She clenched her jaw, the small tick a noticeable tell. “I didn’t cave, I did what I needed to do.”
“What you did was save my family. I might not have appreciated your offer at first but I appreciate it now. I appreciate you.” Niko began to kiss the pulse at the base of her neck, the beat barely discernible beneath his questing lips.
She cupped the side of his face. Pale eyes studied him, raw emotion shining in their depths. “You won because of your own talent. The only thing I did was give you a venue to showcase it.”
“And make Chloe’s dream come true.” Meeting her earnest gaze, he inhaled, and said what was uppermost in his thoughts. It was now or never and he had to know for his own peace of mind. “Will you stay here in Seattle for a while? With me. Would you stay in Seattle with me and see where we go?”
She closed her eyes tight, lips compressed as if she were concentrating very hard on something. Was he selfish to ask her to make such a commitment, especially given her recent breakup? Perhaps but he couldn’t take the words back and he wouldn’t backtrack regardless of her answer. Life was about taking chances and if you didn’t take chances what was the point of living? He watched, waiting for her response.
A single tear fell down her cheek and into the pillow.
Wiping it away with his thumb, he swallowed the lump in his throat. Defeat from her telling response threatened to derail him. Niko considered withdrawing from their intimate position, but he remained where he was, waiting for her to answer. He had to hear the words from her before he would give up hope.
Alice opened shimmering eyes. She lifted her finger and trailed it along his cheek, before she palmed the side of his face. The corner of her mouth curved and she nodded. “Yes, I’ll stay. At least for a little while.”
Heart swelling, he proceeded to kiss every inch of her luscious form until she was panting his name. Only after he’d satisfied her needs, did he allow all thoughts to leave his head and the sensations push him over the brink of fulfillment. Lying next to her, curled up by her side, more than his body was satisfied. She’d promised him two more weeks and he’d take advantage of every second to learn what he could about this special woman.
Most especially, how she truly felt about him.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Alice clapped her hands, stomach muscles cramping from laughter. Chloe had slipped on a pink tutu over her pajama bottoms and Niko held her upraised hand while she performed a clumsy pirouette. It was hard to remember that she wasn’t anything but a carefree girl. A stack of clothes and multiple toys covered the floor around the tree, most of them for Chloe. Christmas was about kids and the rest of them were there to bask in her joy.
The doorbell preceded the sound of loud voices that came from the foyer. “Looks like the rest of the family is here. Better get those gifts down to your room and get dressed,” Sarah said.
“Come on, I’ll help you.” Alice picked up the stack of clothes and two dolls. Chloe skipped ahead of her down the stairs to the basement apartment, the tutu billowing as she ran with the kitten in her hand. Her room was painted in bright colors, the most prominent tone purple with festive unicorn posters decorating her walls. “I think somebody likes the color purple.”
“I do. Do you like purple?” Chloe said, placing the kitten on a cat bed. She took the clothing from Alice and opened the closet to put the stack on a lower shelf. Vibrant colored clothing hung on the single rod with a small dresser tucked in the corner.
Next to Chloe’s twin bed was a recliner, a cream-colored throw bunched up on the seat. A large dollhouse sat in the corner next to a window seat and at the end of the bed was a linen chest draped with a lilac runner. Alice would have given anything for a room like this when she was Chloe’s age instead of the austere one at the foster home. “I do like purple. You have more clothes than Brooke.”
“I wished she could have come but I’m so glad you’re staying. Uncle Niko would’ve been sad if you left.” Chloe grabbed a red plaid dress and tights and started to disrobe. “Can you grab my shoes from the trunk? I want the black ones.”
“Sure.” Alice turned her back to give Chloe privacy and knelt on the floor beside the trunk, her green dress billowing about her ankles. She opened the lid to find a jumble of items tossed in haphazardly and smiled. Chloe and Brooke also shared the same method of cleaning their room. She lifted a few toys, some crayon drawings, and a battered wooden frame. Turning it over, she bit her lip. She swallowed. It was a picture of Hallie, Jon, and Chloe on a stormy beach. The girl’s strawberry blond hair was plastered across her cheek and she was missing her front teeth. Brooke. She looked so achingly like Brooke, Alice’s vision began to blur.
Except it wasn’t Brooke, it was Chloe.
She’s your daughter. Oh my God, she’s your daughter.
Only a blood test would tell for sure but every instinct in her body screamed the truth. Stunned, she searched out the handkerchief in her pocket and wiped her eyes, blinking back the tears before more could fall.
Keep it together, Alice.
A tug at her skirt drew her attention back to the task at hand and she laid the handkerchief on her lap before she picked up the kitten that tried to climb up the fabric of her skirt. Tucking it into her chest, she gained strength from the fragile creature. Alice didn’t have the luxury to break down. That would come later. For today, she’d relish Niko, his family, and all the great memories from this special Christmas Day. A tiny island in a sea of pain.
First thing in the morning, she’d leave and never look back.
Yes, she told Niko she’d stay until the end of her hiatus but that was a foolish promise. Agreeing to remain in Seattle was a bad idea and she had to leave for the sake of her own sanity.
Stomach churning, she retrieved the black shoes from the bottom of the trunk and resisted the mad urge to organize the items before returning them to the trunk.Damn, OCD.
Chloe skipped across the room in her plaid dress. “Did you find them?”
“Yes.” Rocking back on her heels, she stood, shoes in hand. She passed them over to Chloe and eyed the door. Her revelation was too much and she needed to get away, to catch her breath before she was forced to put on a brave face. “Looks like you got this. I’m going to find your uncle,” she lied. She planned on skipping outside and getting some much-needed fresh air to clear her head.
She touched the doorframe and looked back, unable to help herself.
“K.C., what did you do?” Chloe said, pulling the kitten onto her knee. Caught in the cat’s claw, was the hem of Alice’s handkerchief.
