Page 14 of Best Kept Secret

I disengaged my hand from underneath hers to pick up my beer.

"So, how do you want me to work with Pa…your daughter?"

"From what I can see, and I know, I don't hang out with two-and-a-half-year-olds often, so what the fuck do I know—but Pari seems to be happy and healthy. Mira's here, so she has continuity. Roxy is already in love. My mother is all but ready to descend to take over childcare. But I'm out of my depth, trying to figure out how to be a father overnight."

Fallon nodded, her expression sympathetic. "That's a lot to take in. How's Mira handling things?"

"Mira..." I paused, not sure how much to say. "She's damn good with Pari. Patient, caring, loving."

"But?" she coaxed.

I ran a hand through my hair. "But…I want to fuck her."

There it was, out in the open. I wasn't the type to dance around a subject, even if it was a minefield. Fallon didn't flinch, but I caught the brief tightening of her jaw.

"Beau, you can't do that."

"I know," I groaned, and then arched an eyebrow. "But why?"

"Because you fuck ‘em and leave ‘em, Beau, and Mira is your daughter's aunt, so you can't exactly leave her," she admonished. "Mira's in a vulnerable position right now, and so are you. Getting involved with her could complicate things even more—especially with custody issues hanging in the balance. You need to focus on what's best for Pari."

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. "And youreallydon't think that could include Mira? She's Pari's mother, for all practical purposes."

Fallon's eyes softened. "Mira might be the best thing for Pari right now, but that doesn't mean she should be more than that. You start sleeping with her, and she's going to make assumptions. You need to think long-term. Relationships like this can get messy, and if things go south between you two, it could hurt Pari."

She had a point, and I knew it. But that didn't change the fact that I couldn't get Mira out of my head. I wanted her, and not just because of the way she looked, though that was quite potent; it was about how she took care of my daughter.

Mira was a mass of contradictions—vulnerable yet strong, delicate yet steely. I wanted to take care of Mira; I'd always, as Fallon often accused me, had a white knight syndrome problem. But there was something else that pulled me to Mira, something I couldn't identify. Maybe it was as simple as her loving Pari so much that it made her attractive to me. The other problem was that it wasn't one-sided. I'd been around the block and then some, and I had seen how she watched me this morning when I came from the gym. Most women had a problem with a sweaty man, but Mira looked like she wanted to lick me up—and Goddamn, I enjoyed that. I'd had to sit down because her hungry eyes made my dick stand up.

"Does Mira have a plan for what happens once Pari is settled?" Fallon inquired after I asked the server to bring our check.

"She just got here yesterday afternoon, Fallon. I doubt she's had enough sleep in years to even know what side is up." That was the other thing—Mira obviously was a caring person. She took care of her ill sister and niece. That appealed to me. I wanted a woman to cosset me, and I knew she would.

"She needs to think about what she wants for herself, Beau. She can't live with you."

Why the hell not?Because then you'll have her spread under you sooner or later.

"She doesn't have any money or a job and—"

"Do you think you can maybe buy her off then? Make this whole custody thing easier?"

What the fuck?"No. She's not like that."

Fallon rolled her eyes. "How the hell would you know? You barely knew her sister, except biblically, and you met Mirayesterday. She could have come here just to get compensation, and God knows she deserves it. And, let's face it, you've got plenty."

If Mira wanted money, I'd give her as much as she wanted. As Fallon said, I had enough for a few lifetimes.Butthe idea of Mira wantingthatfrom me was like acid in my stomach. I didn't like the sound of that at all.

"She wants to go back to culinary school." I nodded at the waiter who brought our check and handed her my credit card.

"She sounds like a train wreck. What kind of education does she have? Did she even go to college?"

"I don't know, Fallon. But for the past three years, she's been taking care of her sister and my daughter, which didn't give her much time to build a career. She's just twenty-two and—"

"When you get your PI's report on her, I want to take a look," Fallon huffed, cutting me off. "You're obviously thinking with your dick when it comes to her and not your brain. And, Lordy, she's so young."

I liked Fallon. She was honest and open with me, and since we weren't fucking, the friendship was, in many ways, extremely satisfying. If there was one thing I disliked about Fallon was how judgmental she was.

"When you meet Mira, you'll see all your suspicions are unwarranted," I assured her.

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