Chapter Two #2
“Hmm. Mr. Three Dates and it’s over? What’s your plan with this girl? And before you answer, you’d better think long and hard because she’s Xander’s sister and Sasha’s sister-in-law. My partners , if your brain hasn’t kicked into gear yet,” Harrison reminds me.
I roll my eyes. “I’m not an idiot. I wouldn’t go after her if my intentions weren’t…” Fuck. What are my intentions?
This is a woman I met six years ago. I barely knew her then but even so, I wanted to understand more about what made her tick and why we clicked. And after one look at her tonight, I still do .
“Don’t worry, okay?”
Harrison studies me, his eyes narrowing. “You said the summer after your sophomore year. That was what? Six years ago?”
I nod. “Why?”
My brother shakes his head. “No reason. So, what are your plans, as far as seeing her?”
I finish my drink and place the glass on the table.
“I was going to call and set up a date. But the more I think about her reaction to me tonight, the more I realize I can’t give her the chance to refuse.
I think I’m going to find her address and simply show up at her house.
That way, she’ll have to talk to me.” I lean closer to my brother.
“Any chance you can get me her address from your partners?”
Downing the last of his drink, Harrison shakes his head. “What makes you think they’ll share their sister’s address with me?”
“Because you can be the most persuasive human in the world when you want to be.” I wait in silence, giving my brother time to think about it. With Harrison, I find it’s better to wait him out than annoy him to death.
“Fine. But you owe me.” He pulls out his phone just as his agent strides over.
“Can I have a word?” the man asks.
Harrison nods. “I’ll call Xander as soon as we’re done,” he says to me. “You know, sometimes when you revisit the past, you uncover surprises you don’t expect.”
“Is that another warning, big brother?”
Harrison shakes his head. “Just stating a fact. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks.” I slap Harrison on the back.
Knowing my brother will come through, I leave the party and head to the Meridian hotel—the place I call home when in New York.
Hotel living isn’t for everyone but I don’t mind.
Having room and maid service fits my current bachelor lifestyle and since I travel so much for work, the situation suits me.
Once in my room, I strip out of the monkey suit I wore tonight and crash in bed. Unfortunately, sleep won’t come. Not while I wait for Harrison to call with the address that, I have a hunch, will change my life.
***
Aurora
“Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy!”
I wake up to find Leah leaning over me, shaking my shoulders.
“Sorry, honey. I fell asleep late.” I push myself up and sit back against the headboard, waiting for my mind to clear.
“You slept in my bed!” Leah claps her hands and her words bring back last night’s shock. I saw Nick and now I need to prepare myself for what comes next—dealing with Leah’s father.
I know nothing about Nick. Does he have a wife?
A girlfriend? Someone I will have to share my daughter with?
Nausea fills me, but I push it away. I am not a homeless teen anymore, with no money or support.
I am an adult with an equally powerful family behind me.
And I am far from penniless—I even have a trust fund in my name, thanks to my siblings all agreeing that I deserved to inherit as much as they did from our father’s passing.
I possess more confidence than I did years ago, and am as protective as a mama bear when it comes to my daughter.
I turn my focus back to Leah who sits waiting for me to reply. “I did sleep in your bed. I wanted cuddles.” I tickle Leah until her giggles and shrieks echo around the room, and only stop so Leah can catch her breath. “Now why did you wake me?”
Leah presses her hands on either side of my cheeks. “I want pancakes!” she yells.
“Indoor voice.” I smile. “I could go for pancakes too.” Why let nausea get the best of me when I can eat my troubles away, at least temporarily? “Let me go to my room and I’ll be down in a few minutes. You go to your bathroom and go potty, then brush your teeth, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy. Can I have chocolate chips in my pancakes?” Leah bats her lashes like a pro, causing me to laugh.
“Good try. You had ice cream with Samantha last night. That was your treat.” The babysitter filled me in on their fun-filled night.
“Fine,” Leah says with a huff. “Then can I stir the mix?”
I ruffle her hair. “Yeah. You can.”
A little while later, dressed in a pair of oversized sweatpants I stole from Dash, rolled down at the waist, and a top I hadn’t realized had shrunk in the wash, I made my way downstairs.
If Leah wasn’t already calling “ Mommy ,” I would have changed shirts but my munchkin is hungry, and that always takes precedence…
unless I want to hear, I’m starving , over and over again.
I set all the ingredients on the counter. Leah is mixing the batter, doing her best to slop the mix over the sides, or at least that’s the way it looks. I resign myself to a good, long cleaning of the counters.
“That looks finished. Come wash your hands.”
Leah bounces over to the sink and stands on the stool that lets her reach the faucet more easily. Once her hands are washed and dried, I grab my mug, and pour myself a cup of coffee. A little caffeine always helps me get the day started.
As I go to take a sip of my coffee, Leah asks, “Did you meet the prince last night, Mommy?”
At the question, I all but spit the liquid out of my mouth. Before I can answer—not that I have a reply, because what can I call Nick—the doorbell rings.
“I’ve got it!” Leah yells and disappears through the kitchen entryway.
“Leah, do not open that door!” I yell, just as the beep beep from the unset alarm signals that my daughter has done just that. The beeps are meant to let me know if anyone enters or exits the house without my knowledge.
I run, skidding to a halt at the open door where Leah stands facing Nick.
“Hi, Mister. You’re a stranger. I’m not allowed to talk to you,” she says, then shuts the door in his face.
***
Nick
I stare at the shut door in shock. A little girl answered. I pull out my phone and check the text from Harrison again, comparing the number on the house to the address on the screen. It matches .
I am still confused as shit when the door opens again, only this time Aurora stands in the entrance.
Her cheeks are flushed, and her hair is tousled.
After-sex hair, as if a man’s fingers spent hours messing up the long strands.
My stomach churns at the possibility that there might be a guy inside—a father to that adorable girl, and maybe even a husband to Aurora.
“Nick, what are you doing here?” she asks, her voice strained.
“I asked Harrison to get your address from Xander.”
She closes her eyes and shakes her head but doesn’t say a word. The little girl has disappeared.
“I thought we could talk,” I tell her.
She narrows her gaze, her hand still on the door. “You said you’d call.”
“I couldn’t wait. And to be honest, I didn’t trust you not to blow me off. Not after the way you ran from me last night.” I decide to go for honesty, because she looks ready to follow her daughter’s lead and slam the door in my face. “I didn’t want to lose touch with you again.”
“Mommy, you said you’d make pancakes!” The voice who’d called me a stranger shouts, this time much louder.
“Come in,” Aurora says, obviously resigned.
What the hell? Is it that bad to see me again ?
I follow her inside, and she closes and locks the door behind me. “Leah has a bad habit of answering the door without me being there. I’m trying to break it, but she’s strong-willed.”
“Like her mother?” I really want to know about the little girl’s father but can’t figure out how to ask.
Aurora stares at me, a wealth of emotion in her eyes. I have no idea what is going on.
Footsteps stomp towards us and the child stops next to Aurora, tugging on her too-large sweatpants. Men’s sweatpants, I think, and my stomach cramps even harder.
Her top, however, is another story. It is short and tight, allowing a strip of skin to show above the drawstring of the pants.
“Mommy, pancakes please !”
I get my first real look at her daughter. Blonde hair like Aurora’s, a little curlier and more out of control, frames her tiny face. Her features are delicate, and she is adorable. And her eyes—
My breath leaves me in a rush as I take in those indigo orbs so common in every branch of the Dare family.
“How…how old is she?” I manage to ask.
Aurora has gone pale. “She’s five,” she whispers.
I don’t need to do the math. No wonder Harrison asked me how long it had been since that summer in Miami Beach.
My brother works with the Kingstons. No doubt he’s met Aurora and her daughter.
But without the knowledge that she’d been with me, the color of the little girl’s eyes could be chalked up to coincidence. Until my reveal last night.
“Why’d you let the stranger inside, Mommy? Didn’t you tell me about stranger danger?” Leah asks.
I bite the inside of my cheek. The kid is a spitfire.
“He’s not a stranger, honey. Mommy knows him from when I used to live in Florida.” Aurora holds my gaze as she speaks, until I feel the child staring at me, and I drop my eyes to look at her.
“What’s your name?” she asks me.
“I’m Nick. What’s yours?” I’m surprised I can speak, considering how dry my mouth has become.
“I’m Leah. Do you want pancakes? Mommy, please, you promised and the batter’s ready.”
I glance over, and Aurora gives me a little nod.
“I’d love to have pancakes,” I say to my daughter.
My daug h ter . Holy shit. I’ve spent plenty of time regretting the ‘ no last name agreement’ Aurora and I made that night. We thought it was fun, even smart at the time. But I never wanted to kick my own ass more than I do at this moment.
I follow them through the house—a gorgeous, decorated home that is obviously lived in.
What appears to be a box with little girl dresses hanging from the sides sits in one corner of the family room, and a plastic karaoke set-up with a large plastic microphone in the other.
I search for signs that a man lives here—not that I know what I’m looking for—and come up empty.
Once in the kitchen, a mess greets me. Pancake batter is dripping over the bowl with a spoon in it and the other ingredients sit on the counter. I feel like I just walked into the Twilight Zone.
“Have a seat and I’ll get you some coffee,” Aurora says, then goes about taking a mug from a cabinet and pouring me a cup.
In silence, she takes out a frying pan and I space out as she pours the batter into it. While the pancakes sizzle, Aurora expertly cleans the counter, juggles flipping the pancakes, and grabs dishes for their meal.
“Do you have kids, mister?” Leah pulls a chair closer to him and sits down, leaning into his personal space.
She is so damned cute with her outgoing personality and spunk. “I…”
“Leah, let’s not be nosey. Nick is an old friend. He and I have a lot of catching up to do later,” Aurora says.
And if that isn’t an understatement, I don’t know what is.
“Do you like butter or syrup on your pancakes? That’s not nosey, right Mommy?”
I laugh and answer before Aurora can reply. “Syrup. How about you?”
“Me, too. I like chocolate chips in mine, but Mommy said no, cuz I had ice cream with Samantha last night.” She puts her hands under her chin and lets out an exaggerated sigh of disappointment.
My lips twitch, and I meet Aurora’s amused gaze. God, what I’ve missed out on. I can’t be angry at anyone but fate, but damn, it hurts.
Just as Aurora places three plates with pancakes on the table for them, the doorbell rings.
She immediately puts a hand on Leah’s shoulder. “Do not move. I’ve got the door. I’ll be right back.”
She strides out of the room, and my gaze follows the movement of her hips, her sweet ass in those sweats, and the strip of skin that teases me.
I hear two beeps, then the low hum of conversation. Soon after, Aurora strides back into the kitchen, a man about my age behind her.
“Hi, Mr. Wheeler. Where’s Mimi?” Leah asks, her fork in a pancake as she tries to lift it all at once.
The man glances her way. “Mimi is with her mom. I saw a strange car in the driveaway and came by to check on you two.”
I narrow his gaze. Is this a boyfriend?
“We’re fine,” Aurora says. “But thanks anyway. ”
“Who’s this?” The man in the Polo short-sleeved shirt turns his gaze on me. “I assume it’s your Porsche out front?”
I rise to my feet. This guy is an ass—I don’t owe the man answers. “Who are you?” I ask in return, stepping closer to Aurora. Posturing? Yes. Necessary? Also, yes.
She glances between us, twisting her hands together, her anxiety about the entire situation obvious.
Shit. I don’t want to make anything harder for her. I still wondered if the guy with the lean body and preppy look, his brown hair falling over his forehead, is her boyfriend but she isn’t acting like that is the kind of relationship she has with this guy.
“Nick Dare,” I say, breaking the ice. For her sake, I extend my hand to the other man. “I’m an old friend of Aurora’s.”
“Mark Wheeler.” He shakes my hand.
And I make sure to squeeze. Hard. Because I hate this Mark guy on sight. Hate how his gaze lingers on Aurora’s exposed belly. Hate how he assesses me and all but ignores the little girl flopping her pancake on the plate.
“Here.” I sit down and cut up Leah’s breakfast. “Do you like your syrup all over it or on the side?” Where did that question come from, I wonder.
I’m not used to dealing with kids and know nothing about them. But I want Leah to be happy, I think, as more foreign emotions flood my body.
“All over, Mr. Nick,” she says, picking up the plastic bottle and handing it to me.
I do my job, saturating the pancakes as Aurora’s voice interrupt my thoughts.
“Mark lives next door,” she says. “He has a daughter Leah’s age.”
Fucking swell.
“Mark, Nick and I were just catching up. Can we talk another time?” Aurora asks.
“I suppose.” The man looks from Aurora to me, clearly not happy as she escorts him to the front door.
From what I can deduce, Mark has a hard-on for Aurora, and the feeling isn’t returned. In fact, I’m not sure she is even aware of the poor sap’s feelings.
Well, if the neighbor thinks he has a chance with Aurora, that notion ends now. I’ll make sure of it.