One from Akiko, asking me to be careful and stay safe. I used to think she was being a little ridiculous until I realized this is how she shows she cares. She believes that America isn’t like Japan, with “so many dangers lurking everywhere.”
Two hundred texts from an unknown number.I love you.
Revulsion whirls in my gut.
Don’t you love me?
I think I’m pregnant with your baby!
Your baby needs you!
Just imagine our bright future, a family of three!
We’ll be the envy of the world!
Another one pops up:I’ll never stop loving you. You know that, don’t you?
Soledad. It’s as though she knows how to say all the wrong things. Disgust clutches my chest and nausea roils in my stomach.
“Are you okay?”
I start, then jerk my eyes from the screen and look at Lareina. She’s in a bathrobe, probably with nothing on underneath.Stop thinking about her naked body. The scent of the hotel shampoo and soap wafts over—the same as mine. Also not something to dwell on. Her damp hair hangs loose around her pretty pixie face. She looks younger without the makeup—more touchable. Her naturally pink lips are full and seem eminently kissable.
Don’t look at her mouth either.
She continues to stare up at me expectantly.
“What?” I say, feeling a little ridiculous. I don’t lose my train of thought or lose my place in a conversation. You can’t if you want to be a good lawyer.
“I asked if you were okay.”’
“Of course.” My answer is more out of habit than anything else. It’s always easier to say I’m fine than not.
She tilts her chin skeptically. Those heterochromatic eyes probe into mine, like she’s a lawyer not believing a word out of the witness on the stand. “You shouldn’t say something you don’t mean.”
Chapter Ten
Ares
I scowl, mostly out of reflex. I’m not used to people probing so openly. Not even Dad or Aunt Jeremiah do it—they’re afraid of reopening old wounds. And because sometimes it’s easier to just pretend everything’s fine rather than dig too deep.
Lareina lifts a hand toward my face, and I frown harder, torn between the desire to have her stroke me and to evade her altogether. Her presence is unsettling, throws my equilibrium off, leaving me feeling vulnerable and unprotected.
When she drops her hand back to her side, it isn’t relief, but disappointment that floods me. I realize I wanted to feel her touch more than I was honest enough to admit. Uncertainty casts shadows in her eyes, and I get a strong urge to comfort her.
Stop. I don’t know where this unfamiliar drive is coming from. But if Lareina is Mom or Harvey’s agent, they did far better than I ever thought possible. I better watch my back. And if, by some one-in-a-million chance, Lareina is innocent, there’s still danger. Women who can make you act out of character are fatal. Just look at how things turned out for Dad when he met Mom. A woman who inspires respectful indifference, possibly tinged with some mild affection, is ideal, the kind I’m aiming to find and spend the rest of my life with. Dad’s life with Akiko is exactly like that, and all the proof I need.
Just as I open my mouth, there are three hard knocks at the door. Lareina jumps, casting a furtive glance in that direction.Her fingers dig into my sleeve, her entire being focused on the door. It’s damn good acting, designed to make me feel sympathy.
“Relax. It’s just breakfast,” I say in a rather cool voice to let her know her antics won’t work.
Her cheeks flush as she looks up at me. “Sorry,” she says. “Didn’t mean to do that.” She pulls away as though embarrassed to have been clutching me. I roll my shoulders, trying to ignore the bereft sensation.
Trying to restore my equilibrium, I head over to the door and check the peephole. An elderly, uniformed staff member is standing over a tray cart.
As soon as I open the door, he rolls the cart in and sets it up in the living room. Two bowls of fresh berries and whipped heavy cream, a basket of croissants that smell like heaven, various jams and salted butter, coffee, freshly squeezed OJ and sparkling water. French toast topped with powdered sugar and berries with maple syrup on the side complete the spread. And bacon, of course.
Perhaps I went a bit overboard when I placed my order, but I’m sure I can finish most of it. Besides, Lareina is hungry, too. She’s literally licking her lips, staring at the food with the intensity of a starved dog.
