Temptation - Brenda Jackson [45]
She glanced down at Sunnie. “Okay, precious, it’s dinnertime for you.”
A short while later, after Sunnie had eaten, Sheila had given her a bath and put her to bed. The baby was usually worn-out by six and now slept through the night, waking to be fed around seven in the morning. Sheila couldn’t help wondering if the baby’s next caretaker would keep her on that same schedule.
She heard the doorbell ring as she moved down the stairs. She figured it was Summer dropping by to say hello, now that she’d dumped the flamingos off on someone’s lawn. Quickly moving to the door so the sound of the bell wouldn’t wake Sunnie, she glanced out the peephole and her heart thumped hard in her chest. It wasn’t Summer. It was Zeke.
She didn’t have to wonder why he’d dropped by. To spy on her and to make sure she was taking care of Sunnie properly. Drawing in a deep breath, she slowly opened the door.
Nine
She’d been crying. Zeke took note of that fact immediately. Her eyes were red and slightly puffy, and when he looked closer, he saw her chin was trembling as if she was fighting even now to keep tears at bay. He wasn’t sure if the tears she was holding back were for Sunnie or what she assumed was his misuse of her.
He wanted more than anything to take her into his arms, pull her close and tell her how wrong she was and to explain how much she had come to mean to him. But he knew that he couldn’t do that. Like him, his distrust of people’s motives didn’t start overnight. Therefore, he would have to back up anything he said. Prove it to her. Show her in deeds instead of just words. Eventually he’d have to prove every claim he would make here tonight.
He may have been the one abandoned as a child, but she, too, had been abandoned. Those who should have loved her, been there for her and supported her had not. In his book, that was the worse type of abandonment.
“Zeke, I know why you’re here,” she finally said, after they had stood there and stared at each other for a long moment.
“Do you?” he asked.
She lifted that trembling chin. “Yes. Sunnie’s asleep. You’re going to have to take my word for it, and we had a fun day. Now, goodbye.”
She made an attempt to close the door, but he put his foot in the way. “Thanks for the information, but that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To see the woman I made love to several times. The woman I had gotten used to waking up beside in the mornings. The woman I want even now.”
She lifted her gaze from the booted foot blocking her door to him. “You shouldn’t say things you don’t mean.”
“Sheila, we need to talk. I think I know what brought this on. I listened to the message my aunt left on my answering machine. You jumped to the wrong conclusion.”
“Did I?”
“Yes, you did.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t think so.”
“But what if you did? Think of the huge mistake you’re making. Invite me in and let’s talk about it.”
He watched as she began nibbling on her bottom lip, a lip he had sucked into his mouth, kissed and devoured many times since meeting her. Had it been less than two weeks? How had he fallen in love with her so quickly and know for sure it was the real thing?
He drew in a huge breath. Oh, it was definitely the real thing. Somehow, Sheila Hopkins had seeped into his bloodstream and was now making a huge statement within his heart.
“Okay, come in.”
She stood back and he didn’t waste any time entering in case she changed her mind. Once inside he glanced around the room and noticed how different things looked. All the baby stuff was gone. At least it had been collected and placed in a huge cardboard box that sat in the corner.
Not waiting for him to say anything when she saw the way his gaze had scanned the room, she said, “And please don’t pretend that you don’t know that I’ll be turning Sunnie over to someone, as early as tomorrow.”
He lifted a brow. “And someone told you that?”
She shrugged. “No, not really. But Ms. Talbert did call to say the results of the paternity test had come in. And since