Rafe chuckled. “Not exactly. This is an apartment building.”
“An apartment building? Why are we coming here?”
“You’ll see,” he said, and the words sent shivers down his spine. His plan for Emily included more than just a new home and a new daddy. Eventually, he planned to give her back her sight.
He opened the door to his apartment and led her down the hall to her new room, then picked her up and tossed her on the bed.
“Whee!” she cried out as she sailed through the air and landed on the soft mattress. “Where are we, Rafe?”
“We’re somewhere very special, pumpkin. Someplace you’re going to spend a lot of time from now on.”
She scrunched up her nose and tilted her head to the side, pushing up her sunglasses. “I am?”
“Yup. This is your new room, Emily. You’re going to come live with me. I’m going to be your daddy.”
Emily’s eyes popped, and her mouth fell open in a large O. “Really?” She turned her head from side to side, as if looking around the room.
Rafe sat down on the bed next to her and tweaked her nose. “Really, sweet pea. What do you think of that?”
Emily jumped up and launched herself at him, knocking him over onto his back. “I think that’s the best surprise ever!”
Rafe couldn’t contain the grin that took over his face, threatening to split it in half.
“So who’s going to be my mommy? Is it CeCe?” Emily asked, and Rafe’s happiness immediately plummeted.
How many nights had he fantasized that exact arrangement? He knew CeCe would be a perfect mother for Emily, not to mention a perfect mate for him. He still thought of her every day, her face appearing in his mind unbidden at the slightest reminder, the memories an agonizing pleasure. He called her every day for the first week or so, but she never picked up when he called. He’d stopped calling after a while, giving up hope that she’d ever contact him again.
“Oh sweetheart, I wish it could be. But CeCe doesn’t want to see me anymore. Maybe someday I’ll find somebody to be your mommy.” Rafe sighed and twirled a lock of her hair around his finger.
Emily propped herself up on an elbow and made a curious face. “Why doesn’t she want to see you anymore?”
“I did something that made her mad.”
“Will CeCe still come visit me if I live here?” Concern twisted Emily’s face, and Rafe cringed.
“I don’t know, Emily. She’s welcome to, but I don’t know how she’ll feel about that. We’ll try to work it out, okay?” He patted her back through her Beauty and the Beast tee.
Emily pushed a finger to her lips. “I hope she doesn’t get mad at me for moving here.”
“I’m sure she’ll be happy for you, honey. She loves you, and she knows how much you want a family.”
Emily nodded, looking relieved.
“Would you like to see another surprise, Em?” Rafe asked, hoping to distract her from thoughts of CeCe.
“Another one?”
“Yup, come with me.” He set her down on the floor and led her over to the corner. “Hold out your hands.”
She reached out and touched the roofline of the dollhouse, her fingers sliding down the plastic shingles. Rafe knew the minute she figured it out, because her face lit up with excitement.
“Your Barbies get a new home, too,” Rafe said.
“Thank you, Daddy!” Emily turned and wrapped her skinny arms around him, and Rafe let his tears drip into her hair. He couldn’t imagine a better present for her to give him in return.
Her enthusiasm ignited a fire in Rafe, and he was suddenly desperate to give her the one gift he had left, the greatest gift he could ever give. He’d planned to wait a little longer, till she was settled into her new life, maybe after the adoption was finalized. But in the glow of her happiness, Rafe couldn’t remember why he’d ever considered waiting. Why should she live another day blind when he had the power to heal her?
Rafe sat down on the ground and pulled Emily into his lap, his serious mood sobering her excitement. “Emily, there’s something else I’d like to give you, if you want it.”
“What is it?” She traced her fingers over his face.
“Your sight, Emie. I can fix your eyes,” Rafe whispered.
Emily tilted her little head and stared up at him with blind eyes. “You can?”
“Yes, honey. I can make you all better if you want me to.” He ran a hand down her cheek, cupping it in his palm, memorizing the softness of her skin. This was a moment he never wanted to forget.
“Will it hurt?” Her voice was a tiny squeak, and Rafe chuckled.
“No, sweetheart, it won’t hurt a bit. We don’t even have to go anywhere; I can do it right here, right now. Would you like that?”
Emily gave a slow, deep nod, curious but trusting, and it tore a hole in Rafe’s heart. Why couldn’t CeCe feel the same? He only wanted the best for her — for both of them. Why was CeCe clinging to her disability when he had the ability to free her?
Rafe pushed his sorrow aside, intent on enjoying this moment with Emily. He carefully removed her big, plastic sunglasses and set them to the side. He lifted both hands to cup her cheeks, his thumbs resting on her eyelids, and he slowly let the power flow out of them.
The feeling wasn’t new to him; he’d used it every day on one patient or another, subtly improving their physical ailments and healing minor injuries, but never enough that anyone would notice and suspect something supernatural.
With Emily, however, he let the power build, increasing the flow till he felt it humming under his thumbs. She dug her fingers into his arms and whimpered, but didn’t try to stop him. As his body emptied of power, he felt the space fill in, an overwhelming sense of love filling every crevice and expanding till he thought he would burst from it.
He tumbled backwards as the surge forced his fingers away from her sockets, and Emily’s lids popped open. She gasped as her eyes made contact with his, her chestnut irises widening as she realized she could see again.
“Daddy?” she whispered, her hands reaching out to touch him. He leaned in, letting her caress his face, as her fingers connected the shape of his features to the image before her. She traced his nose and the arch of his eyebrows, her tiny fingers trembling.
“You look handsome, Daddy,” she announced after several moments of inspection.
Rafe grinned and took her hand, kissing each finger individually. “What do you think of your room, pumpkin?”
Emily pulled back to look at her surroundings. Her eyes danced from the pink walls, down to the pretty colored bedspread, and back up to the ruffled curtains. She stood up and walked over to the bed, tracing the characters with her fingers as she whispered their names under her breath. “I remember them!”
Rafe chuckled. “I’m sure you do, sweet pea. They’re your favorites, right?”
“Moana is my favorite. No, Belle is. No, Ariel!”
Rafe bent down and scooped her up, propping her on his hip where he could make eye contact with her. “You’re my favorite, you know that?”
Her eyes grew serious as she stared into his, searching for answers. “How did you do that, Daddy? How did you fix me?”
Rafe sat down on the bed, her legs still straddling his waist, her arms around his neck. “Well, Em, I have a secret to tell you, but you have to promise never to tell anybody unless I say it’s okay. Can you do that? Can you keep a secret?”
Her eyes widened again. “Is it a bad secret?”
Rafe softened his serious expression and smiled at her. “No, baby, it’s not bad at all. It’s really good, actually. You know what angels are, right?”
Emily nodded slowly, pink cheeks round under milk chocolate eyes. “Are you an angel?”
“Sort of. I’m half angel, and half human. I’m a Celestia Divisa.”
“Celestia Divisa?” She tried out the words, letting them vibrate on her lips.
“That’s right. And I have the power to heal people.”
<
br /> She scrunched up her nose and pursed her lips. “Why didn’t you heal me before?”
Rafe sighed and hugged her tighter, burying his face in her strawberry-scented hair. She returned the hug eagerly.
“I love you so much, kiddo. I always have, but when I heal somebody, it makes me love them even more. So much so that I couldn’t stand it if I ever had to be apart from them. I had to make sure we could be together first.”
“So, you mean I can stay here forever?”
“Yes, sweetheart, as long as you want to.”
Emily’s face broke in a wide grin and she squeezed his neck. “You know, Daddy, you should heal CeCe, too. Then maybe she’d want to stay with us forever.”
Her words squeezed the blood out of Rafe’s heart, crushing it. “I wish it was that simple, princess.”
Chapter 18
CeCe stumbled through her morning routine in the same fog that had plagued her spirits since the last time she saw Rafe. She had every right to be mad at him. He had lied to her, implied that he would love her more if she wasn’t blind, and treated her like every other person in her life who thought they knew what was best for her. So why did she miss him so much? Why did her heart ache every time she thought of him, and not with anger but with desire?
She also missed Emily. She’d been so busy, filling her days with speaking engagements, hoping to convince her own heart of the things she tried to teach others, that she hadn’t taken the time to go see the little girl recently. She ought to, she decided. Emily always brought a smile to her face and reminded her that her blindness was a gift she could use to help others. If only being with her didn’t bring back painful memories of being with Rafe. Maybe she could invite Jessica to go with her instead, and they could create new memories with Emily.
Jessie had the day off today, so CeCe decided to ask her if she’d be willing to visit Emily with her. Maybe they could take the girl shopping for new school clothes. The summer was waning, and Emily would be starting her new school soon. CeCe doubted that Emily’s group mother, Ann, had the time or money to take her to pick out new things. Jessica would probably enjoy a trip to the mall, anyway.
Once CeCe had gotten her sister’s agreement, she called Ann, eager to spend the day with Emily.
“Hi CeCe! Nice to hear from you again. It’s been ages,” Ann answered.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’ve just been really busy lately.” No need to go into the emotional details behind her absence. “But I thought maybe I could take Emily shopping today and get her some new school clothes.”
Ann was silent for a long moment.
“Ann? Are you still there? Is that okay?”
“I’m sorry, CeCe. I’m just surprised. I thought you knew.”
CeCe’s heart plummeted. “Knew what, Ann?” Her voice was a hoarse whisper.
“Emily moved out a week ago. She’s staying with Rafe. He’s going to adopt her.”
It was CeCe’s turn to grow silent. After a few moments, she stumbled over a response. “He… I… we’re… not seeing each other anymore. I haven’t spoken to him lately.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, CeCe. That’s too bad. You two seemed good together, and so great with Emily. I guess I assumed you’d be helping him raise her.”
CeCe winced, her own fantasies coming back to haunt her. How many times had she imagined the same thing? Would she ever see Emily again? She couldn’t stand the thought of losing her forever. Or Rafe.
She murmured her goodbyes to Ann and hung up, her mind still in a daze and her heart aching, pain pulsing through her body with each beat.
The idea of Rafe, a single man with two important careers, taking on the care of a blind orphan overwhelmed her, and her respect for him grew exponentially. How could she maintain her anger at him in the face of such contradictory information? The two views of him warred in her heart and mind, sending her emotions reeling. She grabbed Dexter’s harness and headed for the front door, desperate to make sense of her feelings.
“CeCe? Where are you going? Aren’t we going shopping?” Jessica called out to her as she flew by.
Her sister’s voice halted her, and she paused in her escape.
“He’s adopting her, Jessie. She moved in with him.” CeCe’s voice cracked under the weight of her words, and her face twisted with emotion.
“Who? Rafe? Adopted Emily?”
CeCe nodded, biting her lip to hold back the gush of tears.
“So, where are you going?” Jessica asked with no condemnation.
CeCe hung her head and squeezed the hem of her pink lace skirt, the texture of it biting into her fingers, grounding her to reality as she gripped it. “I don’t know, I just need to…”
“You need to go see him. I get it, CeCe. I know you’re still in love with him.”
“I don’t want to lose her, Jessica.”
“Or him?”
CeCe sighed. “I don’t know.”
Jessica put her hand on CeCe’s arm and rubbed gently. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“No, I’ll be okay. I just need some time to think.”
Jessica raised an eyebrow but let the comment pass. She knew her sister would end up at Rafe’s.
“Higher, Daddy, higher!” Emily squealed as her legs flew above her head and her auburn hair dragged in the sand underneath the swing, the breeze cutting through the sticky, late-summer heat. The voices of other children playing chattered around them, and Emily had made friends with several of them already, but she enjoyed her special time with Rafe. A few minutes playing together on the little playground at his apartment complex had become their daily ritual.
The sun glinted off the shiny metal slide in blinding rays of light, and Rafe faltered in his pushing when something caught his eye, a vision he was sure was a mirage. A woman with long, blonde hair, dressed in pink lace, holding the lead of a Labrador Retriever. Rafe moaned as the breath exploded from his lungs at the sight of her, her face still powerful enough to bring him to his knees.
“Daddy?” Emily’s swing slowed as Rafe stood motionless, staring. “What’s wrong, Daddy?”
“Nothing’s wrong, sweetheart.” He grabbed ahold of the chains and slowly brought her swing to a halt. “But there’s someone we need to go talk to.”
Emily hopped off the swing and took his hand, looking back and forth between him and the woman. “Is it that woman, Daddy? Is that… CeCe?”
Rafe looked down at her and nodded, his eyes betraying the depth of his emotion.
“Is she here to see us?”
“I hope so,” Rafe murmured, and pulled her towards the sidewalk where CeCe was heading towards his apartment building.
Emily tugged on Rafe’s shirttail and looked up at him. “Can I go say hi to her? I want to surprise her.”
He nodded, smiling, and Emily took off, dashing towards an unsuspecting CeCe.
“CeCe, CeCe, CeCe! It’s me, Emily!” she hollered, launching herself into CeCe. Dexter barked and jumped on them as CeCe oomphed and caught her in her arms. “I missed you! You’re even prettier in person than you are in pictures.” Emily stared at CeCe, absorbing every detail.
CeCe hugged her tightly before lowering her to the ground but kept a grip on her hands. “You… you can see me?”
Emily bobbed her head exaggeratedly. “Daddy… I mean, Rafe, healed me!” Suddenly, Emily’s eyes got wide and she slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oops! I think that was supposed to be a secret.”
“It’s okay, Emily. CeCe already knows about me.” Rafe sidled up next to them, his eyes drinking in CeCe’s beauty like a man finding water in the desert. It felt like it’d been a lifetime since he’d seen her, and in other ways only a minute, her face was so familiar to him. In her presence, his body relaxed, and his lungs could fully expand again.
“That’s amazing, Emily. And Miss Ann told me Rafe was adopting you. I’m so happy for you, Emily,” CeCe said, but her voice betrayed her mixed emotions.
“Rafe is a really good daddy.” Emily
reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards her.
“I’m sure he is.” CeCe’s voice was so soft, it drifted away on the breeze.
“I still wish I had a mommy, though.” Emily’s eyes dropped to the ground, and she scuffed her shoes against the sidewalk. “I know!” She raised her head and perked her voice. “CeCe, maybe you could be my mommy! I think you would be a really good one. Daddy could heal you, too, you know.”
Rafe had been playing along, amused by her attempts to woo CeCe, but he knew her last words would turn CeCe away, and he didn’t want CeCe to think he had coached her. He had to make sure she understood he wanted her, blind or not. “Emily, CeCe doesn’t want that, and that’s okay. I love her just the way she is. She’s perfect, and she doesn’t need to change for anyone.”
Rafe’s words melted the last layer of ice surrounding CeCe’s heart, the water welling up and spilling from her eyes. Rafe reached for her, wrapping his hands around her shoulders and pulling her close enough to feel the warmth of her body and smell her peaches and cream scent.
“CeCe, I mean it. I don’t care if you’re blind. That never bothered me in the slightest. I just want you to be happy. I need you, CeCe. We need you. Please give me another chance to show you how much I care about you.”
One tiny nod from her was all it took for Rafe to engulf her, his strong arms wrapping around her body and his hands smoothing over every inch of her that they could reach. They finally made their way up to her neck and captured her face, their lips drawing together like magnets.
Rafe groaned as he tasted her, the sweet, fruitiness of her breath and the warm softness of her lips satisfying his craving like nothing else ever could. Her delicate fingers grabbed greedily at his sides then slid up his back, igniting their path. The fire burned deep into his skin, setting his insides ablaze.
“Marry me, CeCe.”
Chapter 19
CeCe paced the perimeter of her living room, alternately wringing her hands and smoothing her dress as she waited for Rafe and Emily to arrive. She was dressed in a pretty floral pattern that her sister assured her was perfect for a baby shower, and Jessica had also helped her pick out a thoughtful gift for the new mother, Eve Arella.
Date with Destiny Collection: Angel Romance Series: Books 1 - 4 Page 58
