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I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF cooking dinner when I hear the sound of the keypad being used at the front door. Confused, I turn down the burner on the simmering spaghetti sauce and place the wooden spoon on the trivet. Quinn’s not due to come over for at least another thirty minutes.

Italian food needs time to marinate, and I need to get a shower after my walk home.

The door beeps, and I snigger. It wouldn’t be the first time Quinn got the code wrong.

Hazel looks up at me from where she’s playing with soft blocks on a blanket in the living room. I murmur, “Be right back, baby,” before hurrying to the front door.

Without checking to see if it really is Quinn, I swing the door wide open and say, “Did you forget the code... Knight?” I gasp, rooted to the spot.

“You changed the code,” he says and I can’t tell if he’s angry over it.

“We can change it back."

I drink him, my eyes and senses greedy for him. He looks so imposing with his dark beard and deeply tanned skin. There are glints of silver in his hair, despite the fact that he’s only twenty-eight. And his eyes... his beautiful silver eyes... are haunted.

But he’s here. With his wide shoulders, narrow waist, and larger-than-life personality, he’s here. Standing on the doorstep and waiting for me to get out of the way.

“Come inside.” I step to the side, unsure if I should go with my instincts and hug him. As soon as his foot hits the entryway floor, I go with it and all but wrap myself around him.

What seems like an eternity later, his strong arms enfold me and I start to cry tears of happiness.

“So it’s kinda cold, and I’m hungry,” Quinn says, startling me out of my weepiness. “But don’t’ mind me while y’all hump in the doorway.”

“You can always go to Mom’s,” Knight says sharply, but I feel him smiling into my hair.

“Don’t worry. I will later.” She breezes past us, but not before tossing out, “You know, so you two can hump like bunnies during adult alone time.”

My eyes widen, and my face heats. There is no way I’ll stop hugging Knight because if I do, then I’ll have to face him.

“I’m pretty sure Quinn should have gone into acting.”

I nod. “She would be famous, too.”

“You’re going to have to look at me eventually, Cam,” he says.

“I know.”

“Also, my sister’s right. It is cold, and you’re wearing short-sleeves.”

“I know.”

“All right.” He picks me up off my feet and walks inside. “I hope you’ll take note that I’m not carrying you like a sack of potatoes.”

I smile at the memory his words invoke. “And I hope you’ll take note that we’re going to have to eat dinner like this.”

“Who wants to see her daddy?” Quinn calls out.

Now I have to let him go. Reluctantly, I do and it’s so worth it when his face lights up. Hazel waves her arms at him, babbling a mile a minute.

“She knows me,” he says, wonder suffusing his voice. “She really knows me.”

“Duh. You’re her daddy,” Quinn says, handing Hazel to him.

“And you talk to her three times a week on camera.”

Knight kisses her sweet head and gently hugs her. “Man, I missed you.”

Quinn sniffs. She has genuine tears in her eyes, which makes me want to cry, too. But not happy tears. I feel guilty for this. Guilty for allowing her to believe this is a true family reunion.

Only...

Knight’s playing with Hazel as if he truly is happy to be home, as if she’s truly his daughter and he truly did miss her.

His silver eyes are shiny when he winks at me. “Best homecoming I’ve ever had.”

My heart swells about three sizes in my chest. “I hope you feel the same way about my cooking.”

Quinn makes a face, holding out her hand to wriggle it back and forth. “You’re a good cook, but best food he ever had, I don’t—”

“Shut it, sis.” He pulls me into his embrace and the three of us—Hazel, Knight, and me—are squished together. “Don’t ruin my homecoming with my girls.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she says, then leans in to whisper in my ear. “You’re welcome, by the way, because earlier he smelled like a skunk left on the side of the road for too long in the middle of summer.”

“There it is.” He steps back, releasing me. “She can’t help the snark.”

“You love my snark,” Quinn replies.

Unable to stop myself, I sniff Knight’s arm and look at her in confusion. “He smells yummy.”

She points to herself. “Again, you’re welcome.”

***

KNIGHT’S GOOD MOOD lasts all through dinner. He holds Hazel the entire time, eating with one hand while she tugs on his beard and attempts to steal noodles from his fork.

Quinn hoists the diaper bag higher on her shoulder. “Anything else you need to put in here, like, uh, the kitchen sink, for example?”

“Nah. I already packed it.”

She smiles and turns to Hazel. “Wave bye-bye”

Hazel does as she asks, then reaches for me. “Uh-oh. I think she’s ready for bed.”

“Which is why I’ll take her with me.” Quinn tickles Hazel under chin. “Wanna come with Auntie Quinn? We can go shopping.”

Hazel all but dives out of my arms. “Guess she wants to go shopping.”

Knight kisses Hazel’s cheek. “Be good for Aunt Quinn.”

Hazel gives him an openmouthed kiss back. He presses it to his cheek. “That’s it. She’s not dating until she’s thirty-five at least.”

“Oh my gosh.” I give Quinn a look, then realize what I’m doing. I’m playing along in the madness of our made-up world. “Thanks for taking her. If she gets too fussy, just text me and I’ll come get her.”

“With what car?”

“Uber.”

Knight looks at me oddly, but doesn’t say anything.

And once Quinn leaves with Hazel, he disappears to the back porch. After a few minutes of putting away the last of the dishes he took the time to wash and dry, I join him.

“Would you like some wine or beer? I’m not sure what you like after dinner.”

“Neither.”

“Okay.” I nod, moving closer to him so I can perch on the arm of his chair. “Any dinner requests while you’re here?”

“Whatever is fine.” He won’t stop gazing at the ocean. I don’t blame him, really, because with the lack of man-made light on the beach, the stars are easily seen.

“Quinn is a lot of fun. We’ve kinda become friends over the past four months.”

“That’s good.” His mouth flattens.

“Did I say something wrong at dinner?”

That makes him look up at me, and I can see his expression in the glow of the light inside.

Standing, he frowns and moves away from me. “No.”

“Then why won’t you talk to me, now that Hazel’s gone? Like have a real conversation?” I ask, hating how weak and vulnerable I sound right now. “I don’t expect you to perform on command, but a little civility would be nice. Maybe even I’m happy to see you, or I missed you.”

Knight looks away, his hands clenching into fists. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk, and I do miss you... I just... I can’t right now.”

“But you could with Quinn... and Hazel.”

“Not the same.”

I step into his line of vision, refusing to allow him to shut me out. “Why is that?”

“They’re not you. And Hazel’s not... she needs me to do things for her.”

It dawns on me that he really has no idea how to act around me. I don’t need to be fed or held or... well, I need to be held, but not in the same way my daughter does. He had it easy with her, instant results, and an adoring audience of one.

“I need you, too,” I whisper. “I need you so much.”

He peers at me, his pewter eyes hard. “Don’t say what you don’t mean, Cam.”

I take his hand and place it against my chest, right over my heart. “I need you, Knight.”

Heat flares.

Rushes.

Burns.

And before I know what’s happening, his lips are pressed against mine. Claiming every inch of my mouth as he cups the back of my neck and pulls me closer.

His other hand sweeps down my back, molding me against him so we’re fitted perfectly together.

I breathe Knight in, just feel him take my breath away.

On a gasp, his tongue slides against mine. Seeking and touching.

I shiver with want and desire, with all the months of pent-up longing.

I grip his arms, my fingertips digging into the material of his shirt. This kiss is more than I dreamed it would be, more erotic and sweet.

More everything.

“Cam,” he says, dragging his mouth from mine. “I have to stop. I... I’m not ready for this.”

Cold invades my body, giving way to a hot flush of embarrassment. “Yeah. I’m not... I just... it’s... actually, you know what? I am ready for this. I wanted you to kiss me.”

“That’s not the problem, sweetness. I am the problem.”

“I don’t understand.”

He exhales. “I think you might be offering yourself to me because you feel as if you owe it to me.”

I jerk away. “I’m not some child, and I know the difference between a true want and need, and owing a favor.”

He closes his eyes, then opens them. “That’s not what I mean. I have to be sure that what you want isn’t tainted by what I’ve provided.”

“Who are you?”

“The man you met in Atlanta.”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. He wouldn’t assume the worst about me.”

“The worst isn’t about you. I want to take advantage of what you’re offering.”

“Of what I’m offering?”

“Dammit, Campbell. I’m trying to do the right thing.”

“By pushing me away? By making decisions for me instead of with me?”

“That’s not... fuck. I’m not doing this.” He brushes past me, heading down the beach. “I need some time alone.”

“Haven’t you already had enough time alone?”

Silence is his reply.

Unable to reason with him and not wanting things to spiral out of control, I go back inside.