Without saying anything further, she buzzed me in. Relief washed over me as I walked swiftly up the stairs two at a time.
My hair and jacket were soaked. I must have looked like a drowned rat. When she opened the door, she didn’t immediately let me in. I didn’t know whether she was going to kick me out or tell me to come inside. It was her call to make. I had no right to push after the mess I’d just brought her into. I took her in for a moment. She was completely unmade up in a thin, white night shirt. Her nipples were saluting me. At least they were happy to see me. She looked so gorgeous, even with her hair a matted mess.
The tips were red.
I was losing her.
“Oh, God. Come in. You’re soaked.”
Thank fuck for the rain. I wasn’t above taking sympathy at this point.
She closed the door and disappeared for a moment, then came back with a towel. “Here. Give me that wet jacket.”
I peeled off the top layer. My dress shirt underneath it was still dry. I should have stood outside for a while longer.
“What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“No. Everything isn’t okay.”
“I take it your meeting with Genevieve didn’t go well today?”
“She admitted she wasn’t sure that Liam was Chloe’s father. She was fucking both of us at the same time and realized after we broke up that she was pregnant. She agreed to get Chloe DNA tested within the next week.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
I looked into her eyes. “Say you won’t leave me.”
She looked away. “Graham…everything is so uncertain right now. I’m so confused.”
“I feel the same way. My mind is spinning out of control, and there is only one thing I’m sure of right now. Do you know what that is, Soraya?”
She was staring at the ground, but lifted her eyes, looking up at me through her dark eyelashes. “What?”
“I want you. I want to be with you. I’m head over fucking ass about you, and I need to know you aren’t going to leave me.”
She cracked a small smile. “I think the saying is head over heels about you.”
“Whatever.” I wrapped my hands around her waist and locked them behind her back. “Tell me you aren’t going to leave me over this.”
“We don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“I know what I want.”
“Graham…things can change.”
“I need you, Soraya. I’ve never said that to another woman in my life.” I leaned my forehead against her and whispered, “I need you.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
Taking her face in my hands, I lifted it, so our eyes met. “No more bullshit avoiding me.”
“I had plans with Tig and Delia.”
I flashed her a look that called bullshit.
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “I was avoiding you.”
I leaned in and kissed her on the lips. For the first time since the funeral, the world seemed to stop spinning for a moment.
“Do you want to stay tonight?”
“Try to get me to leave.”
That night, with my body wrapped around Soraya, I finally got some much-needed sleep. I’d even slept in late the next morning until the sound of my phone ringing woke me up.
CHAPTER 17
SORAYA
I KNEW WHO IT WAS from the tone in his voice. Luckily, I was facing away from him, so I could listen to the whole conversation without having to pretend it didn’t cut deep into me. It was bad enough another woman was calling his cell at seven in the morning while he was lying in my bed, but the mother of his child was another thing altogether.
Is this how it would be? Graham was not the type of man who would ever ignore a phone call if the woman who had custody of his child was calling. This bitch who had screwed him out of years of watching his daughter grow up could now interrupt his life at any given time of day. I had no doubt that she would use it to her fullest advantage, too.
“I’ll make arrangements for a private lab to come to your home Monday at ten.”
He was quiet as he listened. I heard the sound of her voice but couldn’t make out the words. There were a few more curt exchanges, and then right before he hung up, his voice softened. “How is she doing?”
My heart ached for him.
After, I kept quiet for a few minutes, giving him some time. When I finally spoke, my back was still to him. “You okay?”
Graham hugged me from behind and kissed my shoulder. “I’m good. Sorry about that. She was calling to make arrangements for the DNA test.”
I turned over and faced him. “She’s still in love with you.”
He looked down. “I’m not sure Genevieve is capable of love.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“She doesn’t hold a candle to you.”
“She’s smart.”
“I’m more of a smart ass kind of guy.”
That made me smile. Until I thought of other things that Genevieve beat me in. “She was your fiancé.”
“Without commitment, it’s merely a piece of jewelry.”
I have no idea where it came from, my dark masochist side, I suppose. “Did you get down on one knee and propose?”
“Soraya…”
“I need to know.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea. I just do.”
“I didn’t actually. It was more of a business deal than anything romantic. I took her to Tiffany’s, and she picked out her own ring.”