Page 10 of Best Kept Secret

"Good morning." Beau came up and dropped a kiss on Pari's cheek like he'd been doing it every day since forever. "How did you sleep, Angel?"

"Sleep all night," Pari announced and then ran a finger over Beau's cheek. "Wet."

Beau chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sweaty." He turned to me. "How did you sleep, darlin'?"

Sleep?I was wide awake. My body was sayinghellovery loudly in my head.

"Good. I…I hope it's okay that I'm making pancakes." I assumed it was, and if it wasn't, Beau could go fuck himself. Pari was hungry, and the fridge was overflowing with goodies.

"This is your home…at least for the near future, you don't have to ask to use anything," Beau told me. He slung the useless towel around his neck, and for a fleeting moment, I wished I could be one of those bold movie heroines—the kind who'd grab the towel, pull him close, and kiss him like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Kiss Beau Bodine?He was Asha's ex-boyfriend. Pari's father. This whole line of thought wasdis-gus-ting.

Not!

"Thanks," I told him sincerely. "Would you like some pancakes? I'm serving them with strawberries and whipped cream."

"Sounds delicious," he said, but he was looking at me in a way that made me wonder if he was talking about the pancakes or me.

Get your mind out of the gutter, Mira. This one's off-limits!

"Miramashi, more milk." Pari held up her empty sippy cup.

"What does that mean?Miramashi?" Beau wanted to know.

"Mashiis Bengali for aunt, but I asked her to call me Mira, and Asha saidMashi, so I ended up becomingMiramashi," I explained as I refilled Pari's cup and handed it back to her.

"I like that. You're Mira Auntie, and I'm Beau Daddy." He looked at his daughter indulgently, making my heart flutter. "And what does myShonamean?"

I often called PariShona, which was a common Bengali nickname.

"Shonameans gold in Bengali," I told him.

He laughed softly. "She is, isn't she? Pure gold."

"Yeah, she is." Emotion swarmed me at his words. "Would you like some coffee?" I asked, raising my cup. He had an excellent espresso machine that ground fresh coffee beans to make what was one of the best cups of coffee I'd had in a long time.

"Black, no sugar, but give it a minute. I'll take a quick shower."

I licked my lips as my throat went dry. The idea of Beau taking those clothes off was…well, decadent spank-bank material.

For a girl who had a limited sexual history, I was certainly acting like a bitch in heat, I thought, admonishing myself. I immediately felt guilty for my desire and looked away fromBeau's firm ass as he walked away. Good girls didn't go around lusting after their niece's father.

Unlike Asha, who'd embraced her sexuality, I'd had trouble letting it loose. But then Asha had had more therapy than me—mine had been sparse, and, in all honesty, I didn't think it did me much good, mostly because I hadn't been ready. Maybe now, once Pari was settled, I could get back to working at a restaurant, even if I couldn't go back to culinary school. I could save up to see a therapist and get my head straightened out.

Pari soon got restless, so I set her down in the living room attached to the kitchen. Beau also had a formal living room, where we'd been the day before.

I turned the television on so she could watch some cartoons while I got the pancakes ready. I was militant about how much screen time Pari got—I wanted her to play and do other things besides being a slave to technology. But sometimes,The Disney Channelwas the best babysitter.

I had just finished plating the pancakes when Beau came back, smelling like a forest…sexy as hell. He was in a pair of casual linen trousers and a white T-shirt. He looked like he'd stepped out of the loungewear edition ofGQmagazine.

"Wow. Fancy!" he remarked when he saw how I had plated the pancakes, strawberries, and whipped cream.

"Well, you can take the chef out of the restaurant, but you can't take the restaurant out of the chef." I winced at that. I wasn't a chef; I was a cook. I hadn't worked at a restaurant; I had worked in a diner. Still, a girl could dream.

Beau grinned, and before I could summon Pari, he did so himself. I had to learn to let him spend time with her and raise her, but it was hard, so very hard, to see my role diminishing. It was the way it should be, but I wished so much that I would not lose my baby.

Pari chatted the entire time we ate breakfast. Beau was patient, and I marveled at how well he was handling this whole parenting thing. After Pari was done, she went back to the living room to play.

---