Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
I had to take a step back, rein in my damn hormones, and keep things platonic between us.
Because without York’s help, I wasn’t sure if I was going to survive long enough to watch my little girl grow up.
And I couldn’t let that happen if I had any control over it.
Decision made, I went into the bedroom and changed, then made my way downstairs for dinner. And tried like hell to keep a wall up between myself and York.
Judging by the way I kept catching him studying me with pinched brows, I figured it was working.
Good.
That was good.
Even if my stomach twisted each time I thought about it.
CHAPTER TEN
York
How the hell were adults supposed to find time to have conversations without little ears overhearing?
It had been a full week—and three visits—since the pool day, and I’d yet to get more than two minutes alone with Runa to try to talk about her bruises. And what happened in my bedroom.
Though, to be honest, it was starting to feel like she was deliberately setting up situations where it would be hard—if not impossible—for the two of us to get time alone to speak.
She’d set up a beach day—guaranteeing that we wouldn’t be away from Denali for even two seconds.
Then there’d been the children’s museum.
And, finally, bowling.
She made very sure not to have it so I could come back to her place, where Denali might go to her room and give us time to speak.
Now, the question was: was it simply because she knew I knew about the bruises and didn’t want to talk about it, or was it something else? Was it because I’d put my hands on her and she had regrets about that? But if so, why? We were both adults. We were still attracted to each other. What was wrong with us enjoying some adult activities?
Was it about Denali?
About not wanting to make her get her hopes up about her mom and dad being together?
I guess I could understand that.
But there was no reason she had to know.
Why couldn’t we wait for her to go to bed then… do whatever our bodies wanted?
I had nothing but questions and a frustrating lack of answers.
So I had a plan.
One I was pretty sure Runa wasn’t going to like, but as much as I was enjoying just spending time with them, getting to know them, I needed answers. I needed to know if there was something I needed to be on the lookout for with them.
Like an abusive ex.
My stomach knotted at the idea.
I tried to convince myself it was purely because I hated the idea of my daughter witnessing that, thinking it was what men did to women. And it was that. But I knew it was more than that too. I was just choosing to ignore it.
I had two pizza boxes, breadsticks, drinks, some candy, popcorn, and a bag full of DVDs… and a player, since I hadn’t thought to pick one of those up when I filled the apartment.
Then I did what you were never supposed to do. I showed up unannounced.
There was a long pause as Runa looked out the peephole before unlocking the door.
The second she did, Denali looked over from where she was kneeling on the living room carpet using the coffee table to play with her animal figurines.
“Daddy!” She beamed at me.
“Surprise,” I said. “I figured maybe we should have a pizza and movie night.”
“Yay!” Denali cheered.
“Hope I caught you before you cooked,” I said, but I knew I did since no one ate at exactly five in the evening.
“Hadn’t even thought about dinner yet. You could have texted to ask, though.” It was a small admonishment. And she was right. But, also, we both knew why I didn’t.
“So you could come up with a reason to meet outside of the apartment?” I asked under my breath.
“I haven’t been avoiding you. We’ve seen you every other day.”
“In public.”
“I know you’re new to this, but kids can be easier to handle when you keep them occupied. I don’t know if you’re going to be up for a full day of talking for stuffed animals or figurines.”
“I have to learn eventually, right?” I asked.
She reached to take the bag from me. “What movies did you get? We do have a bit of a collection.”
“I got the ones I asked her about but she hadn’t seen: Atlantis, The Aristocats, Hercules, and The Jungle Book.”
“Solid choices. Nothing too sad.”
“Yeah, I figured that was the goal.”
“She cried for three days after I let her watch The Lion King. We mostly stick to princess movies. But I think she will like these.”
“I’ll set up the player.”
With that, we ate our pizza, watched one movie, then had a break to make popcorn and open the candy, then watched another movie.
When Denali started yawning, Runa demanded she change into pajamas and brush her teeth before we put on another movie.