Prologue #2
Grayson didn’t think before he reached for her, wishing he could take away the pain of someone he barely knew. That was certainly a first. She flinched, ever so slightly, but he saw it and realized the damage ran deep from the one time the man she’d loved hurt her.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“I never talk about it,” she said with a shaky laugh. “Are you sure you’re a lawyer and not a shrink?”
“Quite sure,” he said with a chuckle, “although sometimes I think the two professions aren’t all that different.”
Emma took a drink of her wine and continued to stare at the fire.
“When I told him we were done, he flipped out. He… He held me down and forced me to…” She blew out a deep breath.
“When it was over, I told him to leave or I’d call the police.
I said if I ever saw him again, I’d report what he’d done to me. ”
“Christ, Emma. You’ve never told anyone that? Not even Lucy?”
Shaking her head, she said, “No one knows how Simone came to be. Except for you now.”
“Emma,” Grayson said on a long exhale. Though he had no right, he drew her in closer to him, needing to hold her.
“My dad was so mad when he found out I was pregnant. He didn’t speak to me for the longest time. I hated that he was so disappointed.”
“Why didn’t you tell him, sweetheart?”
“Because I didn’t want Simone’s life to be colored by how she was conceived.
I couldn’t bear that for her. As soon as I knew she was coming, I was in love with her.
I didn’t care how she came to be. Somehow I’ve managed to keep those two things very separate in my mind.
There’s him and what he did, and then there’s her—perfect in every way and no reflection whatsoever of the man who fathered her.
In fact, she’s a perfect reflection of my sister.
I love that.” Emma wiped away a tear that had slid down her cheek.
“I love that she looks like Lucy. I thank God every day that she doesn’t look like him.
” She released another of those shaky laughs.
“What is it about you that has me spilling my guts to a total stranger?”
“I’m not a stranger. Not anymore. I’m a friend, and I’m glad you finally told someone. What he did to you, Emma… It was a crime. You know that, right?”
Nodding, she said, “I’ve had counseling, and I’ve come to terms with what happened that night. As much as one ever accepts such things.”
“And he doesn’t know about her?”
She shook her head. “I’ve never seen him again, thank God. I used to be so afraid of him coming back and doing the math… But she looks nothing like him, and she’s always looked young for her age. There would be no reason for him to suspect she’s his.”
If he were thinking like a lawyer, Grayson might have something to say to that. But he was thinking as a man who’d been profoundly moved by a woman for the first time in his thirty-six years. “You’re amazing.”
“Don’t say that. I did what any mother would’ve done to protect her child.”
“At tremendous personal expense.”
“The payoff has been the most wonderful little girl that anyone could hope for. I’ll never regret a thing because I have her.”
“She’s very lucky to have you, too.”
“We’re both lucky. We’ve made a nice life for ourselves, and I never think about this stuff anymore.”
Grayson didn’t know if he totally believed that, but he wasn’t about to question her. “You must be beating the men away with a stick.”
“Right,” she said, laughing. “Between work and homework and dance class and birthday parties and soccer, I’m a regular dating machine.”
“So there’s no one special in your life?”
“Just Simone, my dad, Lucy, Colton and a few very good friends, including Cameron.”
“Do you ever want more for yourself?”
She shrugged. “I’ve learned to be very satisfied and thankful for what I have.”
“I want to see you again, Emma. I want to spend more time together.” The words were out of his mouth before he decided to say them, because the thought of her getting away, of never seeing her or Simone again except at family events, was unacceptable to him.
Here he’d just taken steps to simplify his life, and one night with her had made everything complicated again. And that was fine with him.
“Oh, um, you do?”
“I really do. I haven’t talked to a woman the way I’ve talked to you tonight in, well, ever. I don’t want to stop talking to you, even though I should let you get to bed so you’re not exhausted tomorrow. Something tells me Miss Simone won’t be too forgiving of an exhausted mother.”
“You’re right. She’ll take full advantage. But I’m not quite ready to go to bed just yet.”
“No?”
She shook her head as she returned his gaze, never blinking as they drank each other in.
Once again, Grayson acted before thinking, leaning in to kiss her.
He was careful not to move too fast or take too much, but he couldn’t let this night end without tasting her.
As soon as he processed that first taste, he knew it wasn’t going to be anywhere near enough.
The slight mewling sound that came from her throat made him instantly hard. He drew back to look at her, slightly stunned by his reaction. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted and damp. He dragged his fingertip over her bottom lip.
“You’re beautiful, Emma.”
Her eyes opened slowly, and she took a long look at him, as if trying to gauge his sincerity. He’d never been more sincere.
“How long are you here?” he asked.
She cleared her throat. “Molly invited us to spend the week since Simone is on vacation.”
“Could Lucy watch Simone so I could take you to dinner tomorrow night?”
“I… I think they’d both love that.”
“How about you? Would you love it if Simone went with Lucy so you can go out with me?”
“Yes, Grayson, I believe I’d love that, too.”