Blindsided (Indigo Love Spectrum) (21 page)

“I know that.” Gail brought Reese’s hand to her lips.
“It’s still hard. We’ve only been away from each other a
few days at a time. My conventions and her weekend
slumber parties, but never six months.” Tears filled her eyes and slowly trailed down her cheeks. “I don’t know
how I’m going to make it without my baby for that
long.”

“Mom, I don’t want you to go, and I can’t pretend I
do, but I understand why you need to,” Reese said,
glancing at Norris and then turning back to Gail. “I’m
going to be okay, and you have Ben. I know he’s going to
take good care of you.”

“
I haven’t even left you and you’ve already grown up
so much in the last minute.” Gail pulled Reese into a
hug. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

Reese sniffled as she clung to Gail. “Me, too.”

Norris watched the tearful goodbye, becoming more
aware of what it meant for him. Gail and Reese shared a
closeness he and Reese did not, and even with six
months, he wondered if they could get anything near that. Reese was willing to try, but would missing her
mother, who was leaving specifically to give them time
alone, lead her to resent him for making Gail feel the
need to leave?

Reese ended the embrace and wiped Gail’s tears. “It’s
going to be okay, Mom. We’re going to email each other
every day, and you’re going to call whenever you can,
right?”

Gail nodded. “That’s right. And Norris and Dahlia
will be on you just like I would. So you’ll hardly miss
me.”

“No, I’ll miss you, but I get the point.”

Ben checked his watch. “I hate to break this up, but
we need to get to the airport. The flight to New York is
leaving in less than two hours.”

“It’s true dedication for you all to set aside a honey
moon to help the less fortunate,” Norris said. “I like to
think I’m magnanimous, but I don’t think I’d be willing
to do that.”

“We’ll have years together, we just want to make sure
the people in Uganda get another day. And our flight to
Africa leaves tomorrow morning, so we’ll have a few
h
ours.” Ben’s dark eyes lit up and his full lips turned into
a bright smile. “Just being in Gail’s presence is a honey
moon in itself.”

Norris’s gaze cut to Dahlia as Ben gave his new wife a
kiss. He envied Ben in being able to show his love for the
woman he loved, and not have her get upset about it. Dahlia averted her gaze. Norris sighed. Dahlia’s stub
bornness tried his patience, but he refused to fold. He
saw this as a challenge he could meet. The prize was
worth it.

Hugs abounded as the happy couple said their final goodbyes. While Ben chatted with Monroes and Dahlia,
Gail took Norris by the hand and led him to a quiet
corner.

“Are you ready for this, Norris?”

“I’m ready to know my daughter. I understand this is
hard for you, Gail, but you don’t have to worry about her.”

“I’m not so much worried as I am at a loss. I hate
leaving her.” Her voice wavered and new tears filled her
eyes. Gail expelled a breath. “But I know I need to do this, and I will be doing a lot of good while I’m away.”
She squeezed Norris’s hand. “Now you. Are you sure you’re all right with Reese staying with Dahlia?”

“I was a little hurt to find out she wouldn’t be living
with me, but I’m okay with it. Like I told Reese, I want her to be comfortable. If there’s strain between us, we
won’t get close, and I want us to get close.”

“There seems to be a little strain between you and
Dahlia. What’s up with that?”

“
We have different opinions on some things, but we
both agree when it comes to Reese’s best interests, so
don’t worry about anything.”

“A mother always worries.”

“That may be, but in regard to Dahlia and me, you
have no reason. Try to enjoy your short honeymoon and
concentrate on helping the people of Uganda. Reese will
be fine.”

“And you and Dahlia? I know you love her.”

“Gail . . .” he groaned.

“All right, I won’t press.”

“And you won’t discuss this with Reese?”

“I haven’t and I won’t. You just take care of my baby.”

“Our baby,” Norris reminded her. “And I will.”

Dahlia kicked off her clear pumps and tossed her
purse to the couch. With Reese sleeping over at Diana’s, she could curse the girl’s father without having to answer
a million questions.

A workout was what she needed, but a bag of chips
what she wanted. She padded to the kitchen and rifled
the cabinets for the box of single-size packs she kept for
emergencies. She reached far in the back and found the
box empty. She shouldn’t have been surprised. Norris had
provided plenty of emergencies lately with his calls, gifts, and general sweetness. She’d have to make a run to the
store.

Sliding the pumps back on her feet, Dahlia pulled
open the door to find Norris standing on the other side.
“My, you’re in a rush,” he said.

Dahlia demanded her wobbly knees stop shaking.
Norris always had an amazing effect on her, but in the
light beige suit and white linen shirt, he looked even
more delectable than usual. Might explain why Mai
couldn’t keep her hands off him.

“What do you want, Norris?” she asked, finding the
strength to meet his hypnotic eyes.

“It’s your house, and I know Reese isn’t here. It should
be obvious. You going to invite me in?”

“No.”

“Thanks, I’d love to,” he said, pushing his way in.
“You’ve got to stop doing this.”

“Dahlia, if I believed for one second you didn’t want
me here, I wouldn’t be here.” He moved to the couch and
sat. “I won’t stay long, but there are some things I need
to say.”

“I didn’t imagine you would stay long.” Dahlia
grunted. “I’m sure Mai is waiting.”

He grinned. “Most women are waiting for Norris to enter their lives, so she’s in good company.”

Dahlia rolled her eyes. She’d walked into that one.
“What’s on your mind?”

“A few things.” He patted the space on the couch.
“Sit.”

“I’d rather stand.”

“You insist on being contrary, don’t you?”

“Is that why you’re here, to give me a tongue lashing?”

“A tongue lashing?” Norris’s lips curled into the sexy
smile that tossed more kindling on the fire he burned in her. Maybe she should have sat. At least then she could
look straight ahead and not be drawn in by his male
prowess and devastating good looks. “Something about
giving you one sounds rather appealing,” he said.

“Norris, please, just get to it.”

“Okay, fine. You made a couple of digs about Mai.
That gives me hope. Confirms what I already know—
you care about me. Why do you have such a problem
admitting that?” He held up his hand. “Don’t answer, I
know why. It’s your divorce. I can’t imagine how that
hurt, especially when you believed everything was fine,
but I don’t want you to give up on love and happiness
because of Jonah.”

“
You
don’t want me to give up. That’s just it. This is
not for
you
to decide. I liked us the way we were, and you
want to change it.”

“For the better, Dahlia. What we have could be so much better if you let it be.”

“How do you know it can be better?” Dahlia thought
of the days and nights she and Norris had spent together
laughing, talking, watching movies, and being in each
other’s arms. It was heavenly. “Was it so bad before?”

“No. It was wonderful. The most wonderful time of
my life. It made me fall in love with you.”

Dahlia whipped her fingers through her hair.
Why
does he keep saying those words?
“Norris, damn it!”

“We’ve got to deal with this, Dahlia. Watching you in some other guy’s arms today drove me crazy. On the one
hand I wanted to punch his lights out, and on the other I wanted to be him. I wanted to be the guy you were dancing with and laughing with in front of everyone at
that reception. I wanted them to see you were there with
me. But I didn’t get that. He did. I’m in love with you
and we have never once gone out on a date.”

“That’s just it, Norris. We don’t have a dating kind of
relationship. We didn’t want it, remember?”

“Is that my punishment? Being without you because
I happened to fall in love with you?”

“You don’t have to be without me.” Dahlia moved to
the couch, taking his hand in hers. She wanted Norris, b
ut it had to be on her terms. She was being selfish and
she knew it, but being selfish kept her in control, and
admitting to her feelings would make her lose all control.
She couldn’t do it. “Norris, I miss you. I miss your com
pany, your voice, your touch, your scent, I even miss your
vanity. You make me laugh. I want that back, I do, but I
don’t want a relationship with you.”

“Dahlia, what do you think you just described?”

“What makes us good,” she answered without hesita
tion. “Norris, we are good together.” She nuzzled his
neck, breathing in his intoxicating scent, feeling the pulse
points pound furiously against her. “I excite you.” She
kissed his jaw. “You excite me.” She kissed his nose and
straddled his waist. The bulge in his slacks pressed against
her panties. A roll of her hips elicited a deep groan from
him. His hands palmed her backside, holding her against
his throbbing arousal. She didn’t have to speak her feelings, and she was more than willing to pretend he didn’t. He just had to want it, too. “Let’s forget about emotions
and think about needs for a while.”

Her lips covered his in a deep, urgent kiss. Their lips
parted as eager tongues explored. Norris’s hands moved
up her back and around to her breasts. His thumbs teased
her taut, sensitive nipples, sending shivers throughout her
body. Blissful moans fell from her lips when he buried his head in the valley of her breasts, sliding his warm tongue
along her cleavage. She closed her arms around his head,
rocking her hips in time with his moving pelvis. Norris’s
moans grew deeper, stronger. But all of a sudden his
sounds ended and his movements ceased.

Dahlia struggled for breath as she gazed at him, confused. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this, Dahlia,” he said between haggard
breaths, sliding her back to the couch. “I love you. I love you too much to settle for half of you. As much as you
know and can feel I want your body, I want your heart
even more.”

She pressed her kiss-swollen lips together as she
fought the threat of tears. “I’m sorry, Norris, you can’t
have it.”

“No, I’m sorry, because I disagree. You love me, I
know you do, you’re just not ready to say so. That’s some
thing I can’t help you with, and I’m not going to force
you to say it. But what I will do is wait for however long
it takes for you to finally say those words to me. In the
meantime, I want to amend our arrangement.”

“You’ve already amended it.” She glowered at him.
“That’s the problem.”

Norris shook his head, grunting. “Again, I’m not
going to argue with you about that. Here’s my sugges
tion. We’ll still see each other, but instead of meeting for
romps, we have dates. We go to the movies and out to
dinner. We go dancing, we go to the beach, and take
walks in the park. We get to enjoy each other’s company
outside the confines of our homes and bedrooms. I want
to court you.”