Far from Perfect (Perfect, Indiana: Book One) by Longley Barbara

Author:Longley, Barbara [Longley, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AmazonEncore
Published: 2012-10-23T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CEEJAY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT UPSET her more, the fact that Noah thought he should adopt her daughter, or that he’d taken her out on a date solely to further that harebrained scheme. He made her crazy. Once she was safely inside, she slipped the sandals off her feet and dropped them by the front door. Swiping at the tears dampening her cheeks, she headed upstairs to check on Lucinda.

Disappointment ate at her. And embarrassment. The man could turn her into a quivering mass of sex-starved Jell-O with nothing more than a freaking look. The one that smoldered and said he wanted more than kisses. Had she imagined the heat? Was it all one-sided?

Of course it was.

He’d been softening her up for the big announcement. How’d he put it before? Oh, yeah. He’d been working up to it.

Poor Little Bit, abandoned by her own mother...She closed her mind to the painful refrain echoing inside her eyes were riveted on heronjo, heart and balled her hands into fists. I’m not that little girl anymore. She was a grown woman with a great career and a bright future. This time, she’d be the one to walk away.

Sweet Pea waited for her at the top of the stairs. “Hey big guy, you love me, don’t you?” She gave him a scratch behind one ear. His tail started to whip back and forth, and he followed her to Lucinda’s door. Ceejay opened it slowly and tiptoed in to stand next to the bed. She gazed at her little girl through the sheen of tears blurring her eyesight. Lucinda had Boo-Bear clutched to her chest. She slept on her side with her covers thrown off. Two fingers were firmly planted in her mouth, and her dark curls clung to her damp forehead. She looked like an angel. My angel.

Getting through college had been an uphill struggle all the way. Being responsible for an infant, working at the diner, and taking a full load of credits—she’d had no time for herself. She’d never been able to go out and party or blow off steam like her friends. Her circumstances had set her apart and kept her isolated, but not once had she ever regretted her decision to keep Lucinda. Not once. A fierce love and the certainty that she’d walk through fire for her little girl filled her until she ached from the force of it.

Ceejay disentangled the sheet twisted around Lucinda’s legs and pulled it up to her chin. She smoothed the ringlets from her forehead. Leaning down, she kissed her good night. The scent of baby shampoo and soap wafted up from her sleeping form. Lucinda never doubted being loved or wanted. Ceejay had made sure of that. She’d worked hard to be the kind of mother Lucinda deserved. She straightened and tiptoed toward the hall.

Did Noah find her so lacking as a parent that he felt he had to step up to the daddy plate? What gave him the right to judge her, anyway? Damn him.

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