No wonder he thought I was after his money. Looking at this place, it’s obvious his family’s wealth runs far deeper than I ever guessed the night we met.
Through those glowing windows, I can see movement—people, family, the kind of warmth I’ve only ever seen in movies.
Our townhouse in Atlanta will be dark and empty for the next several days. The tree Bella and I decorated on Black Friday—complete with the lopsided star she insisted on putting up herself—will blink its lights for an audience of none.
My parents and two older siblings don’t celebrate Christmas. Their religion forbids it, and the family I walked away from at eighteen hasn’t forgiven me for choosing a different path.
Get it together, Desiree. Drop off your daughter and haul ass back to the airport. Your flight to Jamaica leaves in—I check my phone—three hours.
I pull up to the front entrance and turn off the engine. I step out into the biting cold, then open Bella’s door to unbuckle her.
She hops out immediately, stomping her boots in the fresh snow while I gather her backpack from the seat. Before I can reach for Bella’s suitcase in the trunk, the massive front door swings wide.
And there he is.
My body recognizes him before my brain catches up. The same current that shot through me across a crowded club six and a half years ago ignites me now, proving that time and distance haven’t fixed a damn thing.
Enrick Hughes in the flesh—all six-foot-three inches of him, wearing gray sweats that should be illegal. His red sweater clings to every muscle I explored with my hands, my mouth, my—
Stop it.
“Daddy!” Bella launches herself at him like a tiny missile, and he catches her easily, spinning her around while she giggles.
“There’s my princess,” he says, and his voice—God, that voice. Deep and smooth with just enough rasp to make a woman think dangerous thoughts. “I missed you so much.”
This doting father is the same man who’d wanted nothing to do with either of us until the paternity test came back three days after her birth. It feels surreal watching them together.
“Missed you too! Is Uncle here? And Aunt Gina? And Isa? And Asher? And Mycah? And Penny?”
Bella’s vibrating with excitement, and it amazes me how easily she transitions between her simple and loving life with me in Atlanta and the luxury she experiences here. She never complains about either, just packs her favorite stuffed unicorn and adapts.
“Everyone’s here, waiting for you.” His blue eyes—ocean blue, the kind that changes with his mood—finally lift to meet mine. “Desiree.”
Just my name. That’s all. But the way he says it makes my knees buckle. I force myself to act like a normal person who isn’t affected by their baby daddy’s presence.
“Enrick.” I aim for professional. Detached. “I should be on my way. My flight—”
“Let me get her bags.” He sets Bella down, and she immediately races through the door, shouting for her cousins. He moves toward me with his easy swagger, the one that made me notice him at the club.
“I got it,” I say quickly, but he’s already there, close enough that I catch his spicy-smoky scent.
His hand brushes mine when we both reach for Bella’s Frozen suitcase, and I swear to God, actual sparks shoot up my arm.
We both freeze. His eyes darken from ocean blue to the dark, restless shade of the sea before rain.
Six years, and my body still responds to him like I’m that twenty-two-year-old trying to outrun her first heartbreak by going to a nightclub alone because my first love said I wasn’t wild enough.
“Desiree, I—” He clears his throat. “I wanted to say thank you. For bringing her yourself. I know it wasn’t easy with your vacation and everything. I—” He pauses. “I know I don’t say it enough, but you’re an incredible mother. Bella’s lucky to have you.”
The words knock the air from my lungs. In five years, he’s never... we’ve never... This is new territory, and I don’t have a map.
“I do what any mother would do.” My voice sounds strange.
“No.” His voice drops lower. “You do more. You always have.”
“Desiree?” A warm female voice breaks the spell. “Oh my God, it’s great to finally meet you!”
I turn to find a gorgeous Black woman in her mid-thirties emerging from the house, wearing designer jeans and a cream cashmere sweater. Her smile is genuine and welcoming as she pulls me into a hug.
