigh. “Hi, Miss Anika,” Brielle said shyly, biting herbottomlip.
“Hi there,” Anikagreetedback.
“She’s going to make our house and your room all pretty,”Reedsaid.
“With butterflies?” Brielle asked hopefully, her eyes getting big andround.
“Oh, of course. Your daddy explained how important the butterflies are,”Anikasaid.
Reed placed a hand on top of his daughter’s coal black hair, styled on top of her head in a thick curly bun. She was an adorable little girl, with full cheeks, brown eyes and skin tinted a hint of color darkerthanhis.
In addition to the shock that Reed was a father, Anika now added another unexpected development. Reed’s daughter wasmixedrace.
