by Roxy Wilson
So, with the decision made, she filed away the worry for another day.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jamie’s daughters were delightful and pretty. Aron bent over to shake hands with the older one, Mellie, who was six. She was missing a front tooth. “Did the tooth fairy leave behind something in place of your tooth, pequeño?”
She grinned. “Ten dollars. And what is pekano?”
“Wow!” Aron gave Mellie a high-five. “Lucky you! And it’s pee-cane-yo, and it means little one.” He chuckled. “So, what are you planning to do with all that money?”
“I’m saving it, so that I can buy a guitar,” she told him. “Daddy said if I can save a hundred dollars, he’ll put in the rest to buy one.”
Aron exchanged an amused glance with Brett. “A budding musician? Would you promise to save a seat for me on your first concert?”
“Yesss.” Mellie hopped on one foot and clapped her hand in glee. “But you’ll have to buy a ticket, big one!”
Getting the joke about little versus big, Aron burst into laughter as he straightened. “I don’t know about music, but she has a canny business sense, Jamie. And a sense of humor too!”
“Business comes from her dad,” Jamie grinned. “The brilliant humor is from yours truly.” She patted the younger one who was half hiding behind her legs ever since she saw Aron. “And Aubree, here likes to sing.”
“Would you like to sing a nursery rhyme with me?” Aron asked her. “I’m trying to learn Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, I call it Estrellita, for little star, but I keep forgetting my lines.” He launched into the rhyme and was happy when Aubree joined him after he fumbled the second line. They both finished the song and earned a thunderous applause. But the attention seemed to be too much for the young girl and she hid behind her mother again. “Next time, you can teach me Incy Wincy Spider.”
Jamie laughed uproariously and her youngest joined in.
“What?” he asked.
“It’s Itsy-Bitsy Spider!” the little girl corrected with a sudden confidence as everyone laughed.
“Why don’t you stay a while?” Brett asked.
Aron’s glance took in Dayna’s emerald green blouse and her skinny jeans. He longed to pull her into his arms and plant a long, lingering kiss on her Cupid-bow lips, but by the way she stood, her arms folded against her chest, he knew that they were a long way away from that move. “I’ve got reservations,” he told Brett. “Some other day, perhaps?”
Brett smiled and nodded in agreement.
“So, you’re here for some time?” Jamie fell into step behind them. Curiosity lingered in her eyes. The two women had been thick as thieves in high school and were probably the same even now; hence Dayna must have told her everything they talked about last night. For that reason, he decided to be frank. “Depends on Dayna. My calendar and travel plans are flexible.”
When he led Dayna out of the apartment in the swanky downtown building, Aron's mind was still on Jamie’s wonderful family. Oddly, he’d never pegged her as the type who’d settle down so fast. He mentioned that to Dayna as they sat in the car he’d leased.
“Melissa is Brett’s daughter and Jamie’s adopted child,” she told him.
“What?”
She recounted Jamie and Brett’s story. “It ended well for them both, and I suppose when she grows up, Mellie can take the credit for bringing her parents together.”
Aron couldn’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like if he had a child. When he divorced his wife, he’d been privately glad they didn’t have to fight any custody battles, because he simply didn’t want to see her again. Not after he’d caught her in bed with another man, her boss. It’d been the shock of his life. Then, he’d sworn off women completely.
Dayna however, forced him to quickly revisit that particular resolution. He glanced at her as she stared out of the window. He would bet his life that she’d never cheat on him. She was a mujer fiel, a faithful woman. She wasn’t the sort who’d be dishonest in a relationship. If she got enough of him, her likely attitude would be to toss him out but only after a heart-to-heart talk. He couldn’t imagine the wonderful Dayna ever breaking his heart. “So, how does it feel to be back in the city?”
She turned to gaze at him and her lips lifted in a smile. “It’s good, but also—slightly painful.”
“Painful?”
Dayna glanced away in an evasive manner as if she’d said something she didn’t want to explain. “I guess that was an odd word. What I meant was that being back has opened a floodgate of memories, made me question old decisions...” She trailed off.
“What decisions? Not our break-up. I mean, I think about that too, but given that situation, there was little else we could’ve done.” Parking the car, Aron opened the door and got out.
Before he could go to the other side, she’d already stepped out. “Not that,” she said, falling into step beside him. “But I do regret—devoting so much time to my work. At that time, it felt exciting to travel, to see the world, to be in these beautiful, exotic and often dangerous situations, but now...I wonder if I let go of something beautiful to achieve all that.”
“You don’t like your work anymore?” It was a hot but windy day, so Aron pulled out his sunglasses and slipped them on as he led the way to a restaurant.
“I loved my work until a few weeks ago—but I guess it’s lost some of its appeal.”
“You’re ready for a change,” he predicted as they stepped inside the cool interior. The Italian place had five star reviews on the internet and Aron pre-booked a table. They cut through the long queue when he gave his name and were led to their corner table. “Maybe you’re ready for the next great adventure of your life?” he said after he’d helped Dayna get seated and then took his own seat.
Dayna collected the menu from the waiter. Pushing back the sunglasses up on top of her head, she eyed him with curiosity. “Adventure? What kind of an adventure?”
“For starters, you could move to London with me where I’m based most of the year. It’s a lovely place, muy bonito.”
“Move with you?” A gleam of panic roiled in her eyes but dissipated when he grinned. “Oh!” She punched him lightly on his arm. “You’re joking.”
“Am I?”
“Stop it!” she ordered with a smile. The waiter came back and she placed her order. “What I really have a hankering for is an order of fries.”
Aron laughed. He ordered shrimp sautéed with tomatoes, garlic and white wine, served with linguini and vegetables. After the waiter left, he leaned forward. “Fries?”
“I can’t ever resist French Fries,” she admitted.
“I remember you eating them by the bucketful in high school,” he recalled.
Dayna sighed. “Well, back then, I could eat a horse and not gain weight, but now things are different. So, I eat salad to cut the calories and have the French Fries to indulge myself.”
“It makes a wonderful sort of sense,” he agreed, happy to see that gleam back in her eyes. For reasons he couldn’t understand, she seemed to be ill at ease in his company. If he didn’t know any better, he would have suspected that she was keeping something to herself and it was making her uncomfortable. The Dayna he once knew had never been able to hide things well. He felt sure that she hadn’t changed all that much in the succeeding years. “And what would dessert qualify as?”
“A necessity,” she answered with a poker face. When he burst out laughing, she joined him. “I suppose it’s cheating, but we only get to live once and I don’t see why I have to live without all that makes me happy just to maintain my figure.”
“Your figure is just perfect,” he assured her.
“Yeah, well, it should be. I do yoga and Pilates for an hour every day.”
Aron could just imagine her lifting and stretching, doing all sorts of moves that made his throat close up and go dry. “What I wouldn’t give to see that.”
She titled an eyebrow. “And what do you do to maintain that buff body?�
�
“This is a gift from God!”
The waiter brought their appetizers as they both laughed.
“Well, not exactly. I do put in an hour on the treadmill and do some other exercises, first thing in the morning.”
Dayna lifted a forkful of smoked salmon garnished with field greens, capers and shallots, then slipped it into her mouth. “Mmmm…” She closed her eyes to savor the taste…pure pleasure. She swallowed and spoke, “I forgot to ask where you were staying. With a friend?”
“At the Hilton. You should come see my room soon.” He popped a shrimp into his mouth.
A snicker escaped her lips at this implied proposition. “I’m sure it’s beautiful.”
“I have the silkiest bed sheets you’ll ever see, sedosa…” he assured her in his deep sexy voice. “You must try them. How about right now, after lunch?”
“I’m going with Jamie to meet another mutual friend of ours. But I’ll think about your offer.”
They waited until the waiter swiped their empty plates away. Not long afterwards, their entrees were placed before them. Dayna had selected the ground beef tenderloin topped with mushroom, shallot and red wine sauce, served with pommes frites and vegetables, while Aron opted for the ivory veal stew with mushrooms, served over rice.
“Please do,” he continued as if their conversation hadn’t been interrupted. “That reminds me, do you still have that tattoo on your luscious ass?”
“Aron!” she hissed, glancing around to see if the waiter was hovering nearby.
He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips. “What? It was beautiful. I loved that butterfly, but loved that ass even more, tan encantador…so lovely. Do you still have it?”
“Shut up!”
He waved his finger at her. “I bet you still have it. It was a cute little thing. Mmm…poco lindo. Remember how happy you were when we got it done at that fair and how determined you were to hide it from your mother?”
“She did see it and went berserk. Of course, given...” She stopped as if horrified by what she had been about to say, and then continued, “Well—I was an adult when she saw it, so she couldn’t do much.”
“So, you still have it.”
“Maybe…it’s a painful thing to get one removed, you know.” She took a bite of her salad. “And I’m not saying another word.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll find out sooner or later.” Aron hoped she could hear the wealth of promise in his words, but he didn’t want to make her feel too embarrassed by his brazen remarks…time to change the subject. “So, tell me, what was your most favorite place in the world that you ever visited?”
With the question, he brought the conversation back to a safe zone.
Determined, as he was to have her wind up in his bed, Aron didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Since he’d found Dayna again, he was willing to do whatever was in his power to keep her glued to his side.
CHAPTER FIVE
As she stared into Aron’s ebony eyes, through the gap in the door, Dayna could feel her heart pounding against her chest.
“Let me come in!” he pleaded as he reached out and ran a hand over her arm. “Por favor?”
Her head warned her to say no, to stay clear of him, because any close association with him would surely force her to reveal things she wasn’t ready to impart. But her heart—her devious, disloyal heart—wanted to say yes.
Dayna couldn’t believe how easy it was fall into a rhythm with Aron. Just like their dancing, he was back in her life as if he’d never left. Then, with each subsequent date, it was getting harder for her to keep her hands off him. Many years ago, when they were both seventeen, she’d slept with the high school boy. She wondered what it would be like to make love to the man he’d become. Surely, time and experience taught him a few finer moves—although, as far as she was concerned, there had been nothing wrong with his old ones. But then again, they were each other’s first lover and fumbled their way into love, learning the tricks to please each other as they went along.
“We both know what’s going to happen if you come in.” She hoped he couldn’t hear the slight tremor in her voice. “And it’s too soon.” Then, she relented and stepped aside to allow him to enter the apartment, her heart—winning the victory this time around. She’d spent hours hunting around for a studio apartment and finally found one a few days ago. It seemed perfect for her one-year stay, close enough to all the downtown areas and subway. She would move in at the end of the month. Dayna still fought hard to resist the urge to melt into his strong arms as he gathered her close. Tilting her head, she looked at him. Tingles of desire shot through her veins. It was getting harder to say no.
His lips swooped down to capture hers. And those damned, traitorous arms of hers, as if they had a mind of their own, lifted to slide around his neck and she allowed him to deepen the kiss. He tasted sweet, just as she remembered, but even better. Her fingers curled into his hair when his tongue thrust inside to taste her mouth. She’d been determined to keep her distance for as long as possible, but the floodgates were open now—and she couldn’t stop even if she could think straight. A hot haze enveloped her mind, sucking away all sane thoughts until all she could feel was how glorious it was to feel his lips on hers. Again. Sensations, myriad and strong, whipped through her body, making her long for something more. Joined hip to hip, chest to chest, his breath felt hot against her mouth as he kissed her with passion. His tongue mingled with hers in an erotic dance as they both stood together for a long time.
His lips devoured hers, made her ache to run her hands over his body. She wanted to lead him inside, allow him to take off her clothes, to ravage her until they were both spent and exhausted from the lovemaking, but—no, she couldn’t do it.
Hell no.
Sanity returned in small measures, and she pulled back.
Sensing her reticence, he raised his head and allowed her to slip out of his arms. “It’s just me, bebé!” His accent sounded thick with passion.
She knew what he was saying. He wasn’t a new guy in her life. They had a certain comfort level but still, she felt more scared of him than she would’ve been of a new guy. “I know Aron, but I need a little bit more time. And plus, it’s Jamie’s place.” She looked around her. “I would feel weird.”
He sighed, but didn’t push her. “Sí…All right. No problem. So, are we on for tomorrow?”
She grimaced. “I’m not sure. Your plan doesn’t seem all that exciting.” She would use any excuse to avoid being in close proximity to him, but deep down…she wanted to be right up close.
“That’s because you’ve lost all sense of adventure. I’m telling you that we’ll have a blast. So I’ll pick you up at ten in the morning. Wear a hat and sunglasses.” He chucked her chin much as he would do to a child and instead of taking the elevator; he walked down the three floors.
Jamie and Brett weren’t home. They’d taken the girls out for two nights to Selene and
Triston’s place to spend time with the couple and their kids. They would be back tomorrow morning, but she figured that to make love to Aron, even though she was dying to, would be invading the couple’s personal space. But more than that, another reason kept her from sleeping with Aron. Walking into her room, Dayna stopped in front of the full-length mirror on the cupboard and lifted her shirt. Stretch marks lined her lower stomach. They were faint and hardly noticeable. But would he notice them?
She couldn’t be sure. Adam had never questioned her about them. But still, she felt as if Aron certainly would. Even if he didn’t, she would always be scared he might at some point, question her about them.
What would she say? Oh, honey! I forgot to tell you that I had a baby. And it was yours. But I had to give it up for adoption. And yes, I decided not to tell you, because you’d already moved away. Oh, yeah! That would go down well. What would his reaction be? Would he become angry? Or…would he understand the reasons for her decision?
She didn’t know. But of cour
se, she would have to tell him sooner, rather than later. It was important for Dayna to base her relationship on truth. How could she make love to a man but withhold such critical information from him? She couldn’t do it. Tomorrow. She would tell him, and then let the chips fall wherever they fell. If he decided not to continue to see her, at least she wouldn’t get hurt as much, than if she told him after they slept together.
Aron is such a nice guy. He deserves the truth. She had no right to hold back such important information from him.
Dayna sat on the bed and held her head in her hands. What the hell? In her life, she could not have imagined a situation in which she would meet Aron again. If she’d known that he would come back into her life, she would’ve told him about it three weeks after he’d left, when she’d found out she was pregnant. But they agreed not to keep in touch and she didn’t have his contact information. Of course, had she made an effort, she might have found out something, but after careful deliberations with her friends and family, Dayna decided not to keep the baby. It was a boy and heart-broken as she’d been to give him up for adoption, she’d always felt that, given her circumstances, it’d been the right choice.
Even after all these years, Dayna remembered her first look at her child. Such beautiful creamy, honey-colored skin and dark brown eyes that verged on black, pretty much like Aron’s. Thinking of Aron brought tears to her eyes. He didn’t know about the baby. Once again, she wondered what he would do when he found that she hadn’t even bothered to tell him, since meeting him at the reunion that he’d become a father. Seeing him with Jamie’s daughters had been a real revelation. Aron got along so well with children, having a natural knack with them. She could just imagine him being a fabulous father. She envisioned that he would be kind, yet firm, but a little indulgent and overprotective.
Her cell phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. Dayna picked up without checking the display.
