Wicked Knight

by Sawyer Bennett

  It takes me just a few moments to put the gun back in the cabinet and return to the living room. This is the first time Nelson has ever been to my home.

  I find him surveying the boxes I’d already packed up.

  “Hope’s sleeping, and I don’t want to wake her,” I tell him. He pivots towards me, and I add, “And it would be nice if you called ahead of time. It’s disconcerting to have someone knocking on my door at night when I’m not expecting anyone.”

  He doesn’t acknowledge my request, just says, “Looks like you’re moving.”

  “Yeah,” I reply with a sigh. Same old Nelson, not even listening to me. “An apartment in a better neighborhood now that I can afford to.”

  “Because of my hefty child support,” he grouses.

  I let it go, choosing not to fight with him. It’s just not worth it, and I don’t want to ever rock the boat.

  Nelson’s gaze moves past me into the kitchen, which is also covered in boxes—some packed, some empty. The counters are covered with all the pots, pans, and dishes I’d pulled out to pack.

  His face hardens, and I know what he’s locked eyes on.

  The flowers I received today from Asher. And not just any flowers, but a massive bouquet of stargazer lilies and freesia that smells divine.

  “Now who could be sending you flowers?” he muses out loud in an almost suspicious tone as he brushes past me. I sigh with impatience as I watch him stalk into the kitchen. What the hell does Nelson have to be suspicious of? We’ve been divorced for over a year, and I’m well within my right to date. Moreover, I can’t figure out why he would care. He’s moved on to other women.

  I hold my tongue because with Hope sleeping just down the hall, I don’t want wake her. She’s seen enough of her parents fighting to last a lifetime, and I don’t want to subject her to it anymore if I can help it.

  Nelson snatches the card off to read, and my skin flushes.

  Not with embarrassment that he’s reading it, but because of the actual words that were written. It’s the same flush I felt when I read it this afternoon when they were delivered. The warmth it produced was unlike any I’d felt before.

  Ever.

  And I felt cherished beyond measure. I also realized Asher was making a very concerted effort to “date” me, even though it wasn’t something he’d aspired to do. Hell, he’s even going to help Hope and me move on Saturday, which I never asked him to do. In his bossy way, he merely told me he was going to come help.

  Nelson’s eyes roam the words on the card, and I can see them in my memory since I’d read it probably a dozen times.

  I’m missing you. Thought you should know. Asher.

  “I knew it,” he says in triumph as he tosses the card on the table.

  “Knew what?” I ask, completely confused.

  “That you were fucking Asher Knight,” he says, and it is in a totally gloating way. He’s clearly not jealous or offended. He almost sounds like a guy who has bet money on something.

  “I’m sorry… what?” I manage to say, just not understanding what’s going on.

  Nelson swaggers toward me, his face a mask of superiority. “Your boyfriend came to one of my jobsites the week before last and offered me a guaranteed project on one of his properties if I agreed not to fight you on custody.”

  There’s no stopping the way gravity pulls my jaw downward.

  Nelson seems to think it’s awesome that he gets to inform me of some perfidy Asher has committed. “He told me you were a ‘valued’ employee, but I knew that smelled like bullshit. No one leverages millions of dollars for a goddamn secretary or whatever the hell you do for him.”

  Oh, Nelson… if only you knew what my job actually entails.

  He smugly stares down at me. “What do you think about that?”

  I tap my finger to my chin and gaze up to the ceiling thoughtfully, as if I’m putting effort into pondering how egregious this might be.

  When I bring my eyes back to Nelson, I say, “To be honest, I find it incredibly sexy he’d do that for me. I’m going to have to give him a very big thank you when I see him.”

  Nelson’s complexion goes from white to purple, totally bypassing red. He opens his mouth to say something, then closes it because nothing comes to mind. I can see it in his eyes… he’s offended I’m not offended.

  But why would I be? Asher did something so incredibly thoughtful to save me a world of misery. I could never be mad. I might be a little worried since he now has to do business with Nelson, but I figure Asher is a big boy. Besides, if there was a battle between these two men, I’d wager everything on Asher.

  “So typical of you, Hannah,” Nelson spits out before pivoting on his foot to leave. He stomps through the house, then pulls the door open.

  “Call next time before you come over,” I call out after him.

  He flips me the bird over his shoulder before walking out and slamming the door behind him. I wince and hold still to see if it woke Hope. I don’t hear anything, so I mosey to the door and lock it.

  My phone is in the kitchen, so I go grab it. I sit down at the table where I can smell the fragrance of the gorgeous flowers Asher thought to send me.

  I dial him and settle in, waiting for him to answer. It only takes two rings before his rich, sexy, and confident voice says, “This is a surprise.”

  What’s even better, it sounds like he’s happy about it.

  “Nelson came over,” I say. “He felt the need to tell me how you offered him a project if he wouldn’t fight the custody.”

  “Asshole,” Asher mutters.

  “You didn’t have to do that.” My words are soft but filled with emotion.

  “It was nothing,” he asserts. “I just figured to speed up the process of what I’m sure was going to be the same outcome.”

  “But you gave him a huge project,” I say, the worry in my voice clear.

  “Your husband may be a douche, but his work is good. My company has contracted with him before, so I wasn’t risking much.”

  “It’s a bit of a risk,” I point out, looking at my flowers. “I’m afraid he might do something shitty because you’re involved with me. He saw the flowers. Read the card. He wasn’t happy.”

  “I don’t give a fuck if it has his panties in a twist,” Asher growls. “And if he’s got a problem with it, he needs to man up and come see me. But otherwise, I only care what you think.”

  “Well,” I drawl in a sexy voice. “If you must know, receiving them was the highlight of my day. So thank you again.”

  I’d already called him earlier when they were delivered. He didn’t pick up—probably in a meeting—so I hung up and sent a text thanking him instead. He texted me back, In a meeting, glad you liked.

  I’d smiled, holding the phone and his words to my chest a moment. The ding of another text had me pulling it back.

  More to come, he wrote.

  I sighed like a swoony princess falling hard over her prince.

  Or knight as the case may be.

  “Are you going to be at the apartment in the morning when I get there?” I ask.

  “Yeah, why?” he replies, no hiding the interest in his voice.

  Lowering my voice, I purr into the phone. “Stay in bed and be naked, okay?”

  His voice is gruff. “I can do that.”

  “Good,” I say softly. “Because I intend to give you a really big thank you for what you did with Nelson and getting Hope back for me so quickly. I hope you can handle it.”

  His husky laugh of appreciation tells me that oh yeah… he’s going to like it a lot.

  CHAPTER 25

  Asher

  “M-o-m-m-m-m-y,” Hope yells from her new bedroom. “I need help.”

  Hannah and I are standing side by side at the L-shaped kitchen counter, each with our own box of stuff to unpack.

  I’m more than pleased with Hannah’s choice of place to live. It’s in a much safer area, and she’ll be a little closer to me.

  “What do
you need?” Hannah calls as she shoots me a side grin.

  I reach into my box and pull out a stack of plates that are individually wrapped in newspaper. Sitting them on the counter, I start to unwrap each one, dropping the paper to the floor. I listen to Mom and daughter converse back and forth.

  “My iPad,” Hope yells. “It’s stuck.”

  “Are you trying to buy something in the App store?”

  There’s a long pause. “Um… never mind. I figured it out.”

  Hannah laughs. “I thought Nelson was crazy for buying a five-year-old an iPad, but admittedly there’s a lot of neat learning games on there.”

  “What’s she trying to buy? Porn?” I ask.

  When Hannah shakes her head, her ponytail swings back and forth, making her look like a teenager. All makeup scrubbed from her face and wearing a ratty t-shirt with shorts cut from sweatpants and feet bare. Sexy as fuck. “The games have levels. To advance, you have to buy it.”

  Makes sense. It’s all about monetizing.

  As for Hope and the iPad, I have no clue whether it’s appropriate or not. I don’t know much when it comes to kids.

  “So,” I drawl a bit hesitantly, which gets Hannah’s attention. She shifts to look at me. “What does Hope think about this thing between us?”

  “This thing between us?” she teases with a grin.

  She gets a censuring smirk back from me. I return to unwrapping the plates. “Yeah… I mean… what does she know about me? And you? As in together? Like, should I refrain from giving you affection in front of her? I don’t want her to feel threatened by me, especially since you living full time together is kind of new again.”

  Hannah doesn’t answer so I give her my attention. She’s staring at me with a dopey smile on her face.

  “What?” I ask.

  She shakes her head, putting a hand on my forearm. “It’s just… that you would even care to ask… Or that you just inherently know that could be an issue with a kid. Her own dad never got that.”

  “So we play it very cool for a while,” I suggest.

  She doesn’t respond directly. “When I got the flowers from you, she asked who they were from. I told her they were from you, and she wanted to know right away if we were getting married.”

  My eyebrows shoot up so high and fast that Hannah laughs.

  “Relax,” she croons with a jab to my ribs. “At her age, all women are princesses and they get swept up by their true love and get married. She doesn’t understand what dating is, but she’s a smart girl. She’ll figure it out.”

  I lean over and give her a kiss on her neck. “So we’ll definitely play it cool.”

  “No hot kissing or heavy petting in her presence,” she says with a glitter in her eyes.

  “I’ll follow your lead,” I mutter dryly.

  “Welcome to ‘dating a single mom’.”

  “I’m up for the challenge,” I warn.

  She gives me a warm smile. “I’m glad.”

  Grabbing her empty box, Hannah carries it into the living room where she breaks it down and lays it on a pile of flattened cardboard we’d started.

  “I’m going to go look for the box that has all the sheets so I can make the beds,” she informs me. “It’s going to be time for Hope’s bedtime soon.”

  I nod. “Go. I can finish the kitchen. And maybe after Hope falls asleep, we can fool around?”

  “Damn right we will,” she replies tartly, then blows me a kiss before disappearing down the hall.

  I finish the box of dishes and move on to one containing glassware. I’m halfway through when Hope comes in, glancing at me shyly. The night I took her and her mom trick or treating, she’d warmed up to me significantly, fueled by the magical excitement of the evening and tons of candy.

  But today, it’s kind of starting over again, and we’ve never talked by ourselves. Frankly, I’m a bit terrified because if the kid hates me, Hannah and I are done. I know enough about her as a mother that it must work out between me and Hope if it’s going to work out between me and Hannah.

  I’ve figured it out these last few weeks, and I absolutely want to see where this goes with her.

  I decide to face the situation. Try to develop a rapport with her child. “Need any help with the iPad?” I ask Hope as she walks to the fridge and opens it.

  “No,” she says in a lilting voice. “Mom won’t let me buy stuff on there.”

  That conversation falls flat. But because I’m an entrepreneur and I got my successes from diving right into the deep end, plus flexing the power of money, I decide to take the same tact with Hope.

  “What are some of the fun things around here that you might like to do?” I ask. “Maybe I can take you and your mom somewhere next weekend.”

  She shrugs and pulls a bottle of water out of the fridge, which is all that’s in there except for a pizza box with the two slices that were left from our dinner.

  “How about the Hoover Dam?” I suggest.

  Another shrug, but definitely a slight wrinkle to her nose at the suggestion.

  “Hiking?”

  She shakes her head.

  “A hockey game?” I suggest.

  Another shrug with enough disinterest in her expression to tell me I’m completely on the wrong path.

  I have a slight moment of panic that maybe I can’t do this, but then it strikes me. “How about Disneyland? Ever been there?”

  This time, Hope’s eyes widen and sparkle with excitement. “Really?”

  “Sure,” I say with a casual smile. It would be an easy weekend trip to Anaheim.

  But just as quickly, Hope’s face clouds over. “My dad always had a girlfriend around, and he never paid attention to me.”

  Something about that strikes deep because I can relate in a way. My dad was wrapped up in business and pretty much ignored me and Christina for much of our formative years. Luckily, I had a wonderful mother who more than made up for it, so I know in that way Hope can relate.

  I kneel in front of her, get eye to eye. “Your mother loves you more than anything on this earth, and that will never happen. You will always be first with her. I’m okay with that, just so you know. Okay?”

  She nods, looking a bit flustered.

  “I’ll never take her away from you. I respect you and your mom too much to do that. And if you don’t want me along, you tell your mom and she’ll respect that, too.”

  Hope considers what I said, and then dips her head to look at me shyly. “I think you should come to Disneyland with us, though.”

  I laugh, because she doesn’t understand she’s not going to be able to go without me since I’d be paying for it. But I keep that to myself because she never needs to know that. Instead, I extend my fist out for her to bump. She curls her tiny hand and taps it against mine.

  Hannah bustles into the living room, looks at us over the island that separates it from the kitchen, and dumps more cardboard. I stand up, and she arches an eyebrow.

  “What are you two talking about?” she asks while narrowing a fake suspicious look at us.

  I shrug, but Hope gives us up. “Asher is going to take us to Disneyland next weekend.”

  “What?” Hannah gasps, shooting me a look of disbelief laced with censure.

  I decide to own it. It will get me in faster with Hope anyway. “Quick weekend trip. On me. It will be fun.”

  Hannah purses her lips, shaking her head at me in mock disapproval for not discussing it with her first. Then she turns to her daughter. “I suppose we could go if your dad will agree to it.”

  “Yay,” Hope screeches. To my surprise, she throws her arms around my waist and gives me a quick hug. My hand drops and awkwardly pats her on the head.

  “Okay, come on, bug,” Hannah says to her daughter, holding her hand out. “Let’s get you into your jammies. I have your bed made, and it’s time to get to sleep. Say goodnight to Asher.”

  Hope tips her head back and grins at me. “Goodnight, Asher.”

  “Goodnig
ht, Hope,” I murmur back as she runs to join her mom, feeling like I’m on a good path right now with her. So what if I bought my way there.

  “Be back in a little bit,” Hannah says as she starts leading Hope away. Then she looks over her shoulder and gives a pointed nod to the couch. “Meet you there.”

  My mouth curves into an evil smile, and I wonder what things I can do to her that would not be a danger to waking Hope up.

  I’m determined to finish the kitchen before Hannah returns, and there’s only four boxes left. I dig in, removing tape and paper around breakable objects. I make decisions on where her cutlery should be stored and which cabinets to place all the plates and bowls. If she doesn’t like it, I’ll move it later.

  I make it to the last box, which is smaller than the other ones and a lot lighter. It says in black sharpie on the front, “Odds and Ends – Kitchen”.

  Peeling the packing tape off, I open the flaps. It’s a hodgepodge of stuff that Hannah apparently threw in there that belonged in the kitchen but weren’t big enough or breakable enough to be wrapped.

  I start pulling stuff out, putting everything where I think appropriate. A set of screwdrivers, a measuring tape, a small plastic spoon holder, a set of dish towels, a cork screw, birthday candles, matches, toothpicks, and tons of magnets that go on the fridge. At the bottom of the box, there’s a piece of paper folded in half that I imagine she’d had stuck to her fridge with a magnet.

  Without thought, I flip it over and read it.

  It’s an appointment reminder for Hannah from Las Vegas Hematology and Oncology set for week after next. I stare at it a moment before I grab a magnet and stick it to the fridge. I continue to stare at it with an almost dispassionate eye, refusing to believe Hannah could be sick in any way.

  “Okay… she’s asleep. Went right down, tired little monkey.”

  I glance over my shoulder at Hannah as she comes into the kitchen. She grins and slides up to me, putting her arms around my waist from behind. Resting her chin on my shoulder, she teases, “Want to make out?”

  It’s the furthest thing from my mind right now. I point at the appointment reminder I just put on the fridge. “Why do you have that appointment?”