Free Parallel Desire by Deidre Knight Page B

about her research trip to Mirror Lake—and he'd promised to stay long enough for them to have a visit.
    "Kelsey, please." She remembered him catching her by the arm as she'd rushed to leave the bar where they were having drinks. "It's important to me that you get to know Blaire."
    Kelsey walked farther down the hall, so she and her father could have more privacy. Dropping her voice low, she turned to him. "You're always dating people," she said. "What's the big deal this time?" Tears burned her eyes because, deep down, she already knew the answer that was coming.
    Her father's expression grew intense, serious; he hesitated, then cleared his throat. "Because I've asked Blaire to marry me, Kelsey. She's going to be part of our family. She is a wonderful woman," he said, keeping his voice even. "You will love her, like I do."
    "No, I won't love her." Her throat tightened, aching. "I can't believe you'd do this to our family." She spun away from him and began hurrying down the carpeted hallway toward the elevator.
    Her father followed right behind. "I have never stopped loving your mother," he said, falling into an easy stride beside her. "But it's lonely without her. I want to have someone. A partner in life."
    She rounded on him. " I don't have a partner in life, Daddy! I don't have anyone," she cried. "And I am fine with that."
    Her father lifted a hand, stroking her hair. "Are you really so sure about that, angel?"
    Kelsey opened her mouth, ready to retort, ready to deny—to insist that strong people stood fine on their own. But somehow, despite her ready arguments, her throat had tightened and no words had come at all.
    Of course he'd been right; how well she understood that fact now, the way she'd always pined for Jared after their memories of meeting each other years before had been erased. How restless she'd been.
    Kelsey gripped both hands about the sink, feeling a sudden wave of dizziness, a frequent occurrence these days . I have no idea if he and Blaire are together anymore. I know nothing about his past five months .
    She couldn't help but feel guilty. And angry. That same bitter, roiling fury that had dogged her from the time her mother had died, and her father had uprooted them in a move to D.C. Staring at her full belly once again, she noticed that the skin had started to glow.
    I can't get upset, not with Erica inside of me.
    She loved her father so much, and yet few people had ever held the power to hurt her as deeply as he did.
    Today will be different, she vowed. Today we'll get along.

Chapter Six

    K elsey's stomach churned with nervous anxiety, causing Erica to kick and churn in response. "You're going to meet your granddad today," Kelsey murmured, rubbing her round belly.
    "I'm so happy that you'll get to share your pregnancy with him." Jared gave her a slightly wistful smile.
    She slid her hand through the crook of Jared's arm, pulling him closer. "You're thinking of your own parents."
    He smiled, stroking her cheek tenderly. "They would love you just like I do—and our baby? They would have showered her with royal jewels and ceremonies until"—he laughed, a distant look in his eyes—"well, until she came of age, most likely. Yes, love, I miss them and wish they could meet my family."
    His mother and father had been murdered when Jared was barely more than ten years old, placing him on the throne when he was still just a child. He'd lost more than his family then; he'd lost his youth and his innocence, something Kelsey had grown to understand more deeply during this pregnancy. She missed her own mother more than she had in a long time, years really, wishing she could share all the utile details of her pregnancy, her fears and hopes for baby Erica. Her disconnection from her father had made those melancholy feelings only more pronounced—the main reason Jared was willing to risk Patrick Wells's visit to the base today.
    A diplomatic officer joined the two of them. "My lord, once our