Kismet: A Serendipity Novella (6 page)

Warmth, heat, and a sweet bombardment of
sensations swept through her at lightning speed, growing in
intensity, the ultimate prize almost within reach.

“Come, sweetheart, because I sure as hell
am.” With that, he thrust deep and up high, twisting his hips and
taking her exactly where she wanted to be.

Lissa came right then, her body so in tune
with him she exploded on command. She screamed, bucking against him
as the most amazing sensations rocked her world. Suddenly, he
tensed above her and shouted her name, his muscles clenching, his
hips continuing a pump and grind that sent her body into another
round of mini detonations that seemed never to end.

He collapsed on top of her, breathing hard,
and she savored his weight and the warmth of his damp skin. “I may
never recover,” she said, only half joking.

“Me neither.” With a grunt, he rolled over
and she felt the loss of contact too keenly. He leaned over and
pressed a quick kiss on her lips before rising and heading into the
bathroom.

She rid herself of her sandals just as he
returned, not giving her a chance to decide whether to dress and
get out quickly or succumb to the urge to wrap herself in his arms
and fall asleep.

Still naked, he climbed in beside her and
pulled her into his embrace. That answered that question, she
thought, and snuggled in. Neither spoke, and to her amazement, she
didn’t feel the need or the absence of conversation. His actions
spoke volumes and she wanted to enjoy the time she had left.

Not wanting to dwell on the inevitability of
their parting, she forced herself to operate as she always did when
falling asleep. She turned her mind to work and deadlines. As far
as Trevor was concerned, her story was nearly complete. She had
already researched his background beyond what she knew personally.
And between watching him in the office, spending an evening with
him at a fundraiser, and then being given a first-hand view of his
apartment, she possessed a broad glimpse into other facets of
Trevor as a man. A few more specific questions would fill out the
missing pieces.

As she went through things in her mind, she
was acutely aware of his breathing and knew the minute he fell
asleep, his hold on her loosening only slightly, his breaths coming
deeper and more evenly. She relaxed into his rhythm, letting
exhaustion claim her.

Her body was sated, her eyelids were already
growing heavy, and her last thought before drifting off was of how
easily she could get used to falling asleep in his arms.

*

Trevor couldn’t bring himself to move. An
early riser with no need for an alarm clock, he had never put in
blackout shades, preferring to wake up on his own or, on the
occasions he slept in, to the warm sun on his face.

This morning, his internal clock woke him
and he immediately became aware of two things: Lissa was in his
bed, her warm, naked body draped over his; and it was Saturday and
there wasn’t any place he had to be. Nothing to interrupt something
he’d dreamed about since he was sixteen.

Waking up with this woman in his arms.

He was hard and he couldn’t attribute it to
a typical morning. Not when one female thigh was slung over his and
the scent he now associated with her filled every breath.

He nuzzled beneath her jaw and licked the
skin along her neck. She moaned softly, coming awake slowly, so he
continued to nibble at her skin, taking his time as she became
aware.

“Trev?” she asked in a sleepy voice.

He raised an eyebrow. “Expecting someone
else?” he asked, laughing.

She didn’t lift her head or meet his gaze.
“You feel good,” she murmured.

“So do you.” He closed his eyes, wondering
how to make this last longer than the course of the interview.

He didn’t bring women home often and when he
did, they didn’t sleep over. It didn’t matter whether or not he had
to drive them home, he never wanted to wake up with someone he’d
have to politely get rid of the next day.

When it came to Lissa, he never wanted to
let her go.

Before he could continue with that train of
thought, a noise sounded from the other room, muted but still clear
enough to be heard. “Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mummy. Mummy. Mum. Mum
...”

“What the hell is that?” he asked as Lissa
popped out of his arms.

“My cell,” she said. “It’s my daughter’s
text message alert. It’s Stewie from
Family Guy
.”

Nude, she rose from the bed, distracting him
from the obvious—the reminder of her daughter. But suddenly she
glanced at the uncovered windows and then at him, her cheeks
red.

Personally, he could look at her all day. “I
have a T-shirt in the top drawer.” He gestured to a wooden chest
and she shot him a grateful look.

A few seconds later, her gorgeous body was
covered in an oversized white shirt that was sheer enough to allow
him a thrill but made her more comfortable as she headed into the
other room, returning with her small purse.

And that quickly, reality resurfaced. He was
no longer in the solitary bubble he’d created for the two of them,
and for the first time since laying eyes on her yesterday, the old
wounds and sharp pain sliced him in the chest once more. But he was
also able to remind himself that the pain was a decade old, and
that was a first.

She pulled out her phone. “Olivia—I call her
Livvy—is at her father’s for the weekend,” Lissa said as she hit
some buttons, obviously looking at the text message. “Or not.” She
let out a groan.

“What’s wrong?” Trevor asked.

“Her text says
Have a cold
. And
At grandma’s
. I need to call my mother.”

“How do you know she didn’t mean the
Bankses?” Trevor must be growing up, because here he was, suddenly
curious about her relationships and family dynamics.

“Because Livvy calls Lyla
Grandmother
Banks.” Lissa wrinkled her nose at the formal
term.

Trevor agreed. “What a bunch of assholes,”
he muttered, rising to his feet.

Before Lissa could react or reply, she
gestured to the phone. “Hi, Mom. It’s me. Livvy’s with you?”

While Lissa was busy, Trevor escaped into
the bathroom to wash up and regroup while he was at it. He splashed
cold water on his face and brushed his teeth, stalling while he
pulled himself together. Talk about being in complete denial for
the last twenty-four hours. While he’d been losing himself in
Lissa, thinking he’d found the missing pieces of his heart, he’d
somehow managed to completely block out the thing that had broken
them up to begin with.

Her daughter.

Brad’s daughter. He shoved that thought away
before he could dwell on it too long.

The fact that she lived in Serendipity, and
he lived here.

Hell, if he kept thinking, he was sure he’d
come up with a whole lot more things that could keep them
apart.

Trevor stepped out of the bathroom in time
to hear, “Hey, baby.”

Lissa spoke into the phone, her tone warm,
sweet, and filled with pure love. A tone Trevor had never heard
from her before and despite himself, he was intrigued.

He grabbed a clean pair of underwear and
jeans, dressing while she finished her call. “No, baby, I’m not
coming home until tomorrow. You have a cold and grandma’s going to
take good care of you, okay?” She grew silent, then said, “I love
you, too. Bye.”

Clearly bracing herself, she straightened
her shoulders and met his gaze. “Sorry about that.”

Trevor shook his head. “No need to apologize
for reality,” he said. “Kids need their mothers.” And their
fathers, which brought up another question nagging at him. “If she
has a cold, why didn’t Brad just keep her with him?”

She frowned. “My guess? Sunny doesn’t want
to catch it. That’s Brad’s fiancée. She’s twenty-two and more of a
child than Livvy,” Lissa said with a roll of her eyes.

“Does Livvy look like you? Or her
father?”

Lissa blinked, obviously startled at his
question. So was he. But he wanted to know, even as he knew the
answer might hurt.

“My mom thinks she looks exactly like
me.”

The vise squeezing his chest eased. “Then
she must be beautiful.”

“She is.” Despite the obvious awkwardness of
the subject, her eyes glowed with pride and happiness over her
daughter.

Her pleasure was contagious, sparking a
flame to life inside him. One he wanted to squelch and fan at the
same time. But he’d come this far. He’d made love to her. If he
turned back now, he’d never know what could be.

“Do you have a picture?”

She nodded. Reaching for her purse once
more, she pulled out her phone and showed him the background photo.
A beautiful girl with Lissa’s green eyes, black hair, and olive
complexion stared back at him with her mother’s wide smile,
squeezing something inside his chest.

“She’s gorgeous,” he said, his voice
thick.

“Thanks. I think so, but I’m biased.” She
closed her phone and slid it back into her bag.

“Lissa?”

“Hmm?” She looked up, a curious expression
on her face.

“Do you remember what we argued about that
last time?” he asked, bringing up the subject they’d been avoiding.
The breakup that had led to the end.

Lissa’s eyes filled with tears and she
turned away. “I remember you being in a foul mood and I was just so
tired of it. I knew school was hard for you, what with football
practice and games, and you working at the gas station when you had
free time. Still, we had a fight and agreed to take a break.”

She wrapped her arms around herself and
walked to the window. “Actually, I suggested the break, hoping
you’d tell me I was crazy. Instead, you told me it was a good
idea.”

Trevor closed his eyes, remembering that
argument clearly. As usual, her ex-boyfriend Bradley Banks had
gotten under Trevor’s skin. The captain of the football team and
supposedly all-around good guy from the right side of the tracks,
Banks was really a bastard beneath his moneyed looks. He’d always
played on Trevor’s insecurities, doing things like deliberately
spilling a drink, then laughing and telling the rest of the team
that Trevor’s dad, who was the high school janitor, would clean up
his mess.

“I’d bought you a necklace for your
birthday.” He vividly recalled the gold-plated heart with
rhinestones around the edge.

“I still have it, tucked away in the back of
a drawer,” she admitted.

He’d wondered if she’d forgotten all about
him over the years. Now he had his answer and his heart pounded
harder in his chest.

Trevor looked over her shoulder and out the
window, the glorious view a complete one-eighty from the small
house he’d grown up in. The side of his house practically butted
another home. When Trevor looked out his bedroom window, he could
see the O’Reillys’ back porch, so he’d had to keep his shades shut
tight. Maybe that explained why he’d been drawn to this view, he
realized now.

Lissa remained quiet, obviously waiting for
him to continue. She stood alone, wearing his big shirt, as lovely
and vulnerable as he’d ever seen her. But she still wasn’t looking
at him.

Well, this wasn’t any easier for him, but it
had to be done before they could ever move forward. If they could
ever move forward.

“Do you remember what was bothering you that
day?” she asked him.

He’d never told her.

He expelled a harsh breath. “Brad was giving
me shit in the locker room, telling the guys I bought you a piece
of junk at Sears and it was just a matter of time until you’d be
sick of my poverty and back with him.”

Though Lissa also lived on the “wrong” side
of Serendipity, with her gorgeous face and luscious body, Brad had
always seen her first as a prize, then as a challenge.

She turned around, eyes wide and angry.
“That son of a bitch. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He rolled his stiff shoulders, managing a
shrug. “Because it was the same song, different refrain. The guy
was a broken record and I have to admit that after a while, it got
to me.”

The man Trevor was now knew how stupid he’d
been, but back then, he’d been humiliated and overwhelmed. “I guess
I just needed to get away from the pressure for a little while.” He
stepped up beside her and pulled her into his arms. “I never meant
I needed to get away from you, but I let it happen.” She tipped her
head back, leaning against his chest. “I figured out what an ass
I’d been and tried to call you all weekend.”

“But I didn’t take your calls because I’d
already ...” Her voice trailed off, both of them knowing the end of
that sentence.

“Melissa Mayhue’s parents were away and she
had a party. I was upset and Brad and his friends were there. He
passed me drinks and I took them. Can’t blame him for that,” she
said, too much self-hatred in her voice. “And when I went to get my
things to go home, he offered to drive me.”

He stiffened, drawing on everything in him
not to get angry and pull away so he could smash something and
pretend it was her ex. The bastard had preyed on her vulnerability
and taken advantage of her being upset that night. Then she’d
gotten pregnant. Neither of them had been old enough or mature
enough to understand it back then. It was still hard enough to
accept now.

As much as he wished things had played out
differently, he couldn’t change the past. And it drove him crazy
knowing that though Trevor thought Banks had done the right thing,
in reality he’d merely given the Banks family the best public face
while privately making Lissa as miserable as possible.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a broken voice.

“I know you are.” He turned her around,
forcing her to look at him. “And so am I, sweetheart. So am I.”

She sniffed. “Really?”

He nodded. “We share the blame for what
happened. Hell, I realize now I bear most of it. If I hadn’t agreed
to split up, you’d never have been with him.” Trevor knew that now
as well as he knew his own name.