by Ciara Cole
He kissed her softly, and suddenly hugged her tightly to him, like a giant teddy bear. He buried his face in her hair and groaned. “I’ve missed this. Your curls, their delicious coconut and hibiscus scent. Don’t run away from me again.”
Tears came to her eyes unbidden. “Don’t give me cause, Sean O’Hare. Don’t break my heart again.”
“Might as well seal the bargain,” he said and lifted her up easily to throw her over his shoulder. Rachael squealed.
He walked towards the bedroom and, once there, threw her on the bed. Soon, they were kissing like hormone-crazy teenagers. Rachael stripped his shirt off, and the moment she caught sight of a nipple, she snagged it in between her teeth and bit none too gently. Sean groaned thickly.
“You’re a bad girl, Rachael.”
“I know,” she said, breathless.
“It makes me want you even more.” Now it was his turn to wrench her clothing off, leaving her in just her bra and panties. They continued to kiss, and Rachael didn’t want to stop wrestling her tongue against his. It seemed like hours before they pulled back.
They just stared at each other as their hearts raced, trying to get air.
“I bet you’ve dreamed of this for as long as I have,” he rasped, tracing his thumb over her swollen lips.
“You’re wrong,” Rachael shot back, and hated the way she still sounded out of breath.
“Will you quit your narky attitude, woman?” he teased with a growl. “We’ve always had that bond, and no amount of time or distance could completely wash it away.”
Rachael let out a short sigh. Okay, maybe it was true. Just maybe.
Sean kissed her neck, and she cooed, feeling his soft lips plant rosettes of desire onto her skin. He slowly released her bra and peeled it off her, revealing her full breasts. He reached lower and rolled her sexy panties off her thighs and ankles. He was staring at her like she was a real work of art. He reached for his jacket, and then searched the inner pocket before retrieving his tie, which he fisted in both hands. Oh.
“May I?” he asked. Rachael nodded even though she wasn’t sure of the question. What did he plan on doing with that?
He took both of her wrists, kissing them before fastening them together and tying them to the headboard. “You’re going to enjoy this,” he said with a smirk…
Chapter Nine
Rachael woke up to the sun blaring in her face. Last night was bits and pieces of memory hovering in her brain. She instantly felt Sean’s solid frame beneath her, his arms around her body like a vice. This was what they did—this was why they could never move on from each other. Their crazy sex magic, and everything in between that made their individual elements, blended so well together.
Slowly, carefully, Rachael tried to dislodge herself from her golden-muscled prison. Hoping her wriggling and sliding wouldn’t wake him, she was shocked by what happened next.
He groaned, tightening his firm grasp on her thigh. “Don’t move,” he whispered. “You only make me harder when you do that.”
Jesus, did that accent thing never get old? Rachael couldn’t understand how just the sound of it could get her into a gooey mess inside. Already, she felt that warmth in her belly that pooled deep in her thighs and caused sweat to bead on her temple. Her heart thrummed faster against her chest, hitching her breath.
His arms released her, and she hurriedly climbed out from under him, glad for the respite. “I’m going to have to call my mom—but first I need to wash. I can barely even move.”
“You’re welcome,” Sean said with a smirk. One glance over her shoulder at the sun-kissed sex god in her sheets and she was almost tempted to jump back in again. But…
Rachael ran off into the bathroom. She didn’t think she could survive another lovemaking binge. Not for another week at least.
Only seconds after she emerged from the shower, Rachael caught the sound of the front door unlocking.
“Did you hear that?” Rachael asked Sean as they both froze. In a flash, Sean was off the bed and putting his clothes on as fast as Rachael was. They were just in time to make it to the living room when Susan walked in with Leila.
“Hello, Mrs. Arnold,” Sean said amiably. Rachael’s mother’s eyes snapped when she saw Sean, and she grunted.
“You’re back,” Rachael said warmly in greeting, a bright smile on her face as she hoped her mother wouldn’t find anything amiss. “Leila was supposed to be with you another day.”
Susan took in the scene and pursed her lips. “Leila has been feeling under the weather. She just wanted to come home to her mother.”
Leila’s widened eyes were glued on Sean as she moved up to her mom who gathered her to her side. “You’re shivering,” Rachael said in worry.
“We should get her warm,” Sean said.
“Since when do you have a say in Leila’s care?” Susan asked in a conversational tone while looking fiery.
“Mom, thanks for bringing Leila back,” Rachael quickly said to diffuse the atmosphere as she tried to steer her mother to the door.
“But I can’t just leave my granddaughter. I need to be sure she’ll be okay—”
“I’m sure there’s no cause for alarm. She might be down with a slight fever or something,” Rachael said before politely showing her mother out.
With her mother gone, Rachael stood at the door with a sigh of relief while trying to gather her composure. Susan’s standoffish attitude hadn’t been lost on Rachael, and she was sure that Sean had caught on to the few barbs thrown his way. She hoped they could all just get along.
Rachael let out a deep breath and decided to go see how father and daughter were doing. But when she walked back inside, she found Leila on the floor in Sean’s arms.
“Leila! Darling, wake up!” Sean yelled.
Horrified, Rachael took in the scene and almost fainted. “Oh my God. What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Sean said, and Rachael had never heard him sound so shaken. “She suddenly got dizzy and seemed to have trouble breathing. Then she collapsed on me. We have to get her to the hospital.”
“Okay,” Rachael breathed and tried to stay calm as she helped Sean get Leila to his car. Somehow, she felt better just knowing Sean was there and seeing how he promptly took charge of the situation in a methodical manner even with how deeply agitated he was. He’d only just gotten to know of and meet his daughter, and this happened.
Rachael absolutely didn’t want to think the worst. As they rushed their daughter to the hospital, she prayed that it would all turn out alright. It had to.
***
It was nearly midnight. Sean got back to his house after staying with Rachael at the hospital for hours. It seemed like a whole decade had passed since he’d woken that morning snuggled up with Rachael.
The words of the doctor still rang through Sean’s mind. Anaphylactic shock, triggered by a severe allergy. Leila had immediately been taken to the emergency room to receive the needed medical care.
Finding out how scary and life-threatening anaphylaxis was still had Sean in a daze. He hadn’t wanted to leave Leila’s side for even a second. The doctors couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had caused her allergic reaction, but had assured Sean that the worst was passed and what Leila needed most was rest.
With Rachael and Susan right by her side, they’d suggested that Sean could finally get some rest and then come back. Sean knew he’d hardly have any sleep until he got back to his precious daughter.
He was still shaken up by the scare he’d gotten when she’d fainted in his arms. The first time he’d held his daughter was with her fighting for life.
It made him vow to protect and care for her with everything he was. He could still remember that last image he had of her with those oxygen tubes in her nose that were helping her breathe.
Doctors were running tests to find the cause of the allergic reaction, which Sean was told could be anything from insect bites to certain foods and medications.
He’d only just foun
d out she existed, but he already knew she meant more than his whole world. If he ever lost her, or Rachael, he’d—
Sean had just walked into his bedroom, only to find an unexpected sight. A lingerie clad Moira, draped across his bed. She dangled a half-drank bottle of red wine in one hand.
“Hope you don’t mind,” she purred. “You kept me waiting so long, I had to start without you.”
“What… Moira, can you do me a favor and get dressed? Then leave.” He moved to the side to start taking off his watch. Why wasn’t he even surprised? It wasn’t the first time she’d pulled this stunt. He’d let it pass too many times, but tonight, he had reached the end of his wick.
“Come on, gorgeous. I’ll confess, I had big plans for us in London. I’d hoped that after the party, we’d have our own private celebration in your hotel suite. But then you jumped and left. Can’t I miss you just a little bit?”
“Will you stop acting the maggot?” he said sternly, as usual switching to their Irish expressions when she pissed him off and they were alone. “I told you time and again, I’m not going to sleep with you, Moira.”
“Why? Because you still think I was Connor’s girl? You’d never bang your best friend’s ex? Well, good on yer for sticking to some man code, but guess what, I never even dated Connor!” Moira snapped, jumping from the bed in anger. “Just like I told you time and again, he did ask me out a few times, but I chose not to go steady with him.”
“But he was sweet on you. I never wanted to get in the middle of that.”
“What does it even matter? Connor’s bloody engaged out somewhere in Guam to his pretty, barely legal supermodel. Why can’t we both have some little fun?” Moira gave a sultry smile as her angry expression cleared. She moved close to Sean and rested her hands on his chest, but he grabbed her wrists and held them away from him.
“Tonight, I almost lost my daughter. My seven-year-old kid I only just found out about yesterday,” he gritted out. “I’m worried sick about her, and I’m absolutely knackered on top of that. The last thing I imagined walking into is this.”
He swept his eyes over her petite, pearly-skinned form in its nude-colored lace, before letting go of her wrists so abruptly she stumbled back.
“Your daughter? How the hell do you have a daughter?”
“Because Rachael, the first girl I ever loved, got pregnant with me when she was nineteen and I was twenty-one,” Sean explained with feigned patience. “The only snag is that I never even knew! I still can’t figure out how it happened that I totally missed Rachael’s email all those years ago telling me she was pregnant. Would you know anything about it?”
“Why the hell would I?”
“Because I’ve given it some thought, and I’m starting to remember dates and events,” he said. “Soon after Rachael left Ireland, Connor and I started our food truck, and it was making such big waves. At that time, you handled most of the secretarial stuff for us and was in charge of our emails.”
“I don’t have to stay and take this,” Moira grumbled as she snatched up her trench coat from the floor. “I’ve been embarrassed enough with you rejecting me again, and now you’re trying to accuse me of something I don’t even have a clue about?”
Sean exhaled roughly. “I’m not accusing you. Look, forget it. I just wondered if there was some way you may have come across something. Rachael and I regularly used email to stay in touch while we were dating since there wasn’t anything like texts then. If she’d sent me an email telling me about the pregnancy, I think I should have got it.”
“That has nothing to do with me. In fact, I’m done with this. I quit.”
“Aw, for feck’s sake.”
Tears pooled in Moira’s green eyes. “I just don’t know what you want me to do. I chose to stick by your side, and I do everything you tell me. I even kept searching for your precious Rachael for years and never could find a clue as to her whereabouts. I’m happy you both found each other again. And I hope your daughter gets well soon. I really mean that.”
Before he could reply, she’d rushed blindly from the room, and soon Sean heard the front door slam. He sighed. He shouldn’t have let it all come out like that. He didn’t really want Moira to stop working for him. She was not only good at her job, she was also a good friend, and there didn’t have to be bad blood between them.
He’d have to call her later and straighten things out. He’d find a way to convince her not to resign, and then he’d think of a way to make it up to her.
That would ensure he had one less complication and he could focus on what mattered most: Leila, Rachael and how he could make them a family he knew in his heart they were meant to be.
***
Rachael’s phone had been blowing up with calls from work and concerned friends and family. All she could focus on was Leila. It had been a petrifying set of hours since Leila had collapsed, and now Rachael could feel a slight relief that the worst had passed. She’d never truly rest, though, until Leila was back to her former self.
Having to see her daughter’s bright and energetic spirit dimmed by her illness felt so heartbreaking. Rachael wasn’t sure if she herself would ever recover from the fright.
Just then, she felt a small hand shake her thigh, and Rachael raised her tear-stained eyes and looked at Leila. Leila stared around, her own eyes growing damp.
“Daddy,” she whispered and then shifted her gaze to Rachael’s.
“Everything’s okay, angel,” Rachael said, though she was surprised by Leila’s waking statement. Did she just call for “Daddy?” What did that mean? “Pumpkin, you’ve been so sick, but now you’re getting better. What do you remember about what happened?”
Leila’s eyes brightened, and then she sighed, going somewhat limp on her pillows. “I don’t remember much. Just that a nice man smiled at me and told me it was nice to meet me. But somehow I got dizzy, and then I couldn’t breathe. Everything went dark. I heard a voice say my name. He called me ‘darling’ and told me to please wake up.”
She stared hopefully at Rachael. “He’s my daddy, isn’t he?”
Rachael placed a hand over her mouth, feeling her breath choke.
Leila went on, not really waiting for an answer. “He carried me, and I held on to Daddy tightly. Like if I let go, I was gonna die. And because I almost did, I really was scared, Mommy.”
“Oh my God,” Rachael whispered. Leaning over, she embraced Leila as tightly as she could, tears running down Rachael’s face. Sighing, Rachael finally calmed and kissed Leila’s forehead.
Rachael drew back, holding gently onto Leila’s hand. “You’re not going to die, buttercup. Doctor says you just need lots of rest and you’ll be fine. And that man—” Rachael said, unable to hold back a small smile, “He was looking forward so much to meeting you, and now he has, I’m sure he knows how lucky he is to have you. You’re beautiful, and you’re his daughter. He’s certainly realized how much you mean to him.”
Leila’s smile was so wide and bright it made Rachael’s heart ache. “He will come back, won’t he?”
“Yes, angel. He will. We all just need you to get better, okay?”
Leila nodded enthusiastically, and the happier her smile, the more Rachael’s heart stabbed with remorse.
She couldn’t stop wishing she’d followed her instinct to stay with Leila rather than go out to meet Sean. So much had happened in such a fast period, Rachael was barely returning to normalcy herself.
The doctor managed to assuage just a little of her guilt when he told her that Leila’s slight cough from before was not a symptom of the ailment. He told her that anaphylaxis could occur in reaction to almost any foreign substance and, once triggered, would show up in minutes or just a few hours.
“The most common trigger in children is foods, so we have to find out what she had during that period that got her sick,” the doctor had said.
“So she’ll be at risk for the rest of her life?” Rachael had asked in concern. What if in the future Leila ate some
thing else that gave her another allergic reaction?
“Luckily, kids often outgrow their allergies, mostly when they reach their teens. For now, we’ll make sure we find out from the tests just what she reacts to so adversely,” the doctor reassured her.
Small fingers squeezed on Rachael’s, bringing her back to the present. Leila smiled and asked Rachael to tell her more about “Daddy.”
“Well,” Rachael began, taking a deep breath. “Your dad is from Ireland, and his name is Sean O’Hare. He’s an excellent chef who owns his own restaurant not just in San Francisco but in New York and L.A. He’s cool, warmhearted, and always loves to try out new things, like you do.”
“Oh.” Leila’s eyes went adorably wide.
“So you see, you’re half-Irish and share a whole lot of other things with your father. Does that make you feel happy?”
Leila gave another fervent nod, grinning widely as she rested against the pillow. Rachael could tell her daughter was getting tired.
“Okay, rest now. And no more talking, okay? Your throat still sounds a bit scratchy,” Rachael said, gently patting on Leila’s shoulder in a steady rhythm until she fell asleep, like she used to do as a baby.
Rachael could feel her heart lift as she thought of how things might just work themselves out in the end. But would life really be so kind after so many years of uncertainty and having no one to lean on? Deep in her heart, Rachael fervently hoped so, becoming filled with the same enthusiasm she’d seen glowing on Leila’s face, even in repose.
Chapter Ten
After a week, Leila was on the road to complete recovery, and Rachael couldn’t be happier. Neither could Sean, who’d impressed Rachael with how he’d been at the hospital every day since Leila had been diagnosed with anaphylaxis.
“I recommend twenty-four more hours of observation before you can finally take her home,” the doctor told them with an encouraging smile. “Since we’ve discovered the cause and can now provide the appropriate preventive medication, the prognosis is good.”
“So you’re saying we can take her home tomorrow?” Sean asked, brightening.
