Kylie’s nerves were on edge and her heart in her throat as she stood next to Krys, knocking on Jordan’s door. She heard small feet running across the floor, and then a beautiful blond girl who was the spitting image of Jordan, right down to those crystal blue eyes, opened the door. She had a green cast on her arm, from wrist to elbow, and it wrapped around her thumb, but her smile was gorgeous, and she practically bounced up into Krys’ arms.

“Mommy!” she squealed. She was tall; as Krys squeezed her, the girl’s feet dangled past the grown woman’s knees. “Can you smell what Dad made for dinner?” Hearing her call Jordan ‘Dad’ made Kylie’s heart swell and her stomach churn. Jordan was a father, and he had this amazingly beautiful and resilient daughter. It was a side of him she hadn’t ever imagined, and now, she would get to see it firsthand.

“I can smell it, you little rascal. Smells like pasta.”

“It’s his special pasta,” the girl said as she regained her feet. “With all the veggies and everything and the ground meat and chicken, too! It’s a huge pot.” Her little girl voice with the Australian accent would have been enough to make Kylie fall in love without her adorable personality or beauty.

“I hope so, because we have company.” For the first time, the girl looked up at Kylie, and she grinned broadly. “Come on, go get your dad, and tell him to come here for a minute.”

In a whisper, Amy said, “You’re Kylie. You’re even prettier than the pictures I saw. My dad really loves you.” Then, she hurried off into the kitchen. “Dad! Mommy’s here!”

“I’ll be right there, Krys. Just finishing up in here.” Jordan’s voice swept through Kylie like a chilled wind, making her shiver, but in a welcoming sort of way. He sounded hoarse, like he’d been sick, and when he rounded the corner into the room, he looked drained. “Sorry. That girl is hard to please. You spoil her with food, and that’s the only thing I can really cook.” He hadn’t looked up until the last word, and it barely came out as his eyes locked with Kylie’s. “Kylie.”

“Hi, Jordan.” Her voice trembled, and so did her hands as she clasped them tightly in front of her to still them.

Before she could say anything else, Amy bounded back into the room and tugged on Jordan’s arm. “Look, Dad, she’s here! I think she missed you, too. Are you two going to kiss and make up?”

Kylie bit her lip to keep from smiling at the innocent question as Krys snorted beside her and Jordan turned beet red. “Have you been watching soap operas with your mum again?”

“No, Dad. But that’s what you should do, right? Because you love each other. And me and Mommy came here to make sure you both knew that. Right, Mommy?”

“That’s right, sweetheart,” Krys said, humor in her tone. “But we need to leave them alone so they can talk, okay? Come on, let’s go get some hot cocoa at the café around the corner, and then we’ll go to the hotel.”

“Aw,” Amy whined, pouting out her bottom lip. The expression was so much like her father’s it was priceless. “What about Dad’s special pasta?”

“You like it better cold anyway, don’t you? And it’s going to be another hour before it’s done,” Jordan told her, squatting down and kissing the girl on the lips. He patted her rump and pointed toward Krys. “Go on, now. Go with your mum. I promise you two giant helpings tomorrow, one for lunch and one for dinner.”

With a huff, she replied, “Okay,” and trudged to her mother. She stopped and wrapped her arms around Kylie’s legs, throwing her whole body weight against her. “Please don’t be mad at Dad anymore. He was very happy with you, and I want him to be happy again.”

Touched beyond measure, Kylie smoothed her hand over Amy’s hair, which was soft and silky, just like her father’s. “I’m not mad anymore, sweetheart.”

“Good! I’ll see you later then.” With that, she was out the door, Krys waving as she followed the energetic girl out.

Alone with Jordan, Kylie didn’t know what to say, and she stood there, ten feet away, their eyes locked with all the pain and distance between them. Jordan broke the silence first. “I guess you met Krys.”

Kylie nodded. “And your daughter. She’s absolutely gorgeous, by the way. And the spitting image of you.”

He gave her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I suppose I should take that as a personal compliment.” She gave a quick nod, but his smile disappeared, and he looked away, staring toward the kitchen as he leaned a hand against the wall, as if he needed the extra support. “What are you doing here, Kylie?”

She cleared her throat, trying to gauge his mood and figure out where to start. “I came for several reasons. The first one is to apologize. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, didn’t give you a chance to explain the situation. I shouldn’t have been like that. I’d just told you how much I trusted you, but I proved otherwise when it mattered most.”

He nodded, still not looking at her. “I can understand. I wasn’t honest, and things looked bad. I can’t fault you for thinking I’m a wanker.”

She shrugged. “But I wouldn’t have, if I’d only given you a chance to explain. I was rash and unfair, and I should never have doubted you, when you’ve never lied to me about anything else. And technically, you didn’t lie about this. You just…didn’t mention it.”

“That was wrong of me on a lot of levels. You couldn’t form your opinion or your feelings toward me without full disclosure. I’m sorry I hurt you. I never meant to, and for the record, after that last night together, I just wanted to talk to Krys before I told you everything.” He sounded agonized, and Kylie hated it. She’d caused this, and she was going to fix it.

“I miss you, Jordan. I still love you, with everything inside me, and knowing now what you gave up to take care of your daughter only makes me more in awe of you,” she told him, complete honesty pouring out of her mouth. “I don’t know if you can forgive me, or if you can still find it in your heart to love me, but if you can, that’s what I want.”

“Kylie, I—“

She held up a hand to cut him off. “I’m not finished,” she said. She motioned to the couch. “Can we sit down?”

He nodded and took a seat. She sat facing him, perched on the edge of the couch, a few inches away. Just being this close to him make her skin tingle, her body buzz. In a week’s time, she’d nearly forgotten the effect he had on her. Tamping down the urge to reach out and touch him, she inhaled deeply and released the breath. “I’ve done a couple of things to help give everyone involved some peace of mind, and I hope it goes a long way in showing how important you and your family are to me. How much I want everyone to be safe and happy.”

His brows knit together, and he stared at her curiously, but he didn’t say anything, waiting for her to continue. “I know you have a responsibility toward your daughter, and that’s something you’ll never let go. I would never ask you to risk her health or her life for me, but Krys agrees that you’ve done so much that it’s time for you to be a little selfish. So, I took some steps to make sure everything is covered going forward.

“Amy needs to be near her father, too, and my solution grants that to her, without worrying about visas running out. Krys is going to come to work at my company on a sponsored visa. My boss assures me she can have the paperwork put together before the temporary runs out. That means she and Amy can stay here, in New York, as long as they want. It also means they’ll have health insurance through the company and won’t have to rely on yours.”

Jordan gazed at her in open amazement. “Seriously? You did all that for me?”

“And for Krys and Amy,” she added. “I like them, and honestly, they came here to tell me the truth when I wouldn’t listen to you. They don’t know me, and they didn’t owe me anything. But to help both of us, they flew halfway around the world. Krys took a chance that I might scream and yell at her and make her feel like trash, just to make me understand that nothing stood in my way but my own pride and stubbornness. So, I owe her for that. And Amy is such a beautiful child and just wants to have both her parents around.” She smiled and shrugged sheepishly. “It benefits me, too, I hope. I mean, you told me you loved me, and I was hoping you were telling the truth about that.”

When he didn’t respond, Kylie’s smile faded, and she wondered if she was too late, if the damage was done and couldn’t be repaired. “I do love you, Kylie. All I wanted was to have you. I couldn’t tell you, didn’t even want to admit it to myself because it would have made me resent my child. And I love that girl. I would do absolutely anything for her.” He laughed quietly. “Hell, I even cooked for her tonight, and I hate cooking. I couldn’t risk her suffering if something happened to her again. The first time was devastating, and we nearly lost her.”

“I can’t imagine what that was like for you,” Kylie said, reaching out to touch his leg. “But now, you can let that go and move on with your life without worrying. And you can still have her. I would never want you to stop being a father, Jordan. I can’t believe how elate I am, just knowing how wonderful you are at that.” She bit her lip to stop it from trembling before adding, “It just makes me love you more.”

“You want to be with me, after all this?” he asked, sounding so uncertain she almost didn’t recognize him for a moment. “You still trust me, even though I didn’t tell you something so important?”

“I trust you, Jordan,” she told him honestly, “with all my heart. And there is nothing I want more in this world than to be with you. I’ve waited a long time to find someone I connected with. All I ever wanted was to settle down, love someone and have them love me back. I wanted a home, complete with the picket fence, the dog and two kids. I live in New York, so I can forego the fence, but I want a family of my own, and I never thought I’d finally meet someone I could envision that with. But now, having already seen you with Amy, I can picture it in my head. And it just feels right.”

Jordan reached out to her, drawing her close and brushing his lips gently against hers. "I'm sorry, Kylie. I'm sorry for hurting you when I could have just trusted you, too. And I love you, more than I care to admit. I've never loved anyone before, and I'll probably be a mess, do all sorts of things wrong. But if you want me, I'm yours. I can't imagine life without you."

Kylie threaded her arms around his neck and pressed against him, burying her face in his shoulder and breathing him in. She promised herself she wouldn’t cry, but the relief was too great, and she felt the tears wetting her cheek and his shoulder almost instantly as she wrapped herself in his familiar warmth.

“Thank you,” he whispered into her hair, and she lifted her head, looking a question at him. He brushed the hair from her face and told her, “Thank you for loving me enough to listen to Krys, to give me a chance even when I was being a wanker and trying to keep my distance. And thank you for giving me such a beautiful gift. I can’t believe you went out of your way to help my daughter.”

She cupped his cheek in her palm. “Wouldn’t you have done the same thing for me? It’s what we do when we love someone, I think. We go to the ends of the earth to find ways to make them happy and take care of them.” At least, in her mind, that was how it worked.

“I suppose you’re right.” He kissed her again, this time prying at her lips with his tongue. She opened to him, and he kissed her, long and deep, with passion and love that flowed through her like a refreshing river. It brought her to life, not arousing her but making her glow. Kylie basked in the sensation and pulled herself closer to him, cherishing the moment. This was what it meant to live in the moment, to really appreciate the small things and the everyday happiness and excitement of being alive and with the ones you loved.

She had no intention of taking it for granted.

When they broke the kiss, Jordan leaned his forehead against hers, a smile playing on his lips. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving, and even I have to admit that pasta smells delicious.”

She’d been thinking the same thing, but she frowned. “I thought it had to cook for another hour.”

He shrugged. “I had to say something to get Amy to leave. That girl would have sat here all night, waiting for us to kiss and make up, and I wasn’t going to have this discussion publicly, especially since I sort of hoped it would end in the bedroom.”

She pulled back, gaping at him incredulously and smacking his arm. “Is sex all you ever think about?”

“No, like I said, I’m starving. I think about food a lot, too.” She swung at him again, and he jerked out of reach, laughing loudly. “Come on, you have to admit, it hasn’t been easy this week. All I’ve thought about is you in my arms and under me in bed. And now, I’m picturing Lady and the Tramp slurping pasta until they kiss, and then they head to the bedroom off camera.”

Kylie snorted. “I don’t think that’s quite how the story goes. And I’m definitely not doing it doggie style after missing you for so long.”

“A guy can dream, can’t he?” With another solid kiss, he lifted her from his lap, standing up and planting her on her feet. He took her hand and led her into the kitchen, where the scent of homemade pasta sauce filled her senses, and she knew without a doubt she’d come home.