wasn’t sure which was accurate and it didn’t matter. Everett was safe.
She shifted her baby. He was heavy, even for the short distance to the exit. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t putting him down for anything, even as her hand shook from shock and Everett began to snuffle. She knew he felt her panic. Between that and the noise and the confusion of the last few minutes, she was surprised that he was as quiet as he was.
“It’s all right,” she whispered into his ear. She could smell the unique scent of the shampoo she’d used on his hair combined with the heavy smell of smoke. She ran a finger down his soft cheek, thumbing away the remaining tears. His bottom lip quivered and she knew that he was seconds away from bursting into a full-out wail. Once that happened, there’d be no stopping him. Everett’s crying jags could be legendary. Now he had every reason to cry. She imagined that his flair for drama might mean she had a future actor on her hands. Or...she looked back at Talib, remembering.
She blew the thoughts from her mind. No matter Everett’s discomfort or the former lover behind her, they could both wait. She needed to get her son out of this hotel and to safety.
And as she thought that a firm hand was on her waist and Everett plucked from her arms. Her heart stopped. This wouldn’t happen again. She was ready to fight for her child. She turned and met the eyes of the man she had come here to see.
“Sara. He’s heavy. Let me.”
This time, his voice cut through her panic. His voice, like his presence, his personality, his everything, was too smooth and he was much too sure of himself. He looked the same and yet something had changed. She could see it in the depths of his dark, gold-flecked eyes. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, only that it was different, as if he was haunted by something or someone. A woman probably, she thought with scathing awareness and then pushed the thought from her mind. If she expected his help she would have to be civil and to do that she had to begin with her thoughts, and that one hadn’t been fair. Whatever he was, he’d help her now. That was Talib, solid and dependable in anything that was not a romantic entanglement. Her mood dove again at that word. Entanglement. There could be no better or less flattering word for their failed relationship. And it didn’t matter, for it was over—had been over for a very long time. It was another entanglement that was the problem, that was more than a problem, and that was why she was here.
He escorted her to the door, his hand holding her by the wrist as if he was her jailer. There was nothing she could do but be led to safety, to the place on the sidewalk that he deemed safe.
“Where are you taking us?” she asked.
He ignored her question. Instead he said, “You’ve spent enough time in this and the smoke can’t be good for your little guy.”
Her little guy. She sucked back relief. For coming here had been a risk. Finding Talib here today, more than lucky. Still, nothing could remove the fear. And she had so much fear. Fear for herself, for Everett, fear at facing Talib once again with the truth.
But despite all of that, she’d found him in the unlikeliest of situations. Not the most unlikely place. She’d known that he and Ian were friends, and that Ian had requested his help. That was the main reason that she’d chosen this hotel, it had been the timing that was strange. The bonus in all of it was that her travel agent had found a great promotion—everything had clicked together.
“Over here,” Talib commanded and with those two words he made it clear that not only was he back in her life, but he was also taking charge, at least for now. And, at least for now, she would let him. Later—she hadn’t thought that far.
This had been a journey of desperation. And now, despite having come all those miles to find him, she wanted to run—take her son with her before it was too late for both of them.
Instead she looked up at him. “I can’t believe I ran into you in the midst of this. But I’m glad you were here to find—”
“What are you doing here, Sara?” He cut her off with a hint of anger in his voice.
The conceited donkey.
He thought she was here because of him. She looked at her son in his arms and that was the only reason she didn’t lose it then and there. Unfortunately the truth of it was that what he was implying, what he’d left unsaid...he was right. She was here because of him, just for none of the reasons that the arrogant fool thought.
What she was here for was much more serious than any romance ever could be. And despite what he thought, and she knew very well what he thought, it was hard to deny the truth. He was a magnet for women, but he was no magnet to her. Not anymore. Those days were long over. But despite not needing him romantically, he was right about one thing. She did need him, she needed him very much.
For without him she was terribly afraid she was going to lose her son.
Outside the hotel, Talib juggled the child in his arms as he put a hand on Sara’s arm. It was an automatic gesture that rose out of the ashes of the past as if she’d never left, as if he’d never asked her to leave. It was strange how the truth of their relationship, how it had ended, had never been something he’d deceived himself about. He cared about her, but he couldn’t be with her, not like that.
Sara owed him nothing, certainly no explanations. But the thought that she’d carried on with her life, married and had a baby, was oddly disconcerting. He pushed back the emotion, unable to face why it existed or what it meant. It was a moot point, he knew that. He had no right to question her actions and the sane thing to do now would be to push emotion to the background. Emotion did nothing in a situation like this. Still, it bothered him and it shouldn’t. After all, he was the one who had broken up with her, gone his own way—forgotten about her. Or had he?
“Where’s your husband?” he asked and wished he could have rephrased. The question was more abrupt, more invasive even, than he had meant it to be.
“I’m not married,” she said as she turned to look at him. There was defiance in her eyes—a defiance that had hooked him on a day that now seemed a combination of yesterday and so long ago.
“Oh, I...” he spluttered, unsure of what to say. He’d fallen into a gaffe of his own making and that was completely unlike him. But even now, she pushed buttons like no one else could.
“It’s okay, say it. It’s not like others haven’t or at least thought it.”
“Say what?”
“That you thought I was smarter than that. Smarter then becoming an unwed mother that...” Her voice choked off.
“Sara...” He stopped her with a touch of his hand on her shoulder. She’d always been, in some ways, unbelievably old-fashioned. “I’m not suggesting anything. We’ve been apart for a long time. What you do is none of my business. What is my business is getting you to a safe—”
“We’ll go wait with the others,” she interrupted and held out her arms to take her son.
“Just a minute. Wait,” he said. It was odd how that need to protect drew him even now. He wasn’t sure what Ian had planned for his guests, but for Sara and her son, he’d make sure they had alternate arrangements. He was on the phone for a little under a minute before he had things worked out to his satisfaction. The entire time he could feel her attention on him as he juggled the boy in one hand and the phone in the other.
“You’re exhausted,” he said as he slipped the phone into his pocket. “I’ve got another hotel arranged for you. Let me get you both safely on your way.”
“But—”
“It was a long flight. Get some rest and then we’ll talk.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “But no.”
She sounded in control, calm despite everything that