Page 41 of Roark
“You should do that more often.”
“What? Be entertained by a woman I just met?”
With her free hand, she pushed her hair back behind her ear. “No. Laugh. I mean, I guess I’m glad I’m entertaining you. Your laugh is so honest but it always seems like you’re as shocked by it as whoever is around you. That tells me you don’t laugh enough. Why is that?”
She was way too intuitive where he was concerned, but he didn’t mind as much as he probably he should have. “I thought I laughed enough.” Laughing actually hadn’t crossed his mind at all. “I guess I’m mostly relaxed enough to laugh when I’m around my family. And I tend to be in the office more than at home with them, so that probably says a lot.”
They were walking at an easy pace; the air was warm, but not humid. What Roark noticed most about where they were was the quiet. It was so peaceful here, and that was exactly what he’d been searching for.
“You have a huge family.” She sounded almost amazed. “I saw so many names online and the businesses they’re connected to. The Donovans don’t half-ass in any industry, do they?”
“There are a lot of Donovans around the world, but not as many here in the UK. My mother hated that we weren’t brought up in close proximity with the rest of our cousins.”
“But you’re still close to them, right? I mean, you and Cade sounded close on the phone earlier.”
“I’m closer to Cade than the others from the US because Cade’s been to the UK more. He comes when he’s on special international cases. Like Pierce does, I guess. I’ve seen him more as an adult. My cousin Linc just moved here two years ago, so I’ve gotten closer to him and his family. He has two beautiful twin girls, and his wife Jade is pregnant again.”
“Do you want children?”
Roark stopped walking. “Why would you ask me that? Do you want children?”
Her eyes widened and he presumed she was as shocked as he’d been by her question. She pulled her hand from his. This time she put both hands on her hips, an action that spread her jacket open wider and drew his attention to how tight the white material of her shirt was stretched over her breasts. “Relax, I’m not about to tell you I’m pregnant.” There was a hint of laughter to her voice, but the look of irritation was clear on her face. “You’re so uptight about everything. We used a condom last night, remember? I just noticed the way your voice became lighter when you mentioned Linc’s kids. It sounded like someday you might want kids of your own. That’s the only reason I asked.”
He huffed and shook his head. “See, this is why I needed to come to the country. I can’t even answer simple questions.”
“You could if you weren’t so worried about giving the wrong answer.”
“I never give the wrong answer,” he immediately replied.
“Then you’re afraid of what the right answer is.”
“I—” He was about to deny her comment but decided against it. Instead he started to walk again. “My mother wanted grandchildren. Katrina and I didn’t stay together long enough to give her any.”
She fell into step beside him. “My mom wants a house full of grandchildren. At least she did before my dad died. Every year for my birthday since I was twenty-five she gives me a pregnancy test as a way of nudging me toward that goal.”
Roark chuckled. “Not too subtle, huh.”
“Not at all. And if anybody ever buys my storage unit, they’ll be in possession of a box full of pregnancy tests.”
They both laughed.
“I’d like to have children one day.” The admission had Roark breathing a little easier, and he wondered why he just hadn’t given that response before.
“Me too.” Her reply came quickly, like there wasn’t really anything for her to contemplate.
He stopped again, this time taking both her hands and holding them in his. “I like you, Tamika.” Since he was being honest, he figured he should get that out of the way.
She looked up at him, giving the wide grin he was becoming accustomed to. “I like you, Roark.” She shrugged and eased a hand away from his to brush hair out of her face when a cool breeze blew. “I think we showed how much we like each other last night.”
And here it was, that awkwardness that came with the “morning after” that he always tried to avoid. Sure, it was nearing two in the afternoon, but this was actually the first chance they’d had alone. “I thought last night was really good.” So good, he’d considered a repeat performance most of the morning.
She took a step closer to him, using her free hand to cup his cheek. “It was. But you know it was only sex. ‘Relationships that start under intense circumstances, they never last’.” When he only stared at her, she laughed. “That’s what Sandra Bullock said to Keanu Reeves inSpeed. You did watchSpeed, didn’t you, Roark?”
He shook his head but still managed to grin. “I don’t have a lot of time to watch movies. But you’re right, neither of us are in a position to start anything serious. You’ll be returning to the States when this is all over, and I have my work in London.”
“Right, that’s what I said.” She held tight to his hand and they started walking back toward the car. “We can get Dorianne to cook us something spectacular for dinner, and then we’ll watch some movies. You came here to relax, and even though there’s a psychopath arsonist on the loose, we’re gonna take tonight to do just that.”
Roark enjoyed the sound of optimism in her voice and the spark of energy in every step she took. He found himself chuckling again. “I take it you plan to pick the movies we’re going to watch.” It was more of a statement than a question, because Tamika definitely had a take-charge attitude.
