The Man Who Has No Love - Victoria Quinn Page 0,32

it every year.”

“That’s a yes.” She rubbed my chest again. “And I’d love to come with you.”

My hand glided up her back, feeling the perfect curvature of her spine. “I was hoping you’d come with me as my date.” I didn’t want to bring her as my assistant, like she was just there to serve me. This was my business, and I didn’t work with anyone who lived in the building.

Now, she looked guilty. “But I’m sure there will be pictures…”

That meant I couldn’t put my arm around her waist, introduce her to my colleagues as more than just my assistant. It was extremely disappointing.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It’s not forever…”

My hand stopped moving against her skin. Instead of getting upset about it, I let it go. I would never get my way, so it was pointless to fight. Once she found me a new place, I’d leave, and then everything would feel right. “I know.”

She leaned in and kissed me, a gentle embrace full of remorse. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded.

“How?”

She moved her lips to my chest and started to kiss me, her lips blanketing my skin with her warmth and affection. She slowly moved down, over my stomach, and down farther. “Like this…”

I texted Valerie. I’m going to be out of town this weekend, just so you know. I didn’t want her to drop off Derek without warning then ask me a million questions about why I wasn’t home.

Why?

Fucking obnoxious. Work.

Meaning?

She still asked me every little detail about my life—as if she had the right to know. It means I’ll be out of town for work. I couldn’t stop myself from being a smartass.

I deserve to know where the father of my child will be. Will you be out of the country? In California?

I didn’t want to lie, but I had no other choice. Maine. I couldn’t think of anything better. I needed to be close, a drive away, and I couldn’t think of any other feasible place. If I said I was in the Hamptons, that wouldn’t make any sense.

She left it alone.

After work on Friday, I drove us to the beach house, getting past the gate and closing it behind, giving us complete privacy.

I carried our bags into the house while she opened the back door, letting the ocean air enter the house. The waves weren’t visible, but they were audible, crashing against the shore a hundred feet away.

I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, holding just as I did our first time at the cabin together.

She tilted her head back, looking up at me. “What do you want to do first?”

I kissed her neck. “Well, it’s late…and dark, so I think there’s only one thing we can do.”

There was a big fireplace in the living room, so we lay on the rug in front of it, wrapped in blankets to keep our naked bodies from getting cold. A bottle of wine was on the coffee table so we could easily refill our glasses.

She sat up and stared at the fire, her naked back visible.

My hand moved up her skin, feeling her softness, her warmth. “I really like being with you, Deacon.”

I sat up so I could be beside her, look into her face as she spoke.

“But I do miss Derek when he’s not here…”

“Yeah.” My hand moved to the back of her neck and gently rubbed. “I know what you mean.”

“How do you feel about him starting school?”

I watched the reflection of the flames in her eyes. “Not sure. I’m happy he’s starting school…but I’m also sad he’s growing up. I want him to be a sweet little boy forever, but I’m excited for him to be a man. It’s been the greatest privilege of my life to watch him crawl, then walk, and then run…”

She looked at me with sweetness in her eyes, like she understood exactly how I felt without having experienced any of that herself. “Yeah, I can imagine.”

I turned back to the fire. “I know he’ll do great things, and I can’t wait to see them. But for that to happen, he has to get older. He has to move on, become more independent, need me less. The thing I’ll miss the most is the way he says my name when he sees me, with such excitement, like he just can’t contain his joy. But when he’s a man, he’ll sound nothing like that.” I watched the flames dance and move. “That’s something I’m not