Free Kismet: A Serendipity Novella by Carly Phillips Page A

heart and her soul,
sensing this was the last time she’d hear them out loud.
    And as he took over her body, coming inside
her, he carried her up and over with him. Stars exploded around
her, inside her, shattering her heart in the process.
    When their breathing slowed and he pulled
out, separating their bodies, he curled himself around her and held
her tight. Neither said a word, Lissa holding back sobs but letting
the tears fall. And later still, when hours passed, he’d made love
to her one more time before she fell into a fitful sleep.
    Lissa awoke to the feel of him sliding away
from her and out of bed just as the sun began to creep through the
window.
    She knew her options. She’d weighed them
each time she woke in his arms during the night—remain silent,
pretend to be asleep, and avoid a painful goodbye; or get up and
fight for what she wanted.
    She’d spent yesterday telling herself it was
better for them to separate now, but the more she thought about it,
the more she had to ask herself why. Fate had brought them back
together at a time when they had no obstacles in their way, unless
they put them there. This time there was no pregnancy and no other
man.
    True, Lissa had a child, but why couldn’t
Trevor get to know Livvy and accept her as Lissa’s little girl, and
eventually as his own? Many men accepted other men’s children. Even
with their intertwined past, they should be able to do this.
    She owed it to herself to at least reach for
what she wanted. Heart pounding, Lissa pulled herself to a sitting
position in bed, lifting the sheet to cover her naked body. “Trev?”
she asked softly.
    He turned. The only light in the room came
from the sun filtering through the drapery. “I didn’t mean to wake
you,” he said.
    “Were you going to just slip out without
saying goodbye?” She brushed her tangled hair off her face.
    “I would’ve left a note.” He sounded as
sheepish as he ought to feel, Lissa thought.
    “Don’t go yet.” She patted the space beside
her, but he remained standing and shook his head.
    “I thought ... I think we should make this
as easy on ourselves as possible.”
    She raised her eyebrows. “Says the man who
insisted this wasn’t closure? That if it hurt, it meant there was
still something between us?” she asked, throwing his own words back
in his face. “I admit I’m the one who was ready to throw us away,
but I was wrong. What changed on your end?” she asked, hating how
her voice trembled. But she had to know what happened.
    “I thought about what you said yesterday.
About the things that separated us. And I thought about something
Alex said.”
    Uh-oh
. Lissa’s heart began to thud
against her chest in a painful beat. “And what was that?”
    Trevor reached for his slacks, pulling them
on before speaking. “He brought up more things than just the
distance between New York and Serendipity and the disparity in our
lifestyles. He said I shouldn’t push you for anything until I was
sure I could accept everything your life involves.”
    And in that moment, Lissa knew exactly what
Alex had said. “You aren’t sure you could accept Brad’s child as
your own,” she said dully, the pain hurting so much more than she
could have planned for.
    He spread his hands in front of him, as he
so obviously searched for the words to explain. “It’s more than
that. It’s whether I’m ready to be a father. To be honest, I gave
up that dream when I lost you. I dove into college, work, and
making a life for myself.”
    Lissa nodded slowly, digesting his words,
believing part, dismissing the rest. “Let’s be clear, okay? This
has nothing to do with whether or not you want to be a father.
Whether you can adjust your bachelor life. This is about me having
Brad’s baby and you having to face that every time you look at my
daughter.”
    Her jerked as if she’d struck him, but to
his credit, he pulled himself together.
    He rolled his shoulders back and met her
gaze. “I don’t