Tyler followed the direction of her sultry gaze and hot pink stained his cheeks. He took her advice and breathed in and out slowly even as the doorbell sounded again.
Fully in control of his emotions and making his manhood placid again, he briskly walked across the foyer to the front door.
He froze for the second time in minutes when he saw Erin, looking lovely in a cream and red off-shoulder dress, standing there.
Shit!He had forgotten he had a date with her.
“You didn’t forget about our date, did you?”
Raking his fingers in his hair, he shook his head and fibbed. “Of course not. Please come in.”
He stepped aside for her to enter. She marveled at the interior of the house and told him how beautiful it was. He thanked her and led the way to the living room, hoping that Kaiya had made herself presentable.
Shit!
The astonishment in Kaiya’s eyes when they walked into the room spoke volumes. Gracefully, she curved her body in their direction. Erin paused by the door, and he could see the shock and question in her eyes as well.
“Kaiya, this is Erin. Erin, this is Kaiya,” he introduced without placing any title on both women.
Both women exchanged pleasantries, but he noted that it was stilted. An awkward silence fell in the room after he showed Erin to a chair.
“It’s getting late. I better get going,” Kaiya announced as she swiftly rose to her feet. “Thanks for everything, Tyler. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Tyler wanted to tell her not to leave, but he couldn’t since he had to go out on a date with Erin.
Rising also, he replied, “I’ll see you to the door.”
She waved a nonchalant hand at him. “Oh, don’t bother. You have a visitor.” Then turning to the said visitor, she presented her with a bright smile. “It was nice meeting you, Erin.”
“It was nice meeting you, too, Kaiya,” Erin returned with a false smile of her own.
Tyler could clearly see that Kaiya was disappointed. He could tell by her facial expression that Erin being there wasn’t okay by her, but she pretended that it was.
Tyler ignored her request not to see her to the door and followed her. She didn’t say a word to him as they crossed the foyer. He opened his mouth to tell her that he would schedule a time when they could tell Lili the truth, but he closed it tautly when, without sparing him a glance, Kaiya opened the door and quietly shut it behind her.
Tyler wished he could go after her, but he couldn’t. Erin was waiting for him, and he owed her an apology. He knew one thing for sure; he couldn’t put stock into dating anyone at the moment. His daughter would need him more than ever right now – Kaiya too.
Chapter 11
Erin!
Kaiya couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that Tyler was dating someone.
Frowning, she knew she had no reason to be upset since they weren’t in a relationship. But that didn’t take the hurt away. He was dating another woman, and he might marry her. And then Lili would have a stepmom, yet another mom who wasn’t her. Erin seemed nice, but who was to say that she would treat Lili nicely. She needed to stop thinking so negatively.
Exhausted from the trying events of the day, Kaiya pulled her car into her driveway and just sat there for some minutes, going over the happenings.
If she ever saw her parents again, it would be too soon. She never wanted to set eyes on them ever again. Even though her mom had nothing to do with the deception, she would at least have confided in her daughter when she found out what her husband did. If Tyler hadn’t come into the picture and demanded for a death certificate, her mom would have continued to keep it from her.
Exhaling softly, she let herself out of the car and trudged to her door. She unlocked it, pushed it open, and strode to her living room.
A sharp gasp fell from her lips when she saw her sister cuddled on her new couch with her baby.
“Kalilah?”
“Oh, thank God you’re back, Kaiya. I’ve been so worried about you.” Kalilah set the baby down on the couch and immediately came over to hug her. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. You switched off your phone.”
“I needed time to talk things out with Tyler.”
