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She smiled. “Really?”
He nodded. “I can make some pretty mean spaghetti. He made great lasagna, but none of us can quite remember how to pull that together the same way he did.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure my mother or father know how to boil water.”
“Different planet,” he said.
“Not necessarily better,” she muttered and looked out to the horizon. She gave a shiver.
He pulled off his jacket to put it around her shoulders. She glanced at him in surprise.
“You looked like you got a chill. I’ve been doing all the talking. How did a wealthy girl like you learn how to cook?”
“In boarding school. It was an elective and I decided it would be a necessary skill since I knew I wouldn’t be living with my parents.”
“Independent even then,” he said.
“Yes,” she said, her face solemn. “I think I was nine at the time.”
“I get the impression your home life wasn’t all that happy,” he ventured.
“It wasn’t. My parents were unhappily married. My father had a terrible temper. That may be part of the reason I’m so determined for Joel to feel safe and happy.”
“You can’t protect him from every bump in the road,” Rafe said.
“No, but I can try to keep him out of the potholes,” she said.
“Ever think you’re overprotective?” he asked.
She shot him a look that reminded him of a mama bear ready to defend her cub. “Are you questioning my parenting skills?”
“Just curious,” he said.
“Because if you are,” she said. “You don’t have a lot of experience yourself.”
“I don’t have experience being a parent,” he agreed. “But I have experience being male.”
“Plenty of single mothers have successfully raised boys on their own.”
“But you won’t have to,” he said. “I’m Joel’s father and I’m here to stay.”
She lifted her shoulder. “We still don’t know how involved you really want to be in his life.”
Her cool response irritated him. “Very involved. You need to get used to the idea that Joel will be spending lots of time with me.”
“Like I said, that’s yet to be determined.”
“No, it isn’t,” he said, putting his hand on her arm to get her attention.
She turned her head and glanced meaningfully at his hand. He removed it. “I’m not going to be an absentee father. I’m rearranging my life so that he can be in it all the time.”
“It’s not that easy,” she said. “You can’t just take over.”
“I can and I am,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I want Joel with me. You need to get used to the idea. I don’t need your approval to get custody of my son.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you threatening me?” She bit her lip. “Tabitha said you were a bully. This just goes to show-”
“Tabitha,” he echoed in disgust. “The woman who laughed at me when I asked her to marry me.”
Nicole gasped. “You proposed?” she asked in disbelief.
“She said I was good enough for a good time, but not for anything long-term. Then she didn’t bother to tell me she was pregnant with my child. I could forgive her for that because she was so wild maybe she didn’t know who the father was.”
Nicole gasped again. “How dare you insult her when she’s not here to defend herself?”
“She lost that right when she neglected to tell me she’d given birth to my son.”
Nicole stared at him, her eyes glinting with fear and anger. “Why do you want him?” she demanded. “Is it your way of paying back my sister? Or is it some kind of ego trip?”
Offended by her assessment of his character, he ground his teeth. “I’ll tell you when you have a more open mind. Now it’s shut tighter than a jail cell.”
“Don’t underestimate me. I will do anything to protect Joel.”
“Then you may want to be smart about it. You can waste your time fighting me, or you can officially move down here and work with me.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding. Give up my life so you can control it and Joel’s.”
He gave a chuckle that sounded harsh to his own ears. “If you and I both really want what’s best for Joel, why would I need to control you?”
She gnawed her lip for a moment then gave him his jacket. “Are you going to tell me that you’re not accustomed to getting your way?”
“Only because I’m right most of the time,” he said.
“That’s arrogant.”
“No, it’s true.” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “When are you going to stop fighting me every inch of the way?”
“I agreed to come down here. I wasn’t fighting then.”
“I wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“You don’t make it easy. You march into our lives and want everything changed this second. It doesn’t work that way. This is going to take time and trust.”
“The time to start is now. Joel is young enough that if we move forward decisively then he’ll feel secure in no time.” Rafe knew what he was talking about. He’d been several years older than Joel when he’d lost his family, and he’d never fully recovered. “This can’t be the worst offer you’ve received. Move to Miami and live in a nice house with a pool. You don’t even have to work.”
“I could have done that in Atlanta if I’d agreed to live with my father,” she said with a trace of bitterness. “You’re the same as he is. It all comes down to controlling other people to get your way.”
“This isn’t about control. This is about doing the right thing for Joel. You are the only mother Joel he has ever known. You’re the one who has rocked him to sleep, kept him fed and warm. You’re the one who has made him feel safe. Ideally, every child would have a caring father too. If you move down here, Joel would have the two most important people in his life together.”
Six
Rafe made a good argument, Nicole thought after she’d returned to her room. She pulled the covers over her in her bed while the gentle rocking of the ocean lulled her. It would be best for Joel if she and Rafe could get along and even better if they lived together. But that was a fairy-tale possibility.
If only she could be sure that he was who he seemed to be. Strong, good-looking, gentle, responsible. He appeared to be every woman’s dream come true. Even hers if she’d had the time to dream during the last four years.
But how could she possibly trust him? Especially after that report from the P.I. She would always feel like she needed to be on guard with him.
She wondered if he had truly been in love with her sister, or just infatuated. If he was who he seemed, how could Tabitha, even with her shallow nature, leave that kind of man behind? It didn’t make sense to her. Although Tabitha had always talked about marrying a man both wealthy and famous, perhaps even royalty, Nicole had assumed it wasn’t a serious plan.
After Tabitha had delivered Joel, she’d begun a strict exercise regimen to lose the baby weight, telling Nicole she had to get in shape for her prince. She’d partied frantically in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta, refusing to slow down even when the doctor had insisted.
Nicole took a deep breath and sent up a silent wish of peace for her sister. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the rhythmic rocking motion and allowed herself to drift to sleep.
Minutes later, he was in bed beside her. His wide shoulders blocked the bulk of the morning sun just beginning to rise. His rock-hard chest was inches from her. His dark, gold skin stretched over his well-developed muscles.
His physical strength fascinated her at the same time it frightened her. How could a man with such strength possess such gentleness?
His eyelids fluttered open and his dark gaze immediately latched on to her. “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” he said, sliding his hand under the covers to her bare hip. “I thought I took care of any nervous energy you had last night.”
He lifted his index finger to her lips.
“I guess you haven’t been kissed enough,” he said and pulled her flush against his body.
Heat rushed through her and she couldn’t stop a smile at the easy, sexy way he handled her. “I didn’t say that. I was just looking at you.”
“Why look when you can touch?” he asked and lifted one of her hands to his chest at the same time he lowered his mouth to hers.
His mouth sent fireworks through her. He seemed to devour her as if he couldn’t get enough of her. He skimmed his mouth down over her shoulder, sending ripples of sensation in his wake.
He touched the sides of her br**sts, teasing her until she couldn’t remain still, pushing her ni**les against his palm.
He swore under his breath, but it was a sound of pleasure. “I love the way you move.”
Sliding one of his hands between her legs, he found her wet and swollen. “Ready already?”
A twinge of self-consciousness rushed through her. Did he really not know that he kept her in a state of readiness for him all the time? “Is that bad?” she asked, her voice sounding breathless to her own ears.
“If it’s bad, then we’re both bad,” he said, and guided her hand over his erection.
She slid her hand over him, moving in long strokes.
He let out a hiss of breath, his eyes fixed on her. “I need you again.”
It amazed her how powerful he could make her feel even when she was in such a vulnerable position. Suddenly, touching and needing weren’t nearly enough. “I need you, too.”
He rolled on to his back, pulling her on top of him, sending her equilibrium spinning. “You set the pace. If I do, it will all be over in sixty seconds.”
She laughed despite her own mind-blowing arousal. Pushing herself up and propping her hands on either side of his head, she stared into his eyes as he wrapped his hands around her h*ps and guided her just over him.
