Free A Child's Heart: Book Number Two in the Who's Your Daddy series by Rhonda Marks

mountains. There was no way I could contact you from there.” He again started for the stairs, leaving Nitika staring after him. Suddenly he stopped and turned to face her. “The ball is in your court, Nitika.”
    Those words hung in the air as she watched him climb the stairs. What was she going to do now?
     
    Chapter Nine
    “Are you ready to go?” Nitika peered up the staircase and shook her head. Today was Tesia’s first day back to school and the child had changed her clothes three times already. “Baby, pick an outfit and get downstairs. You need to eat before we leave.”
    “Coming, Mommy!”
    Nitika smiled as she put the finishing touches on their oatmeal and poured steaming cups of hot chocolate. It had been a long, hard struggle, but her baby was in remission and cleared to interact with other children. Three months ago she thought this day would never come.
    Three months ago she had no idea that a man she now freely admitted she loved with all her heart would walk into her life, either. And now it’s been two long weeks since he walked out that front door and gave her an ultimatum. “The ball was in her court.” But she had no clue how to play the game. Or if she wanted to do so at all.
    She’d placed so many barriers around her heart over the years, she honestly didn’t know how to remove them. Protecting herself had become second nature, just like getting up each morning and combing Tesia’s hair. Anyone who dared to breach her barricades were quickly rebuffed and sent packing.
    So why’d she let Javier get so close? Everything would be just fine now if she’d simply kept her heart and libido under control.
    Part of her wanted to say the hell with him and go back to living like she had before, focusing all her energy and attention on Tesia’s well-being, ignoring her own longings. For a man and a loving relationship. For peace of mind. For a normal life without the burden of distrust weighing her down.
    In the back of her mind she knew that she could have all of that and more if she simply allowed Javier to step inside her heart. But fear of what could happen blocked the door to their possible happiness.
    She knew that the only one who could open that door was her, and she needed to make a decision soon. Javier still came around to see their daughter, barely tossing a word in her direction when he walked in the door. Truthfully, she couldn’t blame him. By the expression on his face, he was hurting just as much as she. And she held the key to end their suffering, or maybe a new beginning for them all.
    Tesia bounded into the kitchen with a wide smile on her little face, cutting Nitika’s too-bad-so-sad session short. Today was all about her baby and her return to school. She’d have plenty of time later to think about herself. Yeah, plenty of time.
     
    “So, has she come around yet?” Antonio stabbed a piece of calamari with his fork and popped it into his mouth.
    “No,” Javier said glumly. He took a sip of his soda and cast his gaze in the direction of a family sitting near their table in the restaurant. The father joking around with his daughter while the mother fed their son. Pain gripped his heart thinking how that could be him and Nitika if she wasn’t so stubborn.
    It hurt him to the core every time he went to her home to see Tesia. He had to keep repeating to himself that she needed to make the next move in their relationship. She needed to get over her mistrust and see that he only wanted the best for all of them.
    “So what are you going to do about Tesia? Have you considered getting a court order for visitation?”
    “For right now I’m holding off on that. Nitika lets me come by anytime to see her.”
    “But will that continue?” Javier shot his brother a dirty look and Antonio held up his hands. “I’m just asking, bro.”
    Javier blew out an exasperated breath. “I’m sorry. I should n’t be taking out my anger on you. It’s just that I don’t understand what’s