Page 11 of Unveiled

Her eyes landed on the towheaded baby girl seated on the floor, clapping her hands in time to the lullaby playing on the TV. At the sight of Adalyn, Jaclyn clambered awkwardly to her feet.

“Ma-ma-ma!”

A grin split Adalyn’s face. How had she made something so perfect?

Adalyn dropped to her knees and scooped her baby girl into her arms. “Hey, baby. Mama missed you.”

Jaclyn gave Adalyn a wet, smacking kiss on the lips before planting her chubby hands on Adalyn’s chest and shoving herself away, eager to get down and play some more. It simultaneously made Adalyn proud, yet sad. It almost made her heart hurt to see her daughter’s fierce independence. It was something she’d so obviously gotten from her father.

Adalyn turned her attention to the older woman on the couch. “How was she today, Wendy?”

“An angel, as always.”

Adalyn chuckled. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”

At only eleven months, Jaclyn was stubborn and determined. She’d begun eating solid foods at three months and taken her first steps only days after she’d turned nine months old.

Wendy just winked at Adalyn. “Doesn’t matter. She could be an absolute terror and I’d still love her like my own.”

Adalyn smiled at the older woman. Wendy and her husband had come into Adalyn’s life just when she’d needed them most. They lived right next door, occupying the other unit of the duplex Adalyn currently rented. Within only a couple of months, George and Wendy had become the family Adalyn craved.

Over the past year and a half, Wendy and Adalyn had become extremely close, though Adalyn had never disclosed the full truth about her relationship with Jaxon. The older woman knew that Jaclyn’s father was in the military and spent much of his time overseas. Adalyn had never once mentioned that they’d divorced after their very regrettable Vegas wedding and that he knew nothing of his daughter.

Warmth spread around Adalyn’s heart as she watched Wendy pull Jaclyn close and press a kiss to one chubby cheek. Jaclyn jerked away as if offended to have had her personal space invaded. She framed Wendy’s face in her little hands, then returned the favor with a sloppy, wet kiss of her own. The interaction brought a smile to Adalyn’s face. They weren’t perfect, but they had everything they needed.

Adalyn’s daughter filled so much of her heart, but there was a tiny little corner that remained empty—and Adalyn feared it would feel that way forever.

CHAPTER

SIX

Jaxon stared out the small oval window of the airplane, nervous anticipation racking his body as the familiar landscape came into view. Over the loudspeaker, the captain announced the descent, and something inside his chest tightened.

It was good to be home. Not that he’d be there long. Just over a week from now, he’d be packing up and heading to Miami to start his new job anyway. Through a friend, he’d learned of Vantage Security, a private firm that focused primarily on personal security detail. Just getting off the ground, Vantage Security was open to anything they could get their hands on.

An ex-Marine himself, Knox Castillo looked for the brightest and best to bring various skill sets to the team, giving ex-soldiers something to do besides sit behind a desk all day. And the fact that Vantage was located in Miami was an added boon—because Adalyn was there. The past two years felt like a blur of activity, throwing himself from one mission to the next, but he hadn’t stayed quite busy enough to keep his mind from drifting back to a certain brunette.

He knew the likelihood of running into Adalyn in a city that size was slim to none, but his heart raced every time he thought about her—with anger, anticipation… lust. He’d had time to reevaluate his life after leaving Vegas—and Adalyn—behind.

She might have been thousands of miles away physically, but she was never far from his mind. There was something about her that called to him, something biological that had been a perfect complement to him. But she hadn’t wanted any of it. Or maybe she’d been denying herself.

Still, he couldn’t turn off the feeling that she was more than a one-night stand. He’d really connected with her. She was smart and sexy and easy to talk to, and he’d appreciated that more than anything else. For a moment, he allowed his thoughts to drift to her once more, wondering what she was doing right now. He hoped her business was doing well. He knew from the way she’d spoken that she truly loved her job, and, even though part of him was mad at her, he wanted to see her succeed.

She’d be two years older, probably getting ready to settle down. Was she dating someone? Married? His hand clenched into a fist where it rested on his thigh, and his gut twisted into a knot at the thought of her with someone else.

Part of him wanted to look her up, to see if they still connected as well as they had that night in Vegas. The other part dreaded seeing her. Did he really want to know if she was married to some nine-to-five desk jockey, living in the suburbs with a white picket fence and a baby on the way? No way. Maybe it was time to bury the past and move on.

The plane bounced several times on the runway before coming to a stop, and people slowly began to file off. It seemed to take forever to deplane, his nerves growing increasingly agitated with each moment that passed. He grabbed his beat-up bag from where it was stored overhead then slipped into the flow of passengers headed toward the exit. A familiar face so much like his own stood near the doors of the airport.

He flashed his brother a grin and strode toward him, wrapping him in a tight hug.

“How was the flight?”

He yanked on the strap of the duffel, pulling it higher on his shoulder as he made a face. “Long.”

He’d spent the past twenty-six hours either in the air or wandering airports, and now all he wanted was to get home. Somewhere familiar. Abel led the way to his truck, and he tossed his stuff in the back before climbing into the passenger seat. “How’s Emily?”

A bright smile lit his brother’s face. “Good. About five months along now.” Pride had his chest puffing out. “It’s a girl.”