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She turned back to him, her eyes scanning his face, and he felt the rejection of his words, worried that she was going to reject his sentiment and then all of him, knowing he wasn’t ready to let this end yet. Even though it was only a matter of days, he wanted every last minute they had together.
“Fine,” she smiled but it was brittle.
He pretended not to notice, lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss there. “Thank you.”
She blinked away from him, but not before he caught the frown on her face. A moment later, she withdrew her hand, flexed her fingers.
He smothered his own sigh, and a pervasive feeling of frustration, and tried to just enjoy the night ahead.
On Leandro’s last night in New York, Skye couldn’t ignore the growing sense of impending doom. Not doom, perhaps, but sadness.
She was existing in a strange unreality.
She didn’t want a relationship—she couldn’t commit to anyone. Not after Jay. She couldn’t trust another person. She just wanted to focus on Harper, on being the best mom she could. But at the same time, what if he was different? Different not just to Jay but to any man in the world?
He had shown himself to be considerate, thoughtful, respectful.
Was she being an idiot not to fight for more? Not to at least mention the possibility of seeing one another again?
And what happened next? She would go home, and Jay would be a threat in the back of her mind when she got there—but at least now she had the backing of powerful lawyers to help her in that department.
But how could she just go back to her normal life, a life without Leandro in it?
It had all seemed like such a simple proposition in the beginning, but then, she hadn’t known. She hadn’t understood.
They’d made an agreement, an agreement to protect both of them, and no matter how she might feel now, he had shown no signs of changing his mind. He had still been like a locked box when it came to sharing his life, so it was pretty clear that he didn’t really see Skye as anything other than a ‘distraction’. An escape from his regular life. Of which she had no part.
“You’re in another world,” he murmured, coming up behind her and kissing her nape. Harper had been in bed for hours, Jane had disappeared to her room. They were alone.
Tell him you don’t want this to be over.
The voice in her head was insistent, but she ignored it. She knew what he’d say. He had a life to return to. Things to sort out. This was temporary. She was meaningless, just like the other women he’d dated. She wouldn’t show him how unsophisticated she was by begging for more.
It was for the best.
Only, as she turned in the circle of his arms and kissed him properly, she felt parts of her lock into place that she hadn’t even been aware she possessed. She felt her whole body come together differently. How could she possibly accept the end was at hand?
CHAPTER TEN
ON THE MORNING OF his departure, Leandro knew they had to talk. He’d known it for days, but had been waiting for something. Clarity? A sign from Skye that she wanted to change the terms of their deal? Sanity to return to him, to remind him of all the reasons he had to walk away as planned?
Only he didn’t.
Not if she didn’t want him to.
But Skye seemed completely unaffected by the fact his bags were packed, and Alec was waiting in the lobby.
Harper was the only one who showed emotion. “Leo stay,” she pouted over her toast.
He’d looked to Skye for a reaction, but she’d only smiled indulgently, as though the dear little girl didn’t possibly understand the ways of the adult world. Well, maybe that made two of them.
Would the old Leandro have just laid his cards on the table and suggested he remain another week? Or that they accompany him to Italy for a holiday? Would he have just kissed Skye until she agreed that they shouldn’t walk away from this yet?
Probably.
That Leandro had been secure in his place in the world, had known only the love his parents, rather than what he felt now—rejection from his biological parents, and betrayal from his adoptive. Not to mention the strange distance from his siblings who were not, as it turned out, related to him at all.
“Do you have a moment?” His voice sounded calm, if slightly raw.
