Intimate Strangers by Danielle Taylor Page A

fenced in, as he would only expect of the paranoid man, especially now that he was a father twice over.
    To his right, Tiaan located the two-tiered deck. The top tier was for entertaining, with a large table and chairs, a barbecue, and even an outdoor refrigerator. The second tier was smaller and cozy, with loveseats and an outdoor fireplace. It was here he took her too and sat Chelsea down next to him.
    “Right, I’m just going to come out and say this, so please don’t interrupt. I won’t be hurt if you decline but I don’t want you to go through life wondering ‘what if?’ I want you to be happy, I want you to have no regrets. The first thing on the list is going to see your parents. I’ve purchased the tickets, just on the off chance that you’d want to go and see them.”
    He waited, expecting to see annoyance, outrage perhaps, taking over the sweetly innocent look she wore. Golden eyes wide, Chelsea stared at him, jaw slack, mouth hanging open.
    “Bad idea. Shit.” He shoved the heels of his palms into his eye sockets. “I’m sorry.”
    “No.” She shook her head, regaining her composure. “No, I just, I didn’t expect… Of all the things you could have said to me just now, I didn’t think you’d come out with that.”
    Tiaan swallowed, unsure of how to proceed. Was she upset with him for asking? Did she feel inclined to go or did she not want to even think about it?
    “So um, when uh…” her breath hitched at the contact of his hand on her bare knee. “You’d come too?”
    He answered quickly. “Of course I would.”
    Chelsea nodded. “Okay. When do you want to go?”
    Eyes bugging and brows raised in shock, Tiaan squared his shoulders, asking, “You want to go? I didn’t think…I mean, I thought you’d object to the trip.”
    She sighed, shoulders drooping, and eyes falling to the deck. “I’ve been really upset with them – no, that’s a lie. I’ve hated my parents for not even wanting to meet Ruan. But I always thought, if I had the time and money, I’d love to show up at their house and introduce them to their grandson.” Chelsea lifted her gaze to his. “Then, if they still want to be cruel and ignore us, at least I can say I tried. Ruan doesn’t need people like that in his life.” Her breath quivered, as if she was about to cry. “They wanted me to…to…” Her arm swiped across her eyes to collect the tears as they fell. “They wanted me to have an abortion.”
    Anger mushroomed in his gut, but was swiftly replaced by heartache. A world without his son wasn’t a world he wanted to be a part of. Same went for Chelsea.
    “I want to show my parents how wrong were when they told me having this baby would ruin my life. Yeah, I’ve got some debt – which Mac and Hannah are helping me with – but I can’t imagine life without Ruan. He’s my…my reason for everything.”
    She came willingly into his arms then, releasing a few shuddering breaths against his shoulder, and for a few moments he relished in the embrace and the fantasy his mind created from it. That he was her rock, the foundation on which she relied for her strength and courage. Such a thing wasn’t true, of course, but pretending felt heavenly.
    “When do we leave?” Chelsea whispered, the heat of her breath on his neck sent shivers down his spine and reminded him what she was capable of with her breath and her mouth.
    Tiaan smoothed his hand over her hair. Then he buried his fingers near the roots and held on for dear life. “Tomorrow, if you’d like.”
    Chelsea sighed happily, curving against his frame. “Sounds perfect.”
    He didn’t know how long they sat there for, wrapped up in their own little world. Quite frankly, Tiaan didn’t care if he missed supper whilst holding her in his arms. He didn’t want to let go, not even when Ruan’s shrill cries snapped his eyes open and jolted his mind back to reality. However, there was something he wished to learn and now seemed as good a time as