Page 2 of Best Kept Secret

The girl stuck the straw in her mouth and began to suck, her eyes on mine. The same fucking eyes that my brother Trev had, the ones that my father had,mine. Just a few months ago, I'd learned that I had a half-sister, thanks to my daddy dipping his pen in ink that wasn't my mother, and now it looked like I had a daughter. I also had a shit ton of questions, but Mira looked about ready to collapse, and this kid looked like a big ball of sunshine, happy and charming, so I was less worried about her than I was the woman taking care of her.

As my daughter drank, she poked my nose again. Her finger was cold from holding the juice. "Ding dong," I repeated, and she snorted, spraying orange juice on my face. I couldn't help but laugh—and just like that, I fell in love for the first time in my life.

Chapter 2

Mira

Iall but collapsed on the couch after I put Pari's toys in front of her so she could play while Beau and I talked. He had been my last resort…ultimately, myonly.

I was starving.

I hadn't eaten much…oranythingfor the past day unless coffee counted. I had exactly enough money to buy gas and make sure I had milk, juice, fruit, and enough food for Pari to get to Beau's place. If he turned me away, I wasn't sure what I'd do. When I left Atlanta, I knew that I was going against my sister's wishes—and even Beau's. She'd told me that Beau had signed away his parental rights, not wanting to be burdened with achild. I thought it didn't compute, not with the Beau I'd gotten to know when he dated my sister. But then again, Beau was a well-known playboy in Atlanta, so if he said he didn't want a child, it wasn't that far-fetched.

"Let's take it from the top, yeah, darlin'?" Beau suggested after he handed me a glass of water.

I wished I'd asked for juice to get some sugar inside me because I was feeling a little lightheaded.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. My sister had made sure we were provided for because I'd had to quit my job and my life to take care of her and Pari for the past three years.Butmy parents had managed to convince a judge not to release her inheritance or insurance to me and were fighting for custody of Pari, which I couldn't possibly allow. That was why I'd decided to come and convince Beau to help me. He may not want to raise Pari, which was fine. I'd do it, and as long as he staked his claim as the father of the child, my parents couldn't take her away.

"I…." I had no idea what to say or what taking it from the top meant, so I drank water.

Sensing my inability to string sentences together, Beau patiently asked, "What's her name?"

"Pari." I smiled because everything about my niece made me happy. "That means angel…a fairy."

Beau's eyes crinkled with laughter.

Of all of Asha's boyfriends, and she'd had several, he was the most handsome and the only one I'd crushed on. The rest of the men she'd been with had been Indian like us, except for Beau, and wouldn't you have it, he was the one that knocked her up.

"That's a lovely name. Where's Asha?"

"Asha is dead, Beau." I set the glass of water on the coffee table.

He was frozen for a long moment, and I wondered if I should've said it in a better or different way. He then shook his head as if in pain and surprised me by hugging me.

"I'm so sorry, Mira. So, fuckin' sorry."

I leaned into his solid warmth.

It felt so damn good to be comforted.

For the past two years, I'd had only Pari to hug and hold. All our family had abandoned us. Asha having an illegitimate child was met with scorn in the Indian community. My friends from the restaurant had been there for me in the beginning, but as Asha continued to be sick and Pari was born, I had less and less time to even reach out to people, so I'd lost them, too.

He looked at me and wiped at the tears that had rolled down my eyes. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Before I could speak, Pari came running to me. "Need to pee,Miramashi."

I looked at Beau, and he showed me the way to a bathroom. I took Pari inside, and she talked nonstop as she peed. She was a good girl and, at two and a half years old, was potty trained, which was a miracle. She still needed a diaper to sleep in at night, but during the day, she hardly had any accidents unless she was upset.

After we washed our hands, I brought her back into the living room, where Beau was texting on the phone. He looked up at us and smiled.

Pari went back to her Duplo blocks on the carpet, and I sat down on the couch again. I was so tired. I'd barely slept in the three years since Asha's last trimester of pregnancy, and the past months since Asha passed away had been even more harrowing.

"Beau…." I didn't want to, but I was feeling faint. "Do you think I could get something to eat?"

He raised both eyebrows.

"I…I haven't eaten since yesterday and—"

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