Free Beneath the Covers (Kimani Romance) by Dara Girard Page A

friendship became a distant memory.
    Peter burned their brunch, but neither cared. All that mattered was being with each other. They didn’t eat anything until dinnertime, which Peter ordered in. The next morning they snuggled on the sofa while Peter watched TV.
    “Oh, wait!” Claudia said as Peter flipped through the channels. “I love this movie.”
    Peter frowned at the black-and-white image. “What is it?”
    “ Love Affair. A classic. They remade it as An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant, but I’ve always loved the original. It’s about two people who meet on a cruise and agree to meet in six months at the Empire State Building. Tragedy and misunderstandings get between them, but their love never wavers. Can we watch it?”
    Because he would have done anything for her, Peter said yes. Claudia cried at the same places she always did and sighed in others. When the movie was over, she rested her head on Peter’s shoulders. “Thank you.”
    “She should have told him,” Peter said.
    “She loved him too much to be a burden to him.”
    He frowned. “If he loved her, she wouldn’t be. I don’t think love needs to be tested.”
    “Love is always tested.”
    He kissed her forehead. “Nothing could keep me away from you,” he said then switched the channel to a crime drama and Claudia read the daily newspaper she’d picked up at the convenience store because Peter didn’t have a subscription.
    She gasped when she read the lead story.
    “What?”
    She sat up. “Early yesterday morning a man was found tied to a pole by his belt with his pants pulled down.”
    “Amazing the things that happen,” Peter said without interest.
    “They won’t release his name, but he had to be taken to the hospital. He’d been badly beaten.” She paused. “Peter, you didn’t.”
    He raised his eyebrows in innocence. “I didn’t what?”
    “I wish I could have seen him.”
    “Me, too.” They never talked about the incident again.
     
     
    “You don’t seem surprised about us,” Claudia said weeks later when Darius came to visit.
    “That night he told me he wanted you, but you turned him down. He tried to make things work with Tamara, but after meeting you, she didn’t have a chance. You accept him as he is. You make him feel proud. He’s still a little sensitive about his disability.”
    “Disability?”
    “Yeah, dyslexia. He doesn’t talk about it, but you won’t catch him reading unless it’s for work, and don’t even try to read his handwriting. In a family of academics, he’s the black sheep. He got held back twice in elementary school, and even after his diagnosis his parents expected better. His older brother, Thomas, was considered the smart one.”
    “Was?”
    “Yes, but that’s another subject. You’ll have to wait to hear that story from him.”
    However, Peter never talked about his family. He preferred action to talking and took her boating, bowling, rowing, running and swimming. He treated Claudia to fine-dining restaurants she’d never been to where she tasted an array of culinary delights. They had weekend trips to New York, where they went to museums and the theater. He showered her with gifts—flowers, candy—especially her favorite, caramel chocolate—trinkets and expensive jewelry.
    For Claudia it felt almost too wonderful to last, and it didn’t after she got a call from her mother. Her sister’s bulimia had landed her in the hospital and her mother needed Claudia’s help to take care of her sister over the next couple of months.
    “I wish I didn’t have to go,” Claudia said as she packed her things. “I love my family, but it’s difficult being with them.” She looked at Peter as he sat on the other side of the bed. “With you I don’t feel so alone.”
    “You can have me forever if you want.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Marry me.” He took her hand in his and drew her down next to him.
    It was an impulsive declaration, but Claudia didn’t hesitate when she