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As Danny kept up a running commentary about the animals in the book, the three fishermen talked with Gramps about favorite fishing holes. Mimi was having trouble focusing on any of it. It was as if Johnny was the only person in the room.

It was only when it was time for her to put Danny to bed that she managed to center herself. When she returned to the living room, Renée was ready to leave. River left with her, and soon after that Jean-Luc and Gus said their goodbyes. Once they were gone, Gramps went to bed, leaving only Johnny still seated in his chair.

“It’s getting late, Johnny,” Mimi said.

He rose and took his chair back to the kitchen, then returned to the living room and gazed at her. “I haven’t gotten a chance to tell you just how beautiful you look tonight,” he said.

“Stop it, Johnny. Just stop it. Sweet talk will get you nowhere,” she replied irritably as she walked to the front door. She opened it and turned back to him. “And stop looking at me that way.”

“What way?” he asked innocently.

“Like…like you want me.” Her cheeks warmed.

“Mimi, I do want you.” He stepped closer to her. “I want what we had five years ago. I want you to love me again.”

“I’ve told you before, we’re different people than we were five years ago. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me.” He stood too close to her. His nearness made her half tremble with a crazy kind of anticipation.

“It’s hard for us to get to know each other with your bodyguards here every night,” he said.

A nervous laugh escaped her. “They aren’t my bodyguards. They’re my friends.”

“They’re a pain in my ass,” he returned half under his breath as his blue eyes filled with obvious frustration. “Go out with me, Mimi. Let me take you out to dinner at the café. Give us a chance to really get to know each other again.”

She hesitated. And in her hesitation, she realized he still had a hold on her. After all the years, in spite of all the pain he had caused her and everything that had happened, there was a part of her that still longed for him. “Let me think about it,” she finally answered.

He nodded, as if satisfied with that much. He raised a hand, apparently to touch her face, but she stepped back from him, and his hand dropped to his side.

“Good night, Johnny,” she said firmly.

“Good night, Mimi.” He swept passed her and disappeared into the darkness of the night, his familiar scent lingering for a moment in the air.

Mimi closed and locked the door, then leaned against it weakly. She had to admit that Johnny still had a certain amount of power over her. But she could never trust him again.

He’d left her once before without a backward glance. How could she know he wouldn’t do that again? And if she let him fully back into her life, he would not only be leaving her behind but Danny as well. No, the stakes were simply too high. She would never allow him back in.

So, what exactly was she doing with him? The answer to that remained elusive.

“I’M HERE TO see the mayor,” Johnny said to the attractive blond receptionist seated just outside Mayor Jeffrey Cook’s office inside City Hall the next morning.

“And your name?” she asked with a pleasant smile.

“Johnny Night.”

“If you’ll have a seat, Mr. Night, I’ll see if he’s available to see you right now,” she replied.

As she disappeared behind a door, Johnny sat in one of the empty chairs next to a window. The mayor should be available. He’d called Johnny half an hour ago to request a meeting with him.

He gazed out the window. Outside the skies were cloudy and gray. The morning news forecasted strong storms moving in later in the evening.

Was Danny afraid of thunder? The flash of lightning? Did he cry when it was storming outside? The fact that Johnny didn’t know these things about the little boy he believed was his son bothered him greatly. He believed Danny was his more than ever after meeting him. With his thick black hair and bright blue eyes, he looked just like Johnny.

In all the visits he’d had to Mimi’s shanty, he’d learned that Danny was a very bright, charming little boy. He was also very well-mannered and loving. But Johnny hungered to know everything there was to know about him.

He didn’t even want to think about Mimi being pregnant with nobody to count on except her grandfather and some friends. Johnny should have been there with her. He should have been there to support and love her, and the fact that he hadn’t been broke his heart. He should have been at Danny’s birth, telling Mimi to breathe and that she was beautiful as she birthed a new soul, his son into the world.

The receptionist came back and smiled at Johnny. “If you’ll just follow me, Mayor Cook will see you now.”

All thoughts of Danny and Mimi disappeared as the woman led him through the doorway and down a long hall. They passed several offices on either side. At the end of the hallway, she stopped in front of a door and knocked.