A Chance in the Night by Kimberly Van Meter Page A

expression causing Christian to chuckle. “If that happened I’d laugh a lot. She deserves it. She makes my mama sad.”
    “How does she make her sad?” he asked.
    Nico shrugged. “She calls Mama bad names.”
    “Bad names? Like what?”
    Nico bit his lip, plainly caught between wanting to tell but not sure if he should. Christian didn’t want to put the kid in a bad spot so he said, “Don’t worry about it. She’s not here right now so we don’t have to talk about her anymore. Okay?”
    Nico looked relieved. “Okay,” he agreed with a grin. “So, do you have little kids, too?”
    “Nope,” Christian answered. “Maybe someday, though.” Funny, he’d never really thought about it, having kids and settling down. Probably because he’d been so single-mindedly focused on getting his club off the ground, the thought of a wife and kids wasn’t even a blip on his radar. And because of that, he was ultracareful in the love department. He didn’t want any accidental babies popping up on his doorstep. “You close to your dad?” he asked.
    Nico shook his head but he didn’t look sad about it as he answered, “I don’t have a dad.”
    Hmm…no dad. Everyone had a father. Another interesting piece of the puzzle. So if the man Nico was referring to earlier wasn’t his father, who was he? For that matter, who was the scary woman?
    Christian mulled the information over in his head. His gaze skipped to Skye who was showing the girls some simple stretches and when she flashed him a quick smile filled with joy and elation, he stuffed down the troubling question for later and simply returned the smile. It could wait.

    S KYE’S MUSCLES WERE PROTESTING the unexpected workout but it felt like heaven. She glanced at Christian from beneath her lashes and a well of sweetness threatened to spill over into her voice as she thanked him, yet again, for the unexpected gift.
    He graced her with another of those dimpled grins that caused her insides to do an uncomfortable flip and she wondered what he’d do if she simply leaned over and captured his lips with her own. What kind of kisser was he? Was he passive, allowing his partner to take control, content to let the woman dictate the pace and tone? Or did a fierce hunger to dominate lie in wait for the right moment to pounce? She suppressed a shiver that came out of nowhere and she had to wonder at herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she had the luxury of discovery. She wondered if she even recalled her preference. All she knew for sure was she didn’t want Belleni. It felt good to be in control of her own feelings, to allow something to unfurl naturally rather than forcing it to get the job done.
    “Everything okay?” Christian asked when he saw her frown.
    “Yeah,” she assured him with a bright smile to chase away the shadows that might be lurking in her gaze. “So I cleared my schedule for today…what do you say we put together a picnic and claim a spot in the park?”
    He checked his watch. “Sure. I got some time. There’s a little market not far from here we could pick up a few things. We don’t even need to take a cab. We can walk.”
    “Perfect.” She clasped Nico’s hand and they set off at a leisurely pace. After a few minutes, she said, “You know it was so great to work with the kids. I never considered teaching dance before but I think I might actually be good at it.” She risked a look his way, curious if he agreed.
    “You looked like a natural to me,” he said. “Tell me why you don’t dance professionally any longer?”
    She knew this question was bound to pop up sooner or later but she’d hoped that maybe more time would pass before it did. It was difficult to talk about her time before Belleni came into her life, when dancing was everything. But she felt she owed Christian something for the gift he’d given her. She drew a deep breath before beginning.
    “As I told you previously, I came to New York to dance with the New York