If I'd Only Known (Milan Women Series Book 1) by C.A. Johnson Page B

fills it. Still, Barrington just was not
at the point of surrendering his all to someone he could not even lay his eyes
on. Regardless of his feelings he did want to hear Perri’s testimony. Who
knows? Maybe it would help draw him in.
    Feeling
the need to change the subject, Journey said, “How long have you guys been home
and when are you going back on the road?”
    Barrington
chuckled. “We’ve been home for two days and we’re scheduled to leave two weeks
from now; unless something comes up. You know how that goes.” He winked at her.
“Since I know you’re dying to ask about Crush, I’ll just go ahead and tell you
he’s good, too.”
    Journey
sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not even sweating him. In fact, until you
brought him up I hadn’t thought of him in God knows when,” she lied knowing she
still had it bad for the only man she’d ever loved; but who refused to give his
heart to any woman though he gave his body to many women.
    “If
you say so,” Barrington said but his grin didn’t conceal his doubts.
    “I
do say so; so there.” After a beat, Journey added, “I guess Crush’s out playing
the field as we speak, huh?”
    Barrington
laughed. “Do you honestly want me answer that?”
    Journey
shrugged.
    “Journey,
my brother’s not the cold hearted jerk you make him out to be.”
    “Whatever.”
    “For
that matter, I’m not the uncaring and unfeeling jerk Perri seems to think I am,
either.”
    “Whatever,”
Perri said, rejoining them with Imani asleep and clinging to her much like a
second skin.
    “You’re
back,” Barrington said as he watched Perri carefully place Imani in her
stroller. “I’ll strap her in since I can’t hold her again now that she’s
asleep.”
    Standing
back with Journey watching Barrington with his daughter, Perri felt guilty for
keeping him in the dark about Imani in the first place. He was so good with
her; very tender and extremely caring. But the selfish part of her still didn’t
fancy the idea that now she’d have to share Imani with Barrington. For thirteen
months including the time she’d carried her in her womb it’d just been Imani
and Perri, and she didn’t want that to change. She knew Imani deserved to know
her daddy, but that didn’t make sharing her with him any easier to take.
    Placing
a warm and tender kiss to Imani’s forehead, Barrington stood and just watched
her for a few more minutes. “How old is she?” He felt silly having to ask.
    “Three
months as of today.”
    Doing
the math in his head, Barrington took a deep breath and blew it out in an
attempt to calm his rising temper at the fact that Perri purposely kept his
daughter a secret from him and his family this long. “So she was born March
third.” There was an awkward silence between them. “You’re seriously going to
make me ask for your number and permission to come visit my daughter later on
this evening?”
    “This
evening?” she repeated with a frown.
    “Yes,
Perri, this evening; you’ve had Imani to yourself for the past year so I don’t
see why you should have a problem giving me equal time, though I am new and
apparently late to the equation thanks to you and your selfish attempt to claim
her all for yourself,” he jumped down her throat completely irritated and
totally fed up with her self-righteous attitude.
    Perri
knew Barrington had a right to feel what he felt; still her feelings were hurt
that he thought so little of her. “That’s not fair, Barrington.”
    “Fair?”
he spat the word like venom. “How fair was it of you to decide I didn’t need to
be a part of my daughter’s life?” Staring at her coldly, he announced, “Trust
me, Perri, you do not want to talk to me about fair right now. It won’t be a
pretty or pleasant conversation I can assure you. And that’s your fault, too;
for now I’m moving on. Now, about me visiting my daughter?”
    Perri
swallowed back a curse and bit her tongue hard instead; counting to ten and
reminding