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An unexpected glint of pain swept over Mia’s face. Genuine heartbreak. She swallowed before continuing. “And for some reason that’s driven you to find a wife?” Her perception impressed the hell out ofhim.
“It has. Ineed to find a way to separate Toni from this fantasy life she’s disappearing into and bring her back to reality.”
“And you believe a new mother will do that?”
“Let’s say I’m willing to see if it works,” he confirmed. He set his drink on the small café table between them and leaned across it. “That’s why I’m not interested in a wife, but in a mother for my daughter.”
She pursed her lips in consideration. For some reason, the sight of those lips, so lush and lovely and inviting, made him want to kiss her. Tease them apart and taste their sweetness. He drew himself up short. He had zero interest in her sexually, didn’t he? In fact, the less he thought of her as anything more than Toni’s stepmother, the better.
He stared at her, experiencing an odd knowing. An awareness. That feeling of “rightness” in connection with the woman sitting across fromhim.
“You’re the wrong woman,” he forced himself tolie.
Mia froze,experiencing an odd knowing. An awareness. That feeling of “rightness” in connection with the man sitting across fromher.
“No. I’m not,” she whispered. “I’m the exact right woman. You knew it when you first saw me. That’s why you turned around and came back for me.”
“That didn’t mean you were the right one,” he instantly argued.
“And for some reason my name sign meant something to you. Star. Why does that connect with you? Because of your daughter’s bracelet? Did it seem like a sign to you?”
Her astuteness stripped him naked. “I don’t believe in…”
“Signs?” she offered with a soft smile.
“Yeah, that.”
“I’ve never been big on signs, either,” she mused. “Until—”
Anna? Being strongarmed into a Cinderella Ball? Meeting the only person who had ever shattered her heart into a million pieces? Finding out just moments ago, that her cousin had died? How had she not known? She broke off with a self-deprecating shrug.
“Until we met?” hesaid.
Her smile grew, felt more natural. “Yeah, that. I’d say we’ve experienced quite a few signs.”
“More than those you’ve already mentioned?”
“Maybe one other. It’s a bit hard to explain.”
He blew out a sigh. “Tell me.”
“I smelled vanilla when I saw you.” What she didn’t add was that she still smelled vanilla and knew Anna hovered nearby, watching, soothing her inner turmoil. Washing her in the warmth of sunlight just like in her dreams. But admitting as much would make her sound insane.
He lifted an eyebrow, arather intimidating eyebrow if she were the sort to allow such a thing to intimidate her. Which she wasn’t. “And for some reason you consider that a sign?”
“My friend, Anna, the one who died, insisted on using a lot of vanilla in her baking. Double the vanilla until it smells like you’re walking through a vanilla bean orchard.” Anna promised her she came closer and closer to the right vanilla ratio in her last batch of biscotti, baked just yesterday at the casual hour of three in the morning.
He covered her hand with his. Somehow, she knew he didn’t offer comfort lightly. It came as a result of experiencing pain as dark and consuming as her own. “Let’s say all the signs are there.”
Heat washed through her at his touch. “And let it go at that? Why don’t I return the favor?” She took a minute to gather herself. Was she really going to move forward with this? Did she dare chance something so reckless and insane? “You asked what I wanted out of an arrangement like this. Ithink I’d better share a bit of my background before I tell you what I expect.”
“Please do.”
“Once upon a time…”
For the first time a hint of a smile curved his hard mouth. “All the best stories start this way, Itake it.”
“This one not so much, but it feels like I should start it this way. After all, this has been years in the making.”
