Harlequin Presents: Once Upon A Temptation June 2020--Box Set 1 of 2
thing to a home I have. That’s what every creature does when they’re feeling run to ground. They hide where they feel safe.”“You feel safe here?” He gave a ragged laugh of astonishment.
Not with him here. Maybe she had hoped his revulsion with Niko would act as a moat and drawbridge. There was so much wrong with them and so much wrong in every other aspect. She didn’t know how to deal with everything.
“At least I feel like I’m allowed to be here,” she murmured. “And having Kiara here—I don’t feel right handing Locke to a nanny.” She shrugged at the way it made her heart hurt to do so. “But Kiara feels like family. She’s the one person I can actually rely on.”
“You don’t think you can rely on me?”
“There’s not much room for error, is there? Explain to me how crying for help would elevate me in your eyes.” Hers were welling again with tears.
Javiero’s cheeks hollowed.
Into their charged silence, little feet came running toward them.
Aurelia appeared with a plush koala toy she’d taken a shine to. It had been a shower gift to Scarlett months ago. It had big glossy eyes and a button in its ear that made it say, G’day, mate.
“Auntie Scarlett, is this Locke’s?” Aurelia asked from the archway into the sitting room. Her little head tilted with entreaty as she hugged it.
“It is.”
A rush of love filled her. Not all the emotions that overwhelmed her were dark. Some were so intense she could hardly breathe through them, and love for this little imp filled her up to bursting. She was going to miss her so much.
“Would you like to take him home and look after him until we see you again?”
Aurelia nodded her head of riotous curls.
“Tell your mama I said you can take him, but can I have a goodbye cuddle?” She held out her arms.
Aurelia ran to her and climbed into her lap. Her little arms squeezed Scarlett’s neck while her soft mouth pressed a damp kiss to her cheek. “I lub you.”
“I love you, too.”
Aurelia started to slide off her lap, but she noticed Javiero on the terrace and froze.
He seemed equally arrested by the sight of her.
Aurelia leaned deeper into Scarlett’s lap.
“It’s okay,” Scarlett murmured, her heart lurching at Aurelia’s instinctive wariness. She gave her a reassuring hug. “This is Javiero. He’s Locke’s papi and your papà’s brother. You can call him Tio.”
Aurelia tilted her head back to look at Scarlett. “Why is his face like that?”
“He was hurt. The doctors helped him and he’s still getting better.”
Javiero stood stiffly under Aurelia’s open stare, and said in a surprisingly gentle voice, “You have your father’s eyes.”
“Why is that thing on your eye?” Aurelia pointed.
“It’s called a patch. My eye was hurt, too,” he said simply.
“Mama should kiss it.”
And there was why Scarlett adored her. Life was so simple and pure for Aurelia. No injury was too big it couldn’t be healed by a kiss and a cuddle.
“Mama is probably looking for you.” Scarlett noted the sound of an approaching helicopter and helped the girl slide to her feet. “I’ll talk to you on the tablet soon, okay?”
Aurelia ran back down the hall, calling loudly, “Auntie Scarlett said I can take him.”
“Tio?” Javiero repeated on an exhale of disbelief.
“She’s your niece, whether you want to acknowledge that or not,” Scarlett chided.
“Exactly what I need, more family I can fail to protect.”
“Javiero, you can’t protect me from depression. I’m probably going to need medication.” She sagged into her chair, not understanding why the idea of taking something felt like defeat, but it did.
He nodded with decision. “Let’s get you to a doctor, then. See what we can learn.”
* * *
Javiero sat through Scarlett’s appointment with the doctor who had seen her through her pregnancy. It was difficult. Scarlett mercilessly berated herself for not managing better.
“We have staff. I’m not raising this baby alone without resources. This should be easy. I should be happy and I’m not. I keep crying.” She was welling up as she spoke.
When she admitted she had been having spells of tears since before they’d left for London, Javiero was beside himself. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I told you I was struggling when I got Kiara’s painting, but you thought I needed to get out more.”
It seemed to be the last straw. She burst into tears and cried like he hadn’t seen anyone cry in his lifetime.
“Scarlett.” He reached across while looking to the doctor, consumed by guilt that he hadn’t seen what was happening to her. “What do I do? How do I help her?” He was at such a loss he couldn’t bear it.
“A hug?” the doctor suggested gently. “Would you like him to hold you, Scarlett?”
Still inconsolable, with her face buried in her hands, she nodded.
Javiero drew her from her chair. He picked her up like a child and carried her to the sofa, where he sat and cradled her in his lap, his heart breaking at the way she had completely shattered.
The doctor rose and said, “I’ll check on your son.”
Scarlett gulped back sobs and raised her tear-ravaged face, alarmed.
“Not for medical reasons. I was disappointed when you delivered in Athens. I want to see him. You take a moment to gather yourself, then I’ll come back and we’ll discuss treatment.”
“I’m sorry,” Scarlett said as the doctor left. “I hate myself for being like this.”
“Don’t apologize. This isn’t something you’ve done.” It felt like something he had done. He hadn’t seen.
He soothed her and a short while later they left the clinic with a prescription for an antidepressant and one for a different type of birth control since the one she’d been using had a possible side effect of depression. The doctor had also endorsed Javiero’s suggestion that, rather than fly back to Spain, they take a week to sail among the islands.
They boarded his yacht, where Scarlett remained tense and jumpy. She checked her phone several times while they sailed toward a cove