Their mother had given each girl her own bedroom, yet night after night, Sammie would come into Mya’s room and crawl into bed with her. She claimed she was afraid to sleep alone because she was afraid of the dark. But even after Veronica installed night-lights in her younger daughter’s bedroom, Sammie continued to come into Mya’s room.
Sleeping together ended after Veronica offered them the opportunity to decorate their rooms because they were becoming teenagers. Along with the new furniture, each room had its own television, audio components and worktables for their computers and printers.
Sleeping separately signaled a change in Sammie, who had begun to spend most of her free time online searching for her mother.
Mya thought it eerie that her niece would share the same fate as her biological mother. As Veronica had chosen and loved her, Mya would make certain to let Lily know she had made the choice to love and raise her as her own.
Mya knew she should be in her office writing instead of sitting in the kitchen ruminating about the past as she recalled a course she had taught covering the works of D. H. Lawrence. There was something about Giles that reminded her of the characters in Lawrence’s novella The Fox, where she compared herself and Lily to the author’s Jill Banford and Nellie March, two females who live alone, while Giles was Henry Grenfield, a young man who comes to stay with them. Although Henry’s presence was more psychological than physical, in the end the lives of the two females would never be the same.
Is that what’s going to happen to us? Mya thought. She prayed that she had made the right decision to not only invite him into her home, but also allow him to share Lily’s life as well as her own.
Chapter Six
It had taken two weeks, and the doubts Mya had about Giles proved unfounded when he seemed genuinely interested in not disrupting her life as he bonded with Lily. He was a quick study when it came to changing, bathing, dressing and feeding her, yet balked and complained that cooking involved too many steps and he didn’t have the patience for measuring countless ingredients. When she reminded him that he was an engineer and had to utilize math, he said he had no interest in learning the differences between thyme, cilantro, parsley or dill. To him, they all were green leaves that did not taste the same. Mya knew it was useless to try to convince him and did not mention it again.
She had put Lily in her crib for her nap when she found Giles waiting for her in the hallway outside the nursery. He had taken her advice to wear jeans and T-shirts because he liked rolling around on the floor with Lily whenever he pretended he was a cat or dog, barking, meowing, sniffing or nibbling on her toes.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, averting her eyes from the laser-blue orbs that suddenly made her feel as if he was undressing her. It was the first time that she felt physically uncomfortable with him. She come to look for his chaste kisses when he greeted her in the morning and before leaving at night because she felt there wasn’t anything remotely sexual in his motives.
“If you don’t mind my asking, I’d like to know where you disappear to when Lily takes her afternoon naps.”
She took his hand. She knew he was curious when she declined to join him on the porch or in the family room. “Come with me and I’ll show you.” Mya led him down the hall to her office. Pushing open the door, she stepped aside to let him peer in. “This is where I write.”
* * *
Giles entered the room Mya had set up as a home office. Floor-to-ceiling shelves spanning an entire wall were tightly packed with books. An L-shaped workstation positioned under one window held an all-in-one computer. Framed photographs of Samantha and Mya at various ages and with their parents crowded an oak drop-leaf table. Rays of afternoon sunlight reflected off the pale green walls and dark jade carpet.
His gaze lingered on a window seat large enough for two people to lay side by side. The fabric on a love seat matched the pink-and-white floral window-seat cushions. The office had everything one would find in a break room: watercooler, portable refrigerator, a single-cup coffee maker, radio and a wall-mounted flat screen television.
He noticed a stack of pages with red-penciled proofreader notations. “Are you an aspiring writer?”
“Not any longer.”
“You’re published?”
Mya laughed when he gave her a look mirroring disbelief. The woman with whom he found himself more entranced each passing day continued to astound him. There was nothing about Mya with which he found fault. Even when he’d explained he honestly had no interest in learning how to cook, she did not press him. A lifting of her shoulders communicated suit yourself.
“Yes.”
“What do you write?”
Mya dropped his hand and selected a paperback from several on a lower shelf, handing it to him. “New adult. This is my latest novel. It will go on sale next week.”
He read the back cover of the novel. It was part of an exciting new series featuring a team of twentysomething cyberspace cold-case crime solvers. “Congratulations! That’s a mouthful of alliteration,” he said, smiling. “How did you come up with the plot?”
“I grew up reading books from my mother’s childhood, and her personal favorite was Nancy Drew. I was still in grad school when I overheard several forensic science and prelaw students discussing a mock cold case their professor had assigned the class. I recalled details of their conversation whenever I watched the Investigation Discovery channel for episodes of Disappeared, Snapped, or True Crime. After a while, I’d filled several notebooks with what I’d gleaned from those shows.
“I’d planned to write a novel once I retired, so in my head, the project had become my plan B. Once I joined the faculty at the University of Charleston, plan B kept nagging at me. I’d come home every night and write and before I knew it, I’d completed a novel. I created my team of cold-case crime solvers with five protagonists, three guys and two girls, who bond in a chat room but never meet in person. Once they become a crime-fighting team, they interact with one another by video conferencing, Skyping or with FaceTime. There’s some subtle flirting between one guy and girl despite both being in committed relationships. I’ve gotten tons of email asking me to have them meet in person, but I’d like to keep their sexual tension going for a few more books.”
“You must have an incredible imagination.”
“It comes from being an avid reader. As a kid, I’d read any and everything. I’d sit at the breakfast table and read the cereal boxes. I read to Lily because I want her to grow up with her asking me to buy her a book rather than the latest video game.”
Giles silently applauded Mya for introducing Lily to books before she could walk or talk. “How many books have you published?”
“Six. I recently submitted a proposal for the next two titles in the series.” Mya told him how she’d arbitrarily selected the name of a literary agent from the internet and mailed off a letter outlining her proposed series. It took nearly five months before she got a reply with a request for Mya send her the completed manuscript. She continued to write, finishing two more novels, when she finally received a call from her agent informing her that an editor from an independent New York publisher wanted to publish her series.
Giles continue to stare at the cover. “If you’re a USA Today bestselling author, why are you using a pseudonym?” It listed her as Hera Cooper. It was definitely the reason Jordan’s investigators hadn’t discovered she was also a published author.
“I’d thought it best that my students didn’t know their professor was moonlighting as a writer.”
“Why Hera Cooper?”
“Cooper was my mother’s maiden name and Hera was the supreme Greek goddess of marriage and childbirth and had a special interest in protecting married women. She was also Zeus’s wife and sister, but that’s another story.”
“That is creepy.”
“There was a lot of creepy stuff going on in Roma
n and Greek mythology.”
Giles dropped a kiss on her curls. “One of these days I want you to give me a crash course on mythology. I never could get the names of the gods straight. I’m ashamed to admit English wasn’t one of my best subjects, and that’s why I took every elective math and science course available to boost my GPA.”
“Where did you go to college?”
“MIT.”
“Impressive!”
Giles buried his face in her fragrant hair. He liked seeing Mya with a cascade of curls framing her face. “The University of Chicago is right up there with MIT.”
“Yeah, right.”
Hugging Mya and kissing her good-morning and good-night seemed as natural to him as breathing. It just happened involuntarily. He pulled back and turned to face her. “You’re beautiful and brilliant.” He noticed the flush darkening Mya’s face with the compliment. “Do you have any idea how incredible you are?”
She lowered her eyes. “I’m far from being incredible.”
“Self-deprecating, too?” he added with a wide grin. “The day the book debuts, we’ll have to go out and celebrate. The problem is there aren’t too many fancy eating establishments around here.”
Mya chuckled. “Ruthie’s is as fancy as we get here in the Falls. It’s an all-you-can-eat, buffet-style family restaurant.”
Giles curved an arm around her waist. “I’d like to take you to someplace more upscale with tablecloths, a waitstaff and an extensive wine list.”
“We’d have to go to Charleston if you really want fine dining. One of my favorites is The Block Restaurant and Wine Cellar. But if you want exceptional Italian food, then Paterno’s at the Park is the place to eat. My other favorite is The Chop House, which has earned a reputation for serving some of the best aged steaks in the state.”
“Choose the one you want and I’ll call and make reservations.”
Mya rested her head on his shoulder. “Have you forgotten we have a baby and no sitter?”
Giles groaned aloud. “I forgot about Lily. I suppose we’ll have to wait until we get to New York where my mother will babysit her while we go out or...”
“Or what?” Mya asked.
“What if we don’t wait until Thanksgiving to go New York?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Why don’t we—you, me and Lily—go to New York now? We can introduce her to my immediate family before the remaining hoard of Wainwrights gather for Thanksgiving. We can also celebrate the release of your book at the same time. Perhaps you’d even want to drop in and see your editor.”
“I did enough celebrating with the release of my first title when I drank four glasses of champagne and woke up the next day with a dry mouth and pounding headache. Sammie sent me a gift of a week’s vacation at an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic. She surprised me when she showed up on the second day. We hung out on the beach during the day and danced all night until we dropped from exhaustion.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Mya spoke again. “That was one of the happiest times in our lives. It was as if we hadn’t a care in the world. There are times when I still don’t believe she’s gone. I miss her just that much.” Going on tiptoe, she buried her face in the hollow of Giles’s throat. “Forgive me for being such a Debbie Downer.
“It’s okay, baby. I miss her, too.”
Giles’s hands circled her waist, molding their bodies together. He tried to ignore the crush of her full breasts and failed when the flesh between his thighs stirred to life. He’d told himself that Mya was off-limits because he had slept with her sister, but the silent voice in his head reminded him they were sisters in name only.
Suddenly Giles felt as if he was on an emotional roller coaster, because if anyone would have hinted more than a year before that he would be a father he would’ve said they were crazy. He’d told Samantha that he wasn’t ready to have children, but now that Lily was here he had to ensure his daughter’s future, and that meant a relationship with the child’s mother.
He had committed to stay connected to a woman for the next twenty years so they could raise their daughter together, a woman who hadn’t given him the slightest indication she wanted anything more than friendship. And at this point in his life he wasn’t certain whether he wanted more than friendship from Mya. And if he did, then it would have to be because of her and not because she’s was Lily’s mother.
“There are times when I think I hear her voice even though I know it’s just my imagination,” Mya whispered. “I realize now that I should’ve gone away—anywhere for a while after the funeral, but then I had to think about Lily. I’d thought about taking her to Disney World or on a cruise, but I couldn’t pull myself out of a funk to make travel arrangements.”
“That’s because you’re still grieving.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I know I’m right,” Giles said. “What about now, Mya? Do you still want to get away?”
Easing back, she smiled. “I do if the offer to go to New York before Thanksgiving is still open?”
Giles cradled her face in his hands. “Of course.”
“I’m going to ask my neighbor to pick up my mail and keep an eye on the house, and then make and freeze enough food for Lily.”
“You don’t have to make anything for Lily. I’ll call my mother and have her buy the blender.”
“Are we going to stay at your place while we’re there?”
“No. You and Lily will stay with my parents, because they have a room that’s set up as a nursery. Whenever my brother brings his kids over, he doesn’t have to lug around a portable crib or playpen.”
“How old are your nephews?”
“Three and eighteen months. I’m going to have to watch them around Lily because they are really rough-and-tumble.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about our hair-pulling, eye-gouging feisty little girl. I’m sure she’ll be able to hold her own against her rough-and-tumble boy cousins.”
“No shit!” Giles clapped a hand over his mouth. “Sorry about that.”
Mya held out her hand. “Pay up.”
“I said I was sorry.”
She glared at him. “And I said pay up.”
Mya waited for him to reach into a pocket of his jeans and take out a monogrammed money clip. He thumbed through the bills. “My lowest bill is a ten.”
“Hand it over because you know you’re going to cuss again.” She took the bill from his fingers and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans. “Do you cuss at work?”
Giles shook his head. “No. At least not where my assistant can hear me.”
“Is it because she’s a woman?”
“Yes.”
“Is she pretty?”
“I’d say she is. What’s up with the inquisition?”
“Just curious.”
He angled his head. “Curious about what?” Giles ran a finger down the length of her nose. “You know what they say about curiosity.”
“Yeah, I know. It killed the cat.”
“And to satisfy your curiosity, gorgeous, there’s nothing going on between me and my assistant. I took her with me the last time I flew down to the Bahamas to introduce her to the broker and when I spoke to Kurt the other day, he admitted he’s smitten with Jocelyn and plans on stealing her from me.”
“What did you say to him about that?”
Giles chuckled. “I told him to go for it because if Jocelyn decides to move to the Bahamas, then I would bypass him and deal directly with her, cutting him out of his commission.”
“That’s sounds a little cutthroat.”
“All gloves are off when someone messes with my employee.” Giles told Mya that he had hired and fired a number of assistants until he found everything he wanted and needed in an admin with Jocelyn Lewis. “I’ll t
ake you to the office so you can meet her.”
“How long do you plan to stay in New York?”
“That’s up to you, sweets. I’m electronically connected to my office, so I can be reached anywhere.”
“I’d like to be here for Halloween.”
“What’s up with Halloween?”
“The whole town turns out to celebrate the holiday. There’re games, a photo gallery where parents can pose with their children, face-painting for the kids and tailgate parties for the adults. Once the sun sets, there are hayrides and bonfires with people taking turns reading ghost stories. This year, there will also be a costume party in the church basement. The current mayor and town council have continued the tradition of Halloween as a town celebration that began more than twenty years ago to control teens who were vandalizing properties and terrorizing townsfolks.”
“If we come back on the thirtieth, then that will give us about five days to hang out in the Big Apple.”
Mya’s smile was dazzling. “Can you stay here with Lily while I walk across the road to talk to my neighbor?”
Giles kissed her forehead. “Of course.”
“I’ll begin packing after I come back. I’d planned to go grocery shopping tomorrow, but that can wait until we return.”
“Meanwhile I’ll call and reserve a flight for tomorrow afternoon.”
“Are you certain you’ll be able to get a reservation?”
“Quite certain, sweets. We’re going to take the company jet.”
“Why do you call me that?” Mya asked.
“Sweets?”
“Yes.”
Giles winked at her. “That’s because you are sweet. Would you prefer I call you darling or my love?”
Mya blushed again. “Sweets will do—for now.”
“So are you saying there’s the possibility of you becoming my darling or my love?”
“No comment,” she said, smiling. Mya returned his wink. “Later, Daddy.”
Lines fanned out around Giles’s eyes when he smiled. “Later, Mama.”
* * *
Claiming the Captain's Baby Page 8
