“We have to deal with this man, Giovanni, every time I touch you and you pull away. What do you think, Mira? That you’ll see him again someday? That you two can ever be anything?”
It was a valid question. She knew she would never see him again. If she dared try it would put her and Eve in jeopardy. And by some chance if he still cared for her, he’d want her in his life. Then what? A life of chaos and danger for her daughter? In the Battaglia world she lost so much, her career, her best friend, her identity. She wouldn’t raise her daughter that way. There would never be a future with Giovanni Battaglia.
“How’s your Italian?” Kei asked.
Mira cut her gaze over to him. Kei stared heatedly at her. “I know you’ve been taking lessons, teaching Eve words. I thought you were going to concentrate on German, maybe French.”
“Are you checking up on me?”
“I have to know what you’re doing to keep you safe. To make sure no one can identify you as Mira Ellison. They can only know the name you took. Evelyn. Why did you decide on that name? Why not Melissa, your mother’s name?”
Evelyn was Giovanni’s mother’s name. The story of Evelyn McHenry paralleled her life in many ways. Going on the run she felt the name was fitting. His mother had done the same thing once. Run from his father until he found her and dragged her back. “Melissa is too close to home. I needed something different. You already know this.”
“What I know is that you gave our daughter his name, Battaglia. And you have his mother’s name. I never said anything, but I do my homework, Mira. You know I do.”
“I have no explanation.”
“Of course you do. You want him again. You want him to find you.”
“Oh give it a rest please!” she shouted. Something she never did with Kei. It was hard to raise your voice with a man who never, ever, raised his. Mira calmed herself. “I fell in love with him. I told you that. When we came here I was depressed and lonely for my friend. Maybe subconsciously I chose the name because of him. All I know is I did what I had too to make myself sane.”
“He’s the reason your life was shattered.”
“I thought you wanted to talk about us. Why are we doing this?”
Kei shook his head. “You’re holding onto a memory of just 3 weeks of your life. Fabiana is dead. All we have now is Eve, and what we build with our love for her. Do you not agree that I love her?”
“I do.”
“Then give her to me Mira. She sees me as her father. I want her to take on my name. I want us to be like we were.”
A feeling of tired sadness passed through her. She felt the sting of tears and blinked them away. “I can’t help the way I feel, Kei. Yes, I care for you, but I’m… he’s the father of my daughter. I know it doesn’t make sense but we are tied to him in a way I can’t bring myself to sever. We created her. I can’t move past who I am today to think of a future with you. I need more time.”
“Mira—.”
“Please stop.” She knocked his hand away. He captured her face and his lips crashed on hers before she could escape. She pushed against his chest but allowed the kiss. It felt good to have a man touch her, and want her. Kei’s kiss was as strong and commanding as Giovanni’s. Kei tried to push her back on the sofa and she decided to resist. Breaking the kiss she turned her head. “Not like this. Don’t rush me, okay?”
“Does it even matter how much I need you to love me again Mira? I’ve put my life on hold for you. Does any of it matter?”
Mira stood up shrugging the blanket from her shoulders. “It matters.”
“Then show me.” He reached for her hand once more.
She pulled away in an abrupt manner that drew a frown of disapproval from him. “Sorry. I faked my death. I’m not going to fake a romance with you. I can’t hurt you like that Kei. If it happens for us again we have to let it happen naturally.”