Carly Phillips - Hot Item

“Then why don’t you?” Riley asked his daughter softly.

“Because I don’t want to lose you.” Big teardrops fell from Lizzie’s eyes and Riley held out his arms so his daughter could come for the hug she so desperately wanted.

Sophie watched the emotional scene play out and slowly eased her chair back so she could slip out of the room. Her own emotions were raw and at the surface, tears threatening to swamp her, too. She knew what it was like to lose a parent in some way and she couldn’t help but empathize with the young girl. At thirteen, Lizzie was reacting to her emotions. Thinking about other people’s feelings wasn’t within her frame of reference right now and Sophie couldn’t blame her.

Sophie made her way back to her room, grateful nobody had followed her. She needed time alone with her thoughts, which were already hammering at her hard.

Sophie had been a few years younger than Lizzie when she’d lost her parents, but Sophie finally understood the panic and fear in the teenager’s eyes and comprehended the source of her defiant attitude. Sophie was only sorry she hadn’t equated the two things on such an elemental level earlier, but now that she had, there was no way she would be the cause of that kind of pain for Riley’s daughter. There was no way she’d let Riley lose the most precious person in his life.

Sophie pulled her suitcase from the closet and began to pack for home. No need to wait for their flight later today when she was certain she could leave now.

RILEY PATTED Lizzie’s back, and she stepped away and headed back to her seat. “You okay?” he asked her.

She nodded.

He turned to Sophie, intending to make peace between the two ladies in his life, but saw an empty chair instead. His stomach plummeted and a wave of emptiness swept through him. “Where-”

“She slipped out,” his mother said.

“I’m sorry.” Lizzie glanced at him through wide, too-innocent eyes.

He doubted her sincerity, but now wasn’t the time to get into it. As much as he wanted to go after Sophie, he intended to settle some things within his immediate family first. His father had rejoined them, and if the whispering was any indication, his mother had filled him in on what had just happened.

Based on recent experience, he’d never have them all together in one room again. “I have something I want to discuss. It’s something that affects us all, and Lizzie needs to be part of the conversation.”

“What’s up?” Lizzie asked.

Riley drew a deep breath. He hadn’t slept last night and, as much as he’d like to blame his insomnia on thoughts of making love to Sophie, he’d had other things on his mind as well. Like winning Sophie back.

And cleaning house, he thought. There was no way he could try to bring Sophie into his life until he proved to himself and to her that he was a man capable of dealing with some serious issues in his life. He knew she thought of him as a guy with a girl in every city, and for a while, that hadn’t been far from the truth. The fact that he wasn’t like that anymore didn’t matter without proof that he wanted to set his life in order.

He’d caused much of his daughter’s attitude and problems by spoiling her. He’d acted with the best of intentions, but he’d screwed up and it was time he admitted it.

“You were right when you said that I never called you on your actions before Sophie came into the picture.”

“You see? I knew she was the problem!” Lizzie said triumphantly.

He shook his head. “Not the problem, but the solution.”

“I don’t get it,” Lizzie said warily.

“I don’t either, son.” Harlan held his wife’s hand and spoke for them both.

He smiled grimly. “You will once I explain. I let Lizzie get away with having an attitude, with acting like a spoiled brat-”

“Hey!” She interrupted, jumping from her seat.

“Sit down and let me talk,” he said in his sternest voice.

She sat.

“I didn’t want to be the bad guy because I was afraid of losing you, of having no relationship with you the way-”

“The way we did for a while, right?” Harlan asked quickly.

Too quickly. He had interrupted Riley in order to keep him from mentioning Spencer’s name. Riley glanced at the man who’d raised him. “It has to be said.”

His mother raised a trembling hand to cover her mouth, but she said nothing.

“What has to be said? What’s going on?” Lizzie asked.

“Nothing,” Harlan said.

“Everything,” Riley countered. “Mom, Dad? You raised me well and I love you both. But you raised me to value honesty above everything else and I can’t move forward with my life if I don’t come clean with Lizzie now.”

Harlan clenched his jaw. “She’s thirteen. I think you’re asking a lot of a thirteen-year-old to keep this kind of secret.”

Riley’s attention settled on his daughter. Her face was contorted in confusion. “I trust her,” he said, hoping to convey his love for her, as well.

Harlan rose. “Well, pardon me if I don’t sit here and watch you bury this family and my career,” he muttered and walked from the room.

“I’ll calm him down.” Anne turned to Riley. “I understand why you need to do this,” she said, granting him the one thing he needed most right now: her understanding.

“Thanks. Just one question before you go. When did you find out about Spencer? Did you know all along?”

“I found out through the papers like everyone else,” she said, and from the sad tone in her voice, Riley believed her.

“We’ll talk later,” he promised.

She nodded and followed the path her husband had taken. Riley trusted in his parents’ marriage as much as he trusted in…in Sophie, he realized. And he knew that he was sitting here now, about to divulge his entire past to his daughter, so that he could have a future with Sophie.

The woman he loved.

He’d thought it last night and had only grown more certain after making love to her on the field. In the time since Spencer’s disappearance, his life had undergone a bigger transformation than he’d ever thought possible. Finding out his real father was gay had forced Riley to come to terms with so much in his life, he almost owed the old man a thank you.

But first…he faced his daughter.

Almost an hour later, Lizzie knew everything, from Harlan not being his real father to Spencer Atkins being his biological one. She’d been sincere when she’d promised to keep the news to herself, but she’d laughed a lot, too. Nothing less than he’d expected from a thirteen-year-old girl.

They talked about their relationship and the changes that they’d both have to make going forward, hugging and crying as they tried to negotiate and agree. One of the deals they made was Lizzie’s promise to apologize to Sophie.

Riley actually felt good, as if he were making progress. When he’d revealed that he intended to do everything he could to make Sophie part of their family, Lizzie had turned back to his obnoxious, rebellious thirteen-year-old once more.

And all was right with Riley’s world.

ALL AROUND RILEY, everything was wrong. From the moment he and his female companions had stepped onto the plane, earlier than planned because he refused to let Sophie fly home by herself, to the minute they’d walked out of the gate at JFK, chaos had reigned.

Lizzie was angry they were cutting their trip short, and though she’d apologized to Sophie as he’d demanded, her I’m sorry had lacked any sincerity whatsoever and she’d refused to speak the entire flight home.

Sophie had withdrawn, as well. When he’d discovered her packing in her room, all she would say was that the father-daughter bond was sacred and she refused to come between them and cause a rift. After all, she’d reminded him, his biggest fear had been ending up estranged from Lizzie, as he’d been from Spencer. She was doing him a favor, she’d said, and she felt certain he’d come to see it and even thank her one day.

Like hell.

Riley planned for Lisa to pick Lizzie up from the airport, leaving him time alone to deal with Sophie. Because his ex missed their daughter, she’d agreed. Lisa had shown up as planned and whisked the sullen child away, winking at Riley and shooting him a thumbs-up signal behind Sophie’s back.

His ex-wife approved of his choice in women. Whoopee, Riley thought. Still, he appreciated her help in giving him a chance to win Sophie over.

Until he heard someone call Sophie’s name. He turned and saw her sister Micki and her husband, retired baseball player Damian Fuller.

“I’m sure I told you I’d take you home,” Riley said before Micki reached them.

Sophie didn’t look at him. “I didn’t want to put you out so I called my sister.”

“So I see.” And he didn’t miss the irony.

When Sophie had insisted he act like Lizzie’s parent instead of her friend, Riley had used her words as an excuse to pull away. Now, when he took her advice and laid down the law with his daughter, acting like the parent Sophie had wanted him to be, she pulled away from him.

And Riley saw it as the excuse he knew it to be. Unfortunately he had no time to call Sophie on it, because Micki ran to the luggage carousel and threw her arms around Sophie, hugging her hard.

“It’s been so long!” Micki exclaimed.

Sophie hugged her sister back, laughing and grinning in a way Riley hadn’t seen-ever. This was the Sophie he’d always imagined, the warm, loving woman who had everything she wanted and needed in her life. Except, her sisters were married and Sophie was alone.

Riley was right. She needed him, too. She just didn’t know it yet.

“Two weeks and you and Damian deserved every last minute. But I am so glad you’re home.” Sophie pulled her sister tight once more.

“Women.” Damian Fuller gestured to the two blondes making a spectacle of themselves.