She slipped into the hallway. She could feel herself smiling and knew that she’d been right. Kiki would be able to tell what they’d been doing. How embarrassing.
She made it to her room without breaking into song. Once there, she changed into her nightgown then got into bed. Despite the late hour, she wasn’t especially tired. Her body was pleasantly relaxed but her mind raced. She relived the events of the evening and wondered if she would regret giving herself to Parker. If they both tried, they could be friends and lovers. Other people did it. She was an adult, she could do it, too.
She got up and crossed to the window. After drawing back the drapes, she stared out at the black night. Stars winked overheard. She could hear the ocean below. She opened the window and inhaled the scent of the salt air.
Restlessness gripped her. She wanted to do something, anything but sleep. She looked around, hoping to find something to read. Her gaze fell on Stacey’s diary. She walked over to the dresser to pick it up, then paused when her attention was caught by her reflection.
She stared in the mirror, gazing at the face of a stranger. She didn’t know this woman. Her eyes were wide and bright, her face flushed, her mouth swollen from kisses. With her hair in disarray and her nightgown silhouetting her naked body, she was a wanton temptress.
Erin searched for some sign of herself, some hint of the sensible sister, the one who planned and carefully waited her turn, but she was gone. Lost in a fire of passion that had swept her away. Unfamiliar emotions passed across her face. She tried to figure out what she was feeling, but she couldn’t focus on anything long enough. But she knew something was different.
She touched the diary, running her fingers across the cool leather cover. Inside her sister’s hopes and dreams filled every page. It had been easy to feel sorry for Stacey. Her sister had gotten caught up in a romantic dream that had no basis in reality while Erin had always prided herself on knowing the truth.
She returned her attention to the reflection in the mirror. To the stranger with a deep emotion shining in her eyes. She’d confessed her crush to Parker, and he’d teased her about it. A crush was safe, but love was dangerous. For both of them.
She had been so sensible. She’d waited for her turn; she’d taken only what was offered. She never demanded or grabbed for anything in her life. Hiding had made her world seem safe. Until tonight. Until she’d grabbed passion with both hands and been burned.
She glanced down at her palms half expecting to see singe marks and blackened skin. There was no sign of what had occurred, but she knew the truth.
She’d made the “sensible” decision based on all the available facts, save one. Erin had never made love to a man she didn’t think she loved. She couldn’t. So if she’d been intimate with Parker tonight, she would have given away more than her body. And she had. Sometime during those hours of passion, she’d handed over her heart.
That’s why she looked different. It wasn’t about sex, it was about caring. She’d given Parker the one thing he didn’t want. Just like her sister, she’d made the fatal mistake of falling in love with him.
Chapter Twelve
Parker woke up feeling better than he had in years. He lay in bed for a moment, trying to remember why. Then it all came back to him. Erin, making love, the glow-in-the-dark condoms. He sat up and grinned. Hot damn, it felt good to be alive.
He threw back the covers and stood up. Plastic packets crinkled under his feet. He glanced down and saw small squares of brightly colored protection scattered on the rug. The empty box sat overturned by the nightstand. One of them must have kicked it off while they’d been otherwise occupied.
He grabbed the box, then started collecting the condoms. As he did, images from the previous night flashed through his brain. Erin smiling, Erin flushed and wide-eyed with passion, Erin gasping his name, Erin touching him…everywhere.
He knew his sense of well-being didn’t just come from the release provided by sex. It came from the intimacy, the connection between a man and a woman. They weren’t strangers anymore. They’d trusted each other enough to share something fundamental. Trust. He shook his head. He didn’t have faith in a lot of people and fewer still trusted him. As he picked up the last couple of condoms he wondered if he should warn Erin away. He hadn’t done well by the women in his life. Robin and Stacey were both proof of that.
“This is different,” he said aloud. It was different because Erin was strong. She didn’t need him the way the other two had. They had enjoyed each other as adults, but it hadn’t been about being in love. As long as they were friends, everything would be fine.
That decided, he put the box in the top drawer of the nightstand then headed for the shower. As he lathered soap, he started thinking about the program that was giving him so much trouble. If he didn’t get an answer soon, he was going to have to scrap the whole thing. He hated to; he’d already invested hundreds of hours. But he couldn’t afford to-
He paused in the middle of rinsing shampoo from his hair. Equations and computer codes filtered through his half-formed thoughts. A whisper of excitement rippled through him. Maybe he’d been going at the problem all wrong. Maybe there was another way.
By the time he’d dressed, he’d found the answer. He jogged to the end of the hall and sat in front of his computer. Within minutes, he had the program up and was trying his new solution.
He vaguely heard Kiki come to the door and ask him a question. He waved her away.
“It’s going to be one of
“One of what days?” Christie asked.
“Your father is working. He’s found the solution to his programming problem. Now come along with me. We need to give him plenty of quiet today. Maybe we’ll go into town for lunch.”
There was more conversation, but he ignored it. A breakfast tray appeared on his desk. He drank the coffee and left everything else. Hours must have passed because there was a second tray, this one with sandwiches. He ate one so he could keep working.
About three in the afternoon, he surfaced for the first time that day. His body was stiff, his mind swirling with more half-formed ideas. He needed a break.
After standing and stretching, he noticed the sun was shining brightly. The ocean was calm and a brilliant cobalt blue. Christie sat in the window seat reading.
“Hi,” he said.
She glanced up at him and smiled. “I’m being very quiet. Kiki told me you were working and I wasn’t to d’sturb you. I brought a book.”
“So I see.” He crossed the room and settled next to her. “What are you reading?”
“
“I agree.” He tugged on one of her pigtails, then drew her onto his lap. She went willingly, snuggling against him. “What else do you know about this princess?”
“The pea keeps her awake and she gets the prince.” Christie wrinkled her nose. “The prince is nice, but I’d rather have you.”
Her compliment caught him off guard. “Thank you, Christie.” His chest tightened.
“I’m glad you’re my daddy,” she said. “I used to ask God every night for a daddy and then he gave me you. You’re ‘xactly what I wanted.”
He had to clear his throat before he could speak. “I’m glad you’re my little girl,” he said. “You’re exactly what I wanted, too.”
“Really?” She gazed up at him. Her brown eyes were wide and trusting. “Did you ask God for a little girl of your own?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t think I would get that lucky. I wish-” He brushed her bangs off her forehead, then took her tiny, perfect hand in his. “I wish I’d known about you before. I would have come and found you.”
“Just like in my stories.” She patted his chest. “I understand, Daddy. Mommy told me you didn’t know about me. I’m sorry my other mommy, Stacey I mean, didn’t tell you. Then we could have been together for always.”
