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Wyatt heard the waver in his niece’s voice. “Cecily, are you having doubts about this?”
She quickly shook her head. “No … just nerves, I guess.”
He didn’t doubt Fiona would be feeling the same apprehension. “We can go home anytime you want. Just say the word.”
“I don’t want to go home,” she replied. “Not yet. I want to try and see if we can be … I dunno … friends maybe.”
Wyatt admired Cecily’s maturity. But he’d make sure he was on hand if the pressure became too much for her young shoulders. “Okay. Then let’s go.”
He herded her out of the bedroom and down the hall. The drive into town took fifteen minutes, and by the time he parked the rental car and took the lift from the basement car park, they were only a few minutes away from their meeting time.
He settled Cecily in the foyer, on the same leather sofa where he’d met with Fiona a couple of weeks earlier. The place was quiet, and he was glad they’d have privacy and not be crowded out by the familiar faces of Fiona’s friends, like at the B and B.
“Uncle Wyatt?”
He shifted his attention back to the moment. “Yeah, kid?”
Cecily’s voice dripped with anticipation. “Is that her?”
He turned, and sure enough, Fiona was walking through the hotel doors. He hadn’t forgotten how pretty she was, and seeing her again only confirmed that the sensation rumbling through his chest was attraction. She wore a green dress and her strawberry blond hair flowed loose around her shoulders. Lovely.
When she came toward them, his blood seemed to stop pumping in his veins. She stood before them, all eyes and expectation as she looked at Cecily, then him, then Cecily again.
“Hi,” she said softly.
Wyatt answered quietly. “Hello, Fiona.”
This is one of those moments, he thought, when worlds collide. Fiona’s world, his world, now forever joined by the young girl who stood by his side, stepping back and forth nervously on her heels.
“Hello, Cecily.”
His niece took a moment, as though unsure about speaking to the woman who had given her life. Wyatt knew she wasn’t really scared. Cecily wanted this. And Fiona … he made out caution and uncertainty and plain old happiness in her blue-gray eyes. It was uncanny how alike they were. Same hair, same complexion, same spirited temper.
“Um … hi,” Cecily said quietly. “Thanks for coming.”
Fiona stepped a little closer, and Wyatt wished he could harness all his strength for a second and give it to her, so this moment could pass easily between them.
“I’m really glad you wanted to meet me … and … found me,” Fiona said a little uncomfortably.
“Well, it was Uncle Wyatt who actually found you,” Cecily replied with a small smile.
Fiona looked at him, and the tightness in his chest expanded.
“I know he did,” she said, then faltered a little before she spoke again. “So, how was your trip?”
“Good,” Cecily replied. “Uncle Wyatt let me have the window seat.”
Fiona laughed softly, and the sound vibrated through him. She looked nervous, and he discreetly touched Cecily’s arm, urging her forward. It was awkward for a moment, until Fiona smiled again and opened her arms slightly. Cecily stepped forward, and within seconds mother and daughter were together, hugging close, clearly emotional. Wyatt watched their exchange and swallowed the lump tightening his throat.
Fiona looked at him over Cecily’s shoulder and smiled. Tears hung on her lashes and her eyes grew huge. Seeing her so vulnerable, so raw with joy and glowing with a kind of radiant happiness, made his insides hurt. Cecily was crying, too. There was no sadness, no regret. Just new feelings, new dreams, new hope.
And he knew instinctively he’d made the right decision in coming to Crystal Point. It was right for Cecily to meet her birth mother. All he had to do was get a handle on the growing attraction he had for Fiona.
Easy … yeah … right.
Fiona experienced such acute and all-consuming love as she held her daughter in her arms for only the second time in her life. Images of the baby cruelly snatched away within minutes of her birth, which up until this moment were the only memories she had, suddenly faded.
She looks like me ….
Wyatt was right.
Wyatt …
Her heart rolled over as she looked at him. So tall and strong and handsome. It seemed right having him near. It gave her strength knowing he was only steps away. His closeness gave her courage to hold on to Cecily and let all her pent-up feelings rise to the surface.
“Let’s sit down,” she suggested and linked her arm through her daughter’s.
“Why don’t I leave you two alone for a while?” Wyatt said once they reached the sofa.
Fiona watched as Cecily stepped toward him. “No … don’t go.”
He sent his niece a peculiar look and then glanced toward Fiona. Something shimmered between them, and Fiona suddenly longed for his reassurance. And Cecily clearly wanted him on hand. “Cecily’s right,” she said and tried not to be wounded by the fact her daughter was unsure about being alone with her. “I’d like you to stay for a while, too.” She looked at Cecily. “Okay?”
Cecily nodded. “Yes. Uncle Wyatt’s cool.”
Fiona didn’t miss the affection in Cecily’s words. She was undoubtedly attached to her uncle, who had taken over the role of parent. “I’m sure he is.”
He grinned fractionally and sat down on the other sofa. Fiona relaxed and turned all her attention to the girl sitting beside her. Cecily was remarkable, and pride, pure and simple, surged through her blood and across her skin.
This is my daughter … my child … I made this exquisite creature.
Whatever happened from this moment, Fiona knew she would treasure the memory of Cecily’s small hand clasped within hers. Regret and shame tapped at the back of her mind, but she wasn’t about to let those kinds of thoughts invade the precious moment she was sharing with her daughter.
They talked for an hour, about everyday things. Cecily asked when she could see where Fiona lived and when she could visit Titan. They talked about their dogs and Cecily’s friends.
“Nan and Pop are great,” she said excitedly. “I can’t wait for you to meet them. Auntie Rae knows everything about horses, and Auntie Ellen is so good with kids. She’s got twins and they’re really cute. She lets me help with them when I stay with her and Uncle Alessio. He’s Italian. And his family is superrich. Not that she married him for his money. He’s really good-looking, too.”
Fiona waited for Cecily to take a breath and stole a glance at Wyatt. He was smiling, silent and intense as he regarded them.
“If it’s okay with your uncle, maybe we could go see Titan this afternoon?”
“Can we, please?” Cecily begged Wyatt as she got to her feet.
He nodded. “If you like.”
“I’ll go get my boots,” her daughter said eagerly. “They’re in the car. I’ll be back in a minute,” she said once Wyatt handed over the car keys.
She left the foyer like a whirlwind and headed for the elevators.
Once she was out of sight, Fiona looked at Wyatt. “She’s incredible.”
“She certainly is,” he agreed. “A pocket dynamo. But adorable.”
“She loves her family a lot,” Fiona said without envy and ridiculously conscious of his powerful stare. “And you especially.”
“It’s mutual,” he replied. “She’s a great kid.”
She looked toward her feet. “I guess she’ll have a lot of questions?”
“Yes,” he assured her. “But she probably won’t ask them straightaway. She doesn’t want to scare you off.”
Her gaze darted upward. “I don’t scare easily.”
“Are you sure?”
His mouth twisted in such a sexy way Fiona’s breath rushed out. “Positive,” she replied and wondered if they were still talking about Cecily. The air seemed uncommonly warm.
“Cecily is smart and mature for her age. She’s had to be,” he said quietly, and Fiona picked up on the strain in his voice. “She wants you in her life—although in what capacity I’m not sure. I don’t think she quite knows herself. Meeting you is the first step. From here it’s up to you both to work out what kind of relationship you’ll have.”
“With you standing on point to make sure I don’t mess it up?”
He shrugged. “My job is to protect her. Karen trusted me with that responsibility, and I’ll do it as best I can.”
Fiona wrapped her arms around her waist and sat forward. “I won’t screw this up. And I’ll be whatever she needs me to be. There’s no question about me trying to replace her mother. But I can be her friend.”
“Yes, you can.”
She let out a breath and experienced a heady warmth deep in her belly. There was something in his expression that heightened her awareness of him on every level. It was futile to deny it—Fiona got a look from his glittering blue eyes that said he was as aware of her as she was of him.
She pushed some words out. “So, I guess considering you’re her legal guardian, we should be friends, too.”
Another look … longer, hotter. Hot enough to raise her temperature a degree or two.
“Logically. But I get the sense that whatever’s going on here,” he said, flicking a hand in the air, “hasn’t got anything to do with friendship.”
“I don’t think—”
“And everything to do with sex.”
Chapter Four
Not one usually lost for words, Fiona stared at him. Of course, it was the truth. But put out there, it sounded dangerous. Dangerous because she wanted to focus every ounce of her attention on her child.
Falling in lust, or anything else, was absolutely out of the question.
“Cecily is …”
“Our priority,” he said, finishing her sentence. “Exactly. The last thing we should do is complicate that.”
“I agree.”
“So, whatever this is, we’ll ignore it?”
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