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“So Nadia was… too much for you?”
“No!” Caroline drew back as if he’d slapped her across the face. “No. When I saw her, all I could think about was how I wasn’t ready for a responsibility like that. She was so… so precious. So damn beautiful I knew that I would only mess things up. I could barely take care of myself! I knew that I had nothing to give to a child when I was still struggling to find my own way. The two of you together were a picture that I didn’t fit into.”
“You didn’t even what to try?” He felt like he held his heart out to her, still bloody and beating in his hand.
“Yes,” she drew in a breath and blinked back tears, “but I knew I’d fail and the two of you didn’t deserve to be my collateral damage.”
He didn’t doubt that her words were the truth. She spoke with such aching conviction in her voice.
He thought he’d give her a little of his own. “What if I wanted you to try? To at least reach out and say you wanted to try.”
“Try?” She took a step toward him, her eyes narrowed. “We had one moment together.”
“One?” He scoffed at the answer. “We worked together for months. You knew me. And I knew you.”
“You knew that I could go toe-to-toe with you. You knew I could stand there while you unleashed a tirade against me. But what did you really know about me, Chef?”
His mouth pinched tight at the use of his title. She was trying to push his buttons.
Then again, it was only fair, he was trying to push hers.
“Okay.” What could he do but listen to her words and try to bridge the gap now, of all times? “What about now, Caroline? What do you have to worry about now?”
Well, that question caught her off guard.
What was she worried about now?
The answer wasn’t a satisfying one for her, but she knew it would be for him.
Still, he deserved the answer.
“Nothing.” She shook her head and felt a strange weight lift off of her shoulders. “Nothing at all. I’ve enjoyed my career, done what I wanted to do for the most part, but I’m not fighting for people to acknowledge me anymore.”
“And Nadia,” he smiled like the proud father he was, “she’s grown up to be a remarkable young woman. Well-adjusted even with a stubborn ass like me as her dad. She’s got the world on a string. She’s going to be the most amazing woman one day. And she wants to know you. I want to know you.”
The way he was looking into her eyes, it really felt like he was staring straight into her soul. It was the same way he looked at her that night when they were alone.
“Maybe this is our do-over.”
She looked at him, her eyes widening. “Our do-over?” Laughing she continued. “It’s a little strange hearing your accent and phrases that I think are pretty much American.”
He looked a little affronted. “I’ve been in the Americas for most of my career.”
She giggled at his answer.
“What?” His forehead had a distinct fold between his brows.
“The Americas. That’s what. You still make me laugh.”
His laugh was almost a cough. “Thanks, laugh away.”
She did. She couldn’t help it. It was like the tension in her body rolling off of her shoulders. “I like that you can still surprise me, Lucas.”
“Yeah?” His eyebrows rose a little in reaction to her words. “That’s good to know.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Caro?”
