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I wrap my arm about my daughter and bring her in for a kiss. "Hello, pumpkin." I pretend to bite her cheek.
She giggles. "Mama, you’re awake."
"I am." I beam at her, then spoil it by yawning hugely.
"Give your mom a chance to wake up fully." Tyler walks over to sit next to me on the bed. "How are you feeling?" He scans me with quiet intensity. "You were sleeping so deeply; I didn’t want to disturb you."
"I was…knackered," I murmur. There’s a knowing look in his eyes, which makes me flush. I bite down on my lower lip and am gratified when those hypnotic eyes of his flare. He leans in and kisses me firmly. As always, that goes to my head. My heart feels like it’s galloping in my chest. I can feel my pulse at my wrists, at my ankles, at my temples.
Then Serene giggles. I try to pull away, conscious our daughter is watching us, not that my husband lets me. He kisses me thoroughly and at leisure. When he finally releases me, there’s a look of satisfaction on his face. He rises to his feet and hauls Serene into his arms. She squeals, locking her arms about his neck. Both of them look at me with twin grins of delight. Warmth squeezes my chest. This…feeling of being complete… I hold it close to me. I tuck it away in that corner of my chest where it will continue to warm the rest of me.
"Get dressed, we’re meeting the Sterlings for breakfast."
* * *
"There, honey, have some fruit." I place a few slices of mango on Serene’s plate, then help myself.
We’re seated by the main pool in the resort having breakfast with the Sterlings.
I bite into the fruit, and the sweet-tart juice fills my palate. "This tastes so good.Everythingtastes so good."
"It’s the appetite you worked up." Tyler smirks.
Summer laughs.
Sinclair arches an eyebrow.
"Did you work out, Mrs. Davenport?" Matty asks me in that solemn, grown-up voice of his which I’m still getting used to.
"Oh, she did." Tyler puts his arm around me. "In fact, we worked out together."
"Tyler." I dig my elbow into his side.
Tyler’s smirk turns into a grin.
Summer coughs.
To my relief, Matty loses interest in the conversation and focuses on his pancakes. I shoot Tyler another scowl, then look past him to find a woman at the next table staring at us. It’s the same woman I noticed at the reception when we’d checked in. I almost forgot about her. But here she is and, once again, she’s staring at Serene.
Something in her expression makes the fine hairs on the nape of my neck rise.
"What’s wrong?" Tyler must notice my expression, for he looks her way. His entire body goes still. His muscles bunch. That’s when I know, my instincts are right at being alarmed.
"Who is she? Do you know her?"
He doesn’t reply. His hand tightens around mine. I sense the tension bouncing off of him. "Tyler? "
His jaw hardens. A vein at his temple pops. I glance at the woman, only to find she’s gone completely pale. Her throat moves as she swallows. Then, she rises to her feet and walks toward our table.
She comes to a stop before us, looking from Tyler to Serene, then back to Tyler.
Something in the rigid set of her body, the edge of desperation in the way she looks at me—and that flicker of hope, fragile and raw—triggers alarm bells in my mind. All of my instincts scream. I should move. I should grab Serene and protect her from this woman. I try to move, but my arms and legs don’t seem capable of functioning.
"Don’t do this," Tyler growls.
The woman’s lips twist. "You know who I am, don’t you?"
"You are Lauren Bolton, the woman who dropped off Serene at my doorstep," he says softly through gritted teeth.