Love Thief (5 page)

“There is when you try to get me pregnant!”

He gaped. “Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know, to start on the six kids?”

His face darkened with rage. “Why would I do that, especially with a woman who doesn’t want children? I’m not in the habit of tricking anyone. I admit we made a mistake not using protection, but I wasn’t on that floor forcing your legs apart.”

She gasped. “Good-bye!”

He gave a stiff nod of his head and left, and she just resisted slamming the door behind him. Then she locked the door and ran to the bathroom to undress and jump in the shower. Now all she had to do was not lose her mind while she waited to find out if she got pregnant.

Chapter Seven

The doorbell rang, and Charmaine got up to answer. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Before she reached the door, Amaya was at her side. Charmaine eyed her with suspicion. “You’re not up to anything again, are you?”

All she got was a cute, innocent look. For the last couple of weeks, Charmaine was even more restless, and today was the worst. She never celebrated her birthday, but for some reason this year, she felt it. Her mother had called of course, and she had chatted a little. Amaya sang happy birthday, high-pitched, off key, and wrong. Charmaine had been ready to chew her own leg off to escape.

The fact was, she missed him. She missed Elliot. Her anger hadn’t cooled in the least, and she still suspected him of trying to get her pregnant. That didn’t stop her from reliving their intimacy while she should have been working, and dreaming about him when she should have been sleeping. Was she wrong? Maybe, but she was so damn nervous. An unexpected baby was her biggest fear. He had to understand that!

Who are you arguing with? Answer the door.

Charmaine opened the door to find a deliveryman standing there. “I didn’t order anything.”

The man in bland brown checked the gadget in his hand. “Charmaine Poe?”

“Yes.”

“This is yours then. Please sign here.” He extended the device, but Charmaine didn’t move.

By now, Amaya was jumping up and down, singing, “Sign it. Sign it.”

“Why are you so excited? It has my name on it.”

“It’s probably a present,” she chirped and then slapped both hands over her mouth. Charmaine raised an eyebrow at her. She shuffled her feet. “Can we go outside, Aunt Charmaine? It’s your birthday.”

“How is going outside my treat?”

“Can we?”

The delivery guy offered Charmaine a big smile. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” She signed and took the package. After she had shut the door, she checked out what Amaya was wearing. “No bare feet in the quad. And grab a sweater. It looked like it was windy out.”

“Yay!”

Soon Charmaine found herself sitting on a bench staring at her building. Automatically, her gaze went to searching for which windows corresponded to Elliot’s place. When she thought she saw movement there, she averted her eyes and watched Amaya play hopscotch instead.

The door to the building opened, and Amaya ran over to Charmaine as if on cue. “Open your present, Aunt Charmaine.”

“You’re not going to stop bugging me until I do, are you?”

Innocent blinking. “No.”

Charmaine laughed. “Fine.”

She bent her head to work on opening the small box, but she was more aware of the man moving toward the two of them. One didn’t need a sixth sense to know he would come. She might have banished him from her place, but the quad was equal access to all the residents.

Charmaine peeked up at him and found the green eyes watching with as much interest as Amaya. Damn, she wasn’t used to this much attention, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. Neither one of them seemed to want to let her stay in her little corner of the world.

When she opened the package and moved aside the packing paper, she found a small note and a smaller box. She lifted it out and read as Amaya made tiny squealing sounds. “To Aunt Charmaine. Happy birthday. I love you. Love, Amaya.”

For a moment, Charmaine’s throat closed, and she coughed. Blinking over and over kept the tears at bay, thank goodness. When the emotion died down, she looked at Amaya. “You didn’t order this. I know you’re smart, but seriously.”

Amaya jumped up and down, waving her arms in the air as if she had just won a marathon. Then out of the blue, she launched herself at Amaya, knocking the package askew. Charmaine caught her, and forgetting her habit of keeping everyone at arm’s length, she hugged the little girl tight.

“You didn’t let me open the little box,” Charmaine whispered and sniffed.

Amaya popped onto the bench beside her with an expectant expression on her face. Charmaine finished unwrapping her present and came upon a silver necklace with a turtle hanging from it.

“Is it a bear?” Amaya asked.

“Don’t you know?” Charmaine raised the necklace from the box and put it on.

Amaya screamed, face glowing. “A turtle!”

“Thanks, sweetie.” She offered the little girl an awkward kiss, and Amaya beamed brighter. Charmaine looked up at Elliot. “You did this. When?”

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking somewhat awkward himself. At least she wasn’t alone in that area. “I saw the two of you at the grocery store. Amaya was looking over the cereal, and you weren’t in the aisle with her.”

Did she detect a note of censure? Probably.
Damn!

“She told me your birthday was coming.”

“Yeah, she wanted me to know hers, so we went through a production of writing it on the calendar. That’s when she found out mine was so soon.”

He nodded. “I suggested I buy a present for her to surprise you. As you saw, she didn’t like the idea very much.”

Charmaine laughed. “I thought she was going to hyperventilate she was so excited.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He brought out another box. “This one is for you to open when you’re alone.”

She frowned. “Sounds inappropriate. I don’t think I should accept it.”

He pressed it into her lap. “If you don’t want it, you can throw it away.”

Now he had her curious. Of course she would open it and see what it was. Later, like he said, when she was alone. Charmaine sat quiet as Amaya played hopscotch with Elliot. She couldn’t believe a grown man was so free and easy to get down on the ground and draw with chalk then jump around on one foot with a little girl who wasn’t his. He was one of a kind and sweet.

Watching them, she hugged herself and leaned back against the bench. She wanted to go inside and bury herself in her work, but even while she turned her head, her ears refused to stop listening to them joking and laughing. After an hour or so, Charmaine stood and gathered the trash from Amaya’s gift and the unopened present from Elliot.

“Amaya, it’s time to go in,” she announced.

“Aww.” Amaya pouted, but she hugged Elliot and ran to the building.

Elliot moved at a more sedate pace, his hands in his pockets. When Charmaine passed beside him, he spoke. “Do you think I can play with you again sometime?”

Her nether regions came to life at the suggestive words. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Charmaine, I like you. I think we can enjoy each other’s company, with no strings and no…traps.”

She glanced at him. Desire stirred inside her, but she dared not. “I can’t let anything distract me.”

He stepped into her path, blocking her from continuing to the building. “Why can’t you let anything distract you? Distractions are what life are about, and they’re not all bad.”

“If you start spouting that stuff about stopping to smell the roses, we’re going to have a problem.”

He held up his hands, grinning. “I won’t, but it stands, doesn’t it?”

“No. My app is my rose.”

“Hmm. Okay, I accept that. How about a lily to go with your rose.”

She burst out laughing. “You are so crazy. A man who calls himself a lily?”

His cheeks pinked. “I wasn’t saying
I
was the lily!”

“Too late now, Lily.” She ducked around him and jogged to the building. “See you later.”

Charmaine left him standing there and hurried after Amaya. When she let the two of them into the apartment, she put Elliot’s present aside and made lunch for her and Amaya. A couple hours later, when her niece napped, Charmaine remembered the gift. She grabbed it from the shelf where she had placed it and walked back to the living room. Another glance at the bed found Amaya still sleeping, and Charmaine sank to the couch.

“What the hell?” She choked and then had to smother a laugh at the gift. The entire time she waited, she had been thinking it was something special, kind of a declaration of love. Of course that was silly, because they weren’t dating. The last she had told him was to get out of her apartment, so unless he was crazy, he wouldn’t be telling her he loved her any time soon.

Charmaine pulled the small purple box out of the bigger one. This set up had been done by Elliot from the look of it. The handwritten note, which was more chicken scratch than anything was abrupt.
“Happy birthday. Thought this would come in handy.”

“He’s got balls that’s for sure.” She stood and walked over to the wastepaper basket next to her desk and tossed the box into it. As if he had ESP, Elliot called her phone right after. “Hello?”

“Did you like your gift?” His voice was deep and rumbly. She licked her lips.

“I threw them away. I can’t believe you gave me condoms for my birthday.”

“It’s the thought that counts.”

“The thought that you want to get into my panties?”

“There’s that and…”

“You’re impossible.”

“At least you’re not mad at me.”

“Who says I’m not mad? I’m steaming.” She couldn’t produce the fire behind the words. In truth, she was amused. Maybe if they hadn’t had the experience in the quad from earlier, she might have been angry. Elliot had his various sides to him. She saw it, but he was also a man. No one could fault him for that much.

“Did you really throw them away?”

“Yes.” She pressed a hand to her mouth, trying not to laugh. “Good-by, Elliot.”

Charmaine ended the call because she wasn’t sure what direction to go in. For a moment, she stood over the trashcan. The thing was empty except for the condoms because she never used it. The purple box stared at her, daring her to get it out. If she did, it would mean she accepted Elliot in her life and would welcome nights when they spent time in each other’s bed. Well, his bed—maybe.

“Too complicated,” she moaned.

Giving into a moment of weakness, she removed the box from the trash and opened a drawer to dump it out of sight. There, now she didn’t have to think about it anymore. The next morning, she performed another act that would help her get back onto an even keel, she hoped. She checked the little stick again and sighed with relief. She wasn’t pregnant. Thank all that was good and right in the world. Amaya, the little scamp, was more than enough. With a little more effort, Charmaine could dismiss Elliot from her head and get back to life as usual.

Chapter Eight

The day was scorching. Even while Elliot wore shorts and a T-shirt sans the shoes, he still sweated when he walked downstairs to grab his mail. He knew he needed to go out to run a few errands, but the summer sun kept him in the A/C. Despite the hot day, he had an urge to have a little fun. Work could wait.

Charmaine hadn’t encouraged him at all, but he hadn’t given up on her. The fact that she wasn’t mad at his condom idea bolstered his hope. She would be his before long. He walked into his closet and pushed his feet into a pair of flip-flops then dug out a ball and a spray bottle. For a moment, he lamented the fact that he hadn’t moved into a building with a community pool. Maybe he should join the local rec center.

In the hall, he paused outside Charmaine’s place and rapped on the door. She answered right away, and he detected a note of excitement at seeing him. “I’m—” she began.

He cut her off. “I was wondering if you minded Amaya coming out to play.”

She frowned. “What are you five?”

“You could join us, but it’s up to you. The shading is just right in the quad that we won’t get burned to a crisp.”

She leaned against the door, and he noted the mini-sundress showing off her brown legs. A stirring of desire ignited in him, and he recalled those same legs wrapped around his waist. She had started something in him he couldn’t stop nor did he want to.

“Oh, I forgot you pale folk are so delicate,” she teased.

He smirked. “You look pretty delicate from here.” As he expected, she blushed and lowered her gaze. He enjoyed the view to his fill.

Thumping and bumping sounded behind her, and Amaya appeared. The T-shirt she wore sported a giraffe on the front, which matched her shorts. She was barefoot, and he had a different stirring seeing her. Affection. How he wished for a daughter like her, who he could spoil and tease. To hear his little girl call him daddy would be the highlight of his life.

“Hey, spud,” he said and tweaked her nose. “What do you think about going out to the quad with me? I’ve got snacks and a ball, and I happen to know the super leaves the hose unlocked sometimes. We might be able to splash around a little bit before we’re caught.”

Amaya squealed and jumped up and down. Charmaine put her hand on her hip. “You’re teaching her to break the law?”

“Come on. It’s not broken until you’re caught.”

“Elliot!”

He laughed. “I’m kidding. I got permission actually.”

She gave him a doubtful look, but he wasn’t lying. Since he had been spending time with Amaya, Charmaine hadn’t mentioned her getting into trouble stealing. Then again, Charmaine might have hidden it from him. He was pretty sure she didn’t like him to know when she felt she failed at being a mother. She was doing a great job as far as he was concerned.

Amaya hung onto Charmaine’s arm.

“Fine. Go. But not too long, and try not to get her hair wet, Elliot. I don’t feel like fighting with it.”

“I’ll help you with it if I do.”

“Just be careful.”

“Maybe we should pin it up.” When she hesitated, he stepped past her into the apartment. Elliot ignored the glare. “Where’s that bin of ponytail holders you had?”

She handed it over, and Elliot pinned the little girl’s ponytails up. He had seen his mother do it countless times with his sisters. Of course, that didn’t make him good at it. He fumbled, but in the end, he figured out the mechanics and had Amaya ready.

“Bye, Aunt Charmaine.” Amaya darted to the door ahead of him.

Elliot took his time. “You could come down, too.” He touched his fingers to hers and saw her shiver. She pulled away and raised a hand to her neck before dropping it.

“No, you two have fun. I’ll look out on you from the window.”

Elliot stepped closer to her. “It’s not wrong to enjoy yourself.”

Her lips parted, and he forgot everything except her. One small kiss was what he wanted, but she turned her head. She darted away like Amaya to the area behind the couch, and he had to accept for now his skittish little doe wouldn’t come to him.

Not yet, but soon.

“Elliot,” Amaya sang. “Come on.”

“All right, little one. Let’s do this!” Amaya laughed all the way down the hall as he chased her. When they reached the entrance to the stairs, he grabbed her hand to slow her down. “We’ll walk. Don’t want to break our neck before we can have fun.”

Once they were outside, Elliot set up his wares—a blanket, a picnic basket, the ball, and a splash Frisbee that would be great when it was full of water. Elliot pulled out the hose and began filling a container he had left there earlier. Amaya dunked her fingers in the water and sang.

“What’s that song?” he asked.

“The purple turtle.”

“Can you teach it to me?”

“Okay.”

They sang together, Amaya at the top of her lungs. He winced a few times and had to rein her in, but for the most part he let her go for it. Once they had been running around a little while, throwing water soaked squishies at each other, Amaya danced over to him.

“I have to pee, Elliot.”

He grabbed a towel and dried her face and arms. “Hold on. Let me walk you up.”

“I can do it.”

“Sweetie, I don’t want to get into trouble with your aunt.”

She pouted. “I’m almost
five.”

He shook his head, straightening. “You’re right that is practically grown. Okay, I’ll stand in the hallway and listen and watch you go. Don’t do anything but go straight up. Got it?”

“Got it.”

She ran off, and he followed. Elliot figured she would be fine just going to the second floor, but he followed quietly anyway, letting her think she went by herself. When she disappeared inside Charmaine’s apartment, he sat down on the stairs to wait.

So, how could he convince Charmaine to let him take the two of them to dinner tonight? Normally, he would ask straight out, but Charmaine seemed to be in the habit of turning him down, even if he could see she wanted to agree. Tricks would piss her off, and he had no wish to coerce her into anything. Damn, why couldn’t she believe he was a decent guy? For that matter, why couldn’t he get it she wasn’t exactly a good fit.

Elliot paced on the landing and pushed his soaked hair off his forehead. He considered what his mom and dad would say about Charmaine. Race didn’t enter his mind except to acknowledge that she was so damn beautiful with her chocolate skin. His parents were good, kind folks, but that didn’t mean they would accept Charmaine.

Wait, what am I thinking?

A sound in the hall brought his head up, and he spun around in time to catch Amaya about to hurtle down the stairs. Her face was transformed with glee, and she carried a plastic grocery bag filled with something he couldn’t make out. Elliot was glad he’d waited for her because she tumbled forward, and he had to leap up to catch her in his arms.

“Elliot, I’ve got balloons! I put water in them.”

“Hey, squirt. I know you’re excited, but you almost fell. What would you have done if I wasn’t here?”

“I know but—”

“Amaya.”

“Okay,” she whined.

He got her calm enough for them to go down the stairs at a slower pace. “How did you know about making water balloons?”

“I have a big brother.”

His eyebrows rose. “You do?”

“Yeah, he lives with his daddy.” Elliot detected a slight sadness. He would need to talk to Charmaine about the little girl visiting her brother and hoped it was possible. The two of them, Charmaine and Amaya, had been through a lot in the last year.

“So your brother taught you about water balloons?”

“Yup.” The sun came out on Amaya’s face again. “I practiced and practiced ‘til I could tie them myself.”

“Sounds like someone I know,” he muttered. “A do it yourself kind of girl, huh?”

Amaya didn’t seem to understand. They burst through the door outside, and she ran ahead of him to their blanket and sank to her knees to fiddle with the bag. “The balloons are ugly and greasy, but they’ll be fun. You’ll see.”

A sudden suspicion came over him. “Ugly and
greasy?”

She got the bag open and was about to reach into it. Elliot caught her arm and pulled it back. He thought he would collapse he laughed so hard. Amaya wiggled in his hold, trying to get free, but he wouldn’t release her.

“What’s so funny, Elliot? Tell me. I want to laugh, too.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I can’t tell you.” He wiped his watery eyes. “Did Aunt Charmaine let you have these?”

She looked guilty. “No, I found them in a drawer. Don’t tell her, okay? Please?”

He stood and drew Amaya to her feet. “Unfortunately, we have to tell her, but don’t worry. I don’t think you’ll get into trouble. Aunt Charmaine will be more embarrassed than anything else?”

“Why?”

“Never mind. Come on. Let’s go back.”

At Charmaine’s door, Elliot kept Amaya from touching anything. He knocked, and when Charmaine’s muffled, “Come in” reached him, he entered. Just as he expected, she didn’t look up.

“Stop running in and out, Amaya. Elliot claimed he would watch you, but he’s not doing a good job.”

“I’m not?” he said.

She started and looked at him. He had a moment of forgetting what he had to show her and then pulled himself together. Quickly, he drew Amaya over to the kitchen sink and readied the water for her. She climbed onto a step stool there.

“Scrub clean,” he instructed. “Use plenty of soap.”

“All right.” She looked pouty and sounded whiny, but she obeyed.

“What’s going on?” Charmaine joined them in the kitchen. He handed her the grocery bag with the unique water balloons inside.

“This is what your niece brought down for us to throw at each other.”

Ah if only she were a little lighter, he thought, amused. He could have seen her turn beet red.

“Condoms?” She smacked a hand over her mouth and looked at Amaya. After a moment to pull herself together, she asked, “Where did you get these? Oh never mind. This is my fault. Crap, I’m so embarrassed.”

Amaya giggled. “You were right, Elliot.”

“Shh.” He touched a finger to his lips but couldn’t get the grin off his face. Charmaine glared at him.

“This is your fault, too,” she said. “If you hadn’t bought me these, she wouldn’t have found them.”

“But you threw them away. Did she get them out of the trash?” He already knew Amaya had found them in a drawer.

“Our place is small. There’s nowhere to put anything.”

He folded his arms over his chest. Charmaine slapped his arm.

“Stop enjoying it, darn you!” Then she burst out laughing, setting him off again. Amaya joined in just to be a part of it.

When they pulled themselves together, Elliot retrieved the bag while Charmaine got the little girl down from the stool and moved away from the sink. He popped each balloon to let the water out then made sure every one of them was secured in a knotted trash bag. For good measure, he took the whole thing down to the Dumpster and tossed it. After he had washed his hands, he faced the ladies.

Amaya stood still as Charmaine ran a towel over her face, arms, and hair. “You got it wet anyway.”

“Well, it was kind of hard to aim the ugly greasy balloons.”

Charmaine’s mouth fell open. “You didn’t!”

He grinned, and she shook her head.

“Is that your description or hers?”

“Hers. I got a great laugh.”

“Yeah, it was funny.”

“And to make up for it,” he announced, “I propose we go to the beach or a water park, followed by dinner and whatever else we can get up to.”

He liked to suggest the outrageous so Charmaine would feel less overwhelmed with tamer ideas. As expected, her beautiful lips pursed in protest. “Are you crazy? You’ve just come in from getting wet, and it’s the middle of the afternoon. Surely, it’s too late to do any of that.”

“Except for dinner,” he corrected. “But we can still do the water park or the beach tomorrow, early so we have the entire day. After all, we won’t have the summer forever.”

“Why do I feel like I was railroaded?” she demanded. “Wait, don’t tell me you orchestrated the balloon fiasco.”

“How could I?” he said, rocking on his heels, hands in his pockets. “I wasn’t the one that lied about them.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but he just grinned.

“Fine. We can do dinner, and maybe the water park some time. I don’t like the beach. The water’s so dirty.”

“Water park?” Amaya came in on the tail end of the conversation, not having paid attention.

He stroked the top of her head. “Yup, I’m taking you and your aunt to the water park tomorrow, sweetheart. What do you think of that?”

She threw her arms around him and pressed her face to his side. “Will you be my daddy, Elliot?”

He froze, and so did Charmaine. She didn’t appear to know what to say, and neither did he. For the first time since he met them, he was at a loss. In truth, his chest ached as he thought about the seriousness and the genuine gift she offered him. Then reality hit soon after. He might wish it with all his heart, but that wouldn’t make it happen. Maybe he had been irresponsible with Amaya without realizing it. He had acknowledged she had been through a lot, but he forgot where that would leave her—vulnerable.