Nightfire by Lisa Marie Rice Page B

her eyes and hands and feet.
    She would never have children.
    So she had never, ever thought she could hold in her arms a beautiful little girl who looked just like her. A dream so impossible she’d never even had it, never even thought of it.
    And yet, here it was. A tiny miracle, in her arms. Grace.
    Gracie wriggled a little, kicking madly, then suddenly settled, eyes wide open and fixed on her face as if upon a star. Chloe watched her perfect little face, and to the end of her days would swear that Gracie smiled up at her, a large, gummy toothless smile that simply clenched Chloe’s heart in an iron grip, never to let go.
    And Chloe knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she wanted to be as much a part of this little girl’s life as her parents would allow. And judging by the pleased look on Harry’s and Ellen’s faces, that would be a lot.
    Gracie’s crying wound down to gentle cooing as Chloe rocked her. She lost track of time, forgot they were expected upstairs for a meal, forgot that she should settle into her bedroom, forgot everything as she stared into Gracie’s beautiful golden eyes, stroking her cheek, marveling that human skin could be so soft, drowning in the waves of love going back and forth between her and her niece.
    Suddenly, the utter silence in the room caused her to break away from Gracie’s magnetic gaze and look up. Harry stood with his arm around Ellen, whose cheeks were wet. She, Harry and Mike were staring at her, Mike with a laser-like intensity.
    “What?” Why were they looking at her?
    Ellen swiped at her cheeks. “Gracie’s been fussing and crying for days now. She stopped crying the instant you held her in your arms. You have a natural way with children, Chloe.”
    Wow, how wrong could a woman be? Chloe had no way with kids, none at all. She’d never been around kids, knew nothing about them. Everything she’d done with Gracie had been pure instinct.
    Like with Mike.
    She blushed to the roots of her hair, bending over Gracie so they wouldn’t see.
    A cell phone rang and Harry’s deep voice answered. “Yep, introducing Gracie to Chloe. Yeah, they liked each other. Coming right up.”
    He clapped his big hands together. “Okay, guys, Sam is sucking up all the champagne and Manuela’s food is getting cold. Chloe, honey, you can get settled in here after lunch. Is that all right with you? You hungry?”
    Chloe lifted her head, surprised. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
    And she was . Chloe was never hungry. In the hospital she’d sometimes been put on drips because she couldn’t eat. Even now, she ate little and rarely felt hunger. Often her stomach clenched tightly closed in protest at the thought of food.
    Now she was ravenous . Mike’s kiss, the orgasm, holding a child in her arms who looked just like her—it had opened up a huge hole in her stomach and the thought of food upstairs, to be eaten with these happy, welcoming, magical people . . .
    “Let’s go, then.” Harry started ushering them to the door.
    Chloe looked down at the little girl in her arms. Gracie’s translucent eyelids were almost completely closed. She gave a gusty little sigh and smiled again. Chloe would swear to it.
    “Chloe?” Harry stood at the door, Ellen beside him. Mike was by her side.
    “She’s falling asleep,” Chloe whispered. “I don’t want to wake her.”
    “No,” Ellen’s eyes widened in horror, “don’t wake her. Do you feel like carrying her up? It’s just a few floors up in the elevator.”
    At any other moment in her life, Chloe would have recoiled at the thought of being responsible for a child in her arms. Walking, holding a baby. She had trouble keeping herself upright at times. She sometimes tripped unexpectedly. She was not in complete control of her body and carrying a tiny baby was not a good idea.
    But she’d claw the eyes out of anyone who took this child from her arms. She was suddenly infused with a huge dose of physical confidence. She was absolutely convinced that