Page 33 of That Time in Venice
Heat settled between her legs, and Anika cleared her throat, shifting to a more comfortable position in the chair. “No oneatall?”
He smiled slightly. “Brielle’s my priority. I haven’t had the time or desire to date anyoneseriously.”
“But youwantto?”
“Seriously. Casually. I’m fine either way. At the end of the day, my priority isBrielle.”
“So you’re telling me, since you moved here, you’ve been sitting at home twiddling your thumbs?” She couldn’t imagine that. Reed was too passionate, tooplayful.
“I didn’tsaythat.”
“So there’s been someone?” Her voice lowered. Anticipating his response shouldn’t make her muscles tense. She shouldn’t care so much about hisanswer.
His eyes looked steadily into hers. “A couple of women. Nothing serious. The right woman hasn’t come along yet. Although, I think my luck might bechanging.”
“I see.” She met his intense gaze head on. A hefty silence settled over the table and Anika reached for her glass, taking a large gulp. “Brielle’s a lucky girl, to have such a dedicatedfather.”
“I’m the lucky one. She’s a good kid, sweet as can be. I just don’t know what gets into her when she throws the tantrums, though. She’s struggling, and I don’t know how to help her.” Brow furrowed, Reed stared down at thetable.
“Do you think it’s solely because her mother died?” Anika asked gently, not wanting to overstep herbounds.
Reed seemed inclined to talk. “Hell, I don’t know what to think.” He rubbed a hand across his brow. “Her grandmother took her to a therapist for a while, but he didn’t think Brielle needed him. He insisted she was coping well, but I’m not so sure. When we first moved here, she was unhappy—kinda cranky but nothing too serious. Since I’ve been working from home a few days a week, she’s been in a better mood. I think she just needed to know I’d be there, you know? But every now and again, she throws these tantrums—such as the one you saw the other day. Something’s wrong. I don’t think she’s struggling with the loss of her mother. She may not fully understand, but she’s accepted it. She knows her mommy won’t be coming back. I think the tantrums are because she misses her family back in Dallas. What’s strange is that she was fine at first. The tantrums started a couple of months ago, not long after we moved into thehouse.”
“What do you think itmeans?”
He was quiet for a while as he pondered the question. “Maybe on some level Brielle understands the permanence of a house. It means that we’re setting down roots and she won’t be going back to Dallas, and when she talks to her grandmother, she thinks she won’t see her again—just like she hasn’t seen her mother again. I have another theory, but…I don’t know.” He shook his head, the frown deepening. “I’m still figuring out this father-thing. I’m never really sure if what I’m doing is right, but I try to put her first and hope everything else falls intoplace.”
“That’s all youcando.”
“I should bedoingmore.”
“You feel guilty for bringing her to Atlanta,” Anika saidquietly.
His gaze flicked up to her. “A little. I wasn’t the”—he shifted in the seat—“best father when her mother, Layla, was alive, but I want the best for my daughter. Because of that, sometimes I’m not sure that bringing her here was the right decision. Maybe I’m beingselfish.”
“You’re her father. You have every right to spend time with Brielle. She’s young and this is all new. You have to givehertime.”
“Yeah. It’s just that when she acts out, I’m not so sure time will changeanything.”
“On a daily basis, how does shebehave?”
“She’s a healthy, normal,happykid.”
“There’s your answer.” Anika smiled at him. “The problem isn’t the location. The problem isn’t you. Moving into a new house is a big change for a child, and maybe she does miss her grandmother, but you’ll have to be patient. You’ve only lived in Atlanta for six or seven months. It hasn’t beenthatlong.”
He laughed shortly. “Patience isn’t exactly something I have in spades, as you can tell. But maybe I can cultivate that quality inmyself.”
“I think you’re capableofit.”
“Yeah?” He studied her, an odd little smile onhisface.
Anika’s cheeks heated and she played with the napkin in herlap. “Yeah.”
“So how’d you get to be so smart?” He sippedhisbeer.
“It’s not smarts. I’m speaking as someone who loved her father to death, and I don’t regret one minute of our time together, even when we didn’t see eye to eye. I wish he were alive and I could make more memories with him. Trust me, Brielle will come around. I’mconfident.”
“Tell me something, Anika.” Reed leaned in. “Why hasn’t some man swept you upalready?”
