Placing the tongs he’d been using on the stove, Diego turned to face her fully. “Leila? Tell me what’s distressing you.”
She couldn’t help herself. He melted something inside her that just seemed to open the floodgates. She was certain it was his voice. He put some kind of compulsion on her to blurt out the truth, no matter how humiliating it was.
“I was thinking, like an idiot, how nice it would be to have Gracie with us. The three of us.” She choked out the last admission.
He went to her immediately, crossing the short distance in the silent way he had. He gave the impression of a great jungle cat stalking prey, yet she felt comforted by his presence. She already had such faith in him that she wasn’t in the least intimidated.
Diego bent to brush a kiss on the top of her head. Her heart slammed hard against her chest. Her mouth went dry. She rubbed her palms on her thighs, wondering how he could possibly look at her the way he was—so intensely. So focused. As if she were the only woman in the world. He seemed to do that a lot.
“Why like an idiot?” he asked, his voice low and mesmerizing. “The idea sounds perfect to me. This is a nice place to visit, but I want to take the two of you to my place in Louisiana. The house isempty right now. Lonely. I couldn’t stand to be there, but you and Grace would make all the difference in the world. You’d turn that empty house into a home just by sharing it with me.”
That sounded very much like he would want them to stay. Visit? Stay? Would she want that? Could she do it? “I don’t know the first thing about making anything into a home.”
“You did for Grace,” he said.
“You don’t know that.” Just the fact that Diego believed he wanted her to make a home for him and said it with so much conviction warmed her.
“I do know it.” He turned back to the stove.
That conviction in his voice got to her. Turned her to mush inside. “Are you real?” she had to ask, because if she ever allowed herself to believe and he wasn’t—he would shatter her. She hadn’t realized she could be so vulnerable or that she had the capability of falling for a man so fast. It was out of character.
“Unfortunately for you, sweetheart, I’m all too real. And I’ve made up my mind you’re the one.”
His tone was so mild, so matter-of-fact, that at first his declaration didn’t sink in. When it did, the blossoming joy she felt was shocking. Too shocking. Why would a man like Diego look at someone like her? Especially now, when she had to rely on him for everything. The only reasonable explanation she could think of was that he had white knight syndrome. She wasn’t a woman who needed to be rescued. Was she?
Leila wanted to leap up and pace. Go running. Do something physical to stimulate her brain. She had to figure things out before she allowed herself to get swallowed in the fairy tale. Maybe she could have the fairy tale for a few more days if she didn’t push too hard and demand answers. Would that be so bad? She couldn’t go anywhere. She couldn’t get to her daughter. Why couldn’t she have this fantasy just a little longer? But she knew better. If she stayedwith him any longer, with his sweetness and the idea in her head that she had a chance, her heart would shatter when it all fell apart.
“Diego, you know I’m very independent. Once I’m back on my feet, you won’t have to take care of me.”
“I like taking care of you, but I’ll like you being my partner even more. I’m not the kind of man who wants or needs a woman who can’t defend our children. I need someone strong. Had a shit childhood, babe. Not going to have that for my children.” He reached up into the cabinet and pulled out two plates.
There it was again, that low, velvety voice that seemed to brush along her skin, creating the most amazing reaction in her body. Just his voice alone was enough to give her fantasies. But she wanted the real thing, not a fantasy.
She watched him serve the mixture of vegetables and protein noodles onto the two plates while she considered the last possibility of why he was so interested in her.
“Do you think, and I don’t know how it could have been done, that Whitney paired us together and we’re reacting to that? Marcy told me about a rumored program he had to get children from those he’s genetically altered.”
“You were never around Whitney.” He placed one of the plates on a small, hand-carved tray. “How could he pair us?”
“I don’t know, but he had my sister.”
He flashed another heart-stopping grin at her. “Then I’d be paired with your sister. I can assure you, while it might appeal to some men to be attracted to sisters, it holds no attraction for me in the least. In fact, it sounds like a recipe for disaster. And smacks of disloyalty.”
She liked that he’d tacked that on, the part about being disloyal if he was attracted to her sister.
Diego handed her the tray and placed his dinner on the smalltable beside the chair that was opposite the rocker. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Just water.”
“The spring water here is extraordinary.” He brought her a glass filled with clear liquid before seating himself opposite her. “I thought we’d rest tonight and tomorrow start on your PT. We need to get serious about it.”
“PT?” She carefully put a forkful of vegetables and noodles in her mouth and was a little shocked at the burst of flavors. He hadn’t just chopped up the vegetables and heated them; he’d actually used spices to make them taste good.
“I allowed one of the men who came after you to live. The others were very much like the five who were rushing you up the mountains, but he was a decent man. I gave him a message to take back with him. They’ll know you’re alive, and it will depend on how seriously they take me whether they send a little army against us. Just in case, it will be best for you to be in good shape. They won’t expect it.”
“They know I have to go back,” Leila reminded him. “They know I’ll never give up my daughter.”
“No matter what, we’ll get Grace back. You don’t have to sell your soul to have your own daughter given back to you. I made it very clear that I’m a GhostWalker and that the carnage belongs to me, not you. I also made it clear why those soldiers weren’t going home. Terry recognized my name. He knows who I am, and I have no doubt his commanding officer will know my reputation as well.”
