The Best of Me: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  “That wasn’t what I was doing,” she defended. “We have two kids together, Patrick. We’re going to be in each other’s lives. We need to get along for the kids’ sake.”

  She was so full of shit. I’d been blind to her bullshit for too goddamn long, but now I could see everything clearly. “You got pissed ’cause you thought another woman was playing with your favorite toy,” I stated bluntly, letting her know she was done pulling the wool over my eyes

  “Are you…?” She fidgeted with her fingers. “Are you seeing her?”

  Christ, this woman’s got some fucking nerve. “Whether I am or not’s none of your business,” I clipped. “Now, we’re done here.”

  And with that, I turned and walked away without once feeling the desire to look back at the woman I was leaving behind. Emma was the past, and I was determined to only look forward from here on out.

  * * *

  Nona

  I’d manage to chow through four cupcakes and was just about to draw myself a nice hot bath when someone started knocking incessantly on my front door.

  Staring in that direction, I pursed my lips and blew out a heavy sigh as I contemplated ignoring whoever it was and adding a glass of wine to that bath. However, that plan was thwarted when I heard my very loyal, very annoying best friend shout, “Open up, No! We know you’re in there. Your car’s in the driveway!”

  The knocking started again and didn’t stop until I reached the door and yanked it open, nearly getting smacked in the forehead by Eden’s fist.

  “Jeez, crazy!” I cried, leaning back to avoid the potential blow. “How about you drop the fist of fury, huh?”

  She pierced me with a scowl, muttering, “You were taking too long,” before she and Temperance shoved their way past me and into my house.

  “I brought sustenance,” Tempie called, lifting a grocery bag as she and Eden started for the kitchen.

  Eden held up a bottle of wine. “And I got booze.”

  With a long-suffering sigh, I followed my girls into the kitchen while they made themselves at home. Eden got wineglasses while Tempie grabbed my large cutting board from where I kept it tucked behind my pretty, distressed white bakery box.

  I watched as she dumped the contents of the grocery bag onto my island, pulled a knife from my butcher block, and started cutting a block of cheddar cheese. “What are you doing?”

  “Making a charcuterie board,” she chirped as she began arranging the slices on my cutting board. “I’ve been making a lot of these lately.” Next came a wedge of brie and a small jar of raspberry jam. “They’re super easy but look so fancy that Hayes thinks I went all out.” She opened a tube of crackers and lined them up in a pretty row. “The man has a serious aversion to vegetables and pretty much anything healthy.” She added cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, and a vegetable spread. “I put some fruit and veggies on the board, he guilts himself into eating them because he thinks I put in all this effort, when in reality, it takes no time at all.” She finished with some assorted fruits and a small tub of yogurt.

  The whole thing took a couple of minutes, but by the time she was done, it looked like something you’d spend a fortune on at a fancy restaurant.

  “Wow, smart. Maybe I should try this on Tris and Blythe.”

  Eden passed us each a glass of wine and hopped up on one of my barstools. “Enough about the boards. They’re awesome, we get it. Now start talking.”

  I dipped a strawberry into the yogurt and popped it into my mouth, taking my time to chew and swallow before answering. “I slept with Trick.”

  Tempie crunched into a baby carrot. “We know that part. What we want to know is how it happened.”

  “And how it was,” Eden blurted before smacking a hand over her mouth and bugging out her eyes.

  Tempie pointed at her. “Yeah! We definitely want to know that too.”

  “Oh my god.” A laugh bubbled from my chest. “You guys are insane. You know that?”

  Eden shot me a grin and sucked back some of her wine. “Yep. Now get to spilling.”

  Grabbing a butter knife from my silverware drawer, I spread some brie and jam on a cracker and stuffed it into my mouth. “It was… the best I’ve ever had,” I admitted on a defeated sigh.

  “You don’t sound happy about that,” Eden stated sympathetically.

  I guzzled back half the wine in my glass, needing it as fortification. “Well, I had been. Hell, I’d been over the freaking moon. Until I woke up to him getting dressed in the dark in the middle of the night.”

  “You’re shitting me.” Tempie’s voice came out in a feminine growl.

  “I wish I was.” The cupcakes I’d binged on earlier turned to a lead ball in my stomach. I told them everything, going through that entire night and the month and a half after while making a huge dent in Tempie’s charcuterie board. I told them about the kiss and the subsequent argument as I finished my glass of wine. The food was tasteless, and the wine tasted bitter on my tongue as I recounted everything from start to finish, ending on what happened at the soccer game earlier that day.

  “I’m so sorry, babe.” At Eden’s softly spoken words, I finally lifted my gaze from the veins of gray in the marble countertop of my island, gray I couldn’t help but notice looked eerily similar to Trick’s eyes. She was staring across the kitchen at the remaining cupcakes I had stacked beneath the glass dome of my cake stand. “Is that what the cupcakes are about?”

  “What do you mean?” Temperance asked in curiosity.

  “Nona stress bakes,” Eden announced gravely.

  “You know what? I really wish people would quit saying that,” I declared in annoyance. “I just like baking!”

  Eden shot me a look that said she knew I was full of crap. “Yeah? Well how many of those were there when you first made them?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I replied instead of giving her an answer that would prove her point.

  “Then just how many sweets have you eaten in the past few weeks?”

  My lips scrunched to the side and my nose crinkled but Eden wasn’t swayed by my ugly look. She stared me down until I finally couldn’t take it anymore and declared, “Fine! A lot, okay? I’ve eaten a lot. So much, in fact, that none of my jeans fit right.” I sucked in a deep breath, then downed the rest of my wine, tapping the rim of the glass for a refill. Eden obliged as I continued. “I’ve been going out of my mind. I’m barely sleeping, I’ve spent a small fortune on baking ingredients at the grocery store, and I’ve had a constant stomachache from all the goddamn cakes and pies I’ve been scarfing down. I don’t know what games he’s playing, but I don’t want any part of them,” I said in a hard voice. “I spent too many years being jerked around by a man. I won’t do it again.”

  “I don’t think Trick’s meaning to jerk you around,” Tempie said, her face awash with pity.

  “He might not mean to, but he is, and it fucking hurts.” On that last word, my vision began to blur and my sinuses burned as a wave of tears threatened to burst free. I used to watch the way he looked at Emma and wish I was in her shoes. “I’ve wanted him for so long that I think I started falling for him without even realizing it. He was this unattainable fantasy, my ultimate dream man. When he gave me that little piece, I let myself hope that we could be something, you know? Really be something. Then he ripped it all away. I can’t be someone’s second choice. Not even if he’s the man of my dreams.”

  “I think maybe you should talk to him,” Eden said carefully, ever the voice of reason. “It seems like there’s a lot that needs to be said that neither of you is saying.”

  “She has a point,” Temperance added. “From how you said he acted today, it sounds like he’s got some serious feelings for you.”

  “Did you not hear the part where he brushed me off for his ex? It’s obvious he’s still got feelings for her.”

  “Maybe,” she relented. “Or maybe he had a perfectly good reason you won’t know about until you talk to him.”

&nbs
p; “And he didn’t exactly brush you off,” Eden chimed in. “He asked you to wait for him. I get why you didn’t want to,” she quickly added when I opened my mouth to argue. “I wouldn’t have stuck around either, but I have a feeling there’s a whole lot more there than you’re willing to admit.”

  As much as I tried to fight it, their words made my heart swell. That little kernel of hope began to sprout, but the voice in the back of my head kept screaming that hoping would only lead to more heartache.

  This whole conversation was exhausting. Propping my elbows on the counter, I pressed my fingertips into my forehead and massaged. “Look, I love you guys for coming over and trying to be supportive, but none of it matters. Nothing’s ever gonna happen between me and Trick, so can we please, please just talk about something else? Anything else.”

  “Fine,” Eden relented unhappily after several seconds of silence. “We’ll let you off the hook for now, but I’m just gonna say one last thing.” Of course she is. “I think you’re wrong about you and Trick. And I’m gonna have a blast saying I told you so when it’s all said and done, and you’re living blissfully ever after.”

  My best friend could be an annoying pain in the ass sometimes, but I loved the hell out of her and the rest of my friends.

  I might have been unlucky in love, but at least I had the best friends a woman could ever hope for.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nona

  Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” was blaring from the Bluetooth speaker I had set up in the living room as I pushed my Swiffer around the hardwood floors, cleaning and dancing at the same time as I sang at the top of my lungs.

  It was Sunday morning, and my kiddos would be home later this evening, so I was getting my cleaning and laundry done so I didn’t have to do it when I got my babies back and could spend the rest of the day hanging with them.

  Fleetwood bled into the Stones’ “Paint It Black.” I was in the midst of a pretty awesome Mick Jagger impersonation, and the words morphed into a scared shriek when I whirled around and spotted a figure looming in my opened front door. “Jesus Christ!” I snapped, putting my hand over my rapidly beating heart. “You scared the crap outta me!”

  Trick’s lips tugged up into a devilish grin as he pushed off the doorframe and moved into my house, closing the door behind him. He headed for my speaker and hit the off button, cutting Mick off in the middle of the chorus. “Sorry, baby. I knocked but you must not have heard me. Great taste in music, by the way.”

  “It’s my Housework Jams playlist,” I announced for no other reason than his unexpected appearance had me completely frazzled.

  “Well, it’s a good playlist.” His eyes dropped to my bare legs, and I could have sworn I saw that deep gray turn liquid.

  “So, what’s up?” I asked, pulling his attention back to my face. “You need a cup of sugar, or was it just my excellent taste in music that brought you across the street?”

  His rich chuckle resonated throughout the room and warmed my blood. “No sugar, but I was wondering if wouldn’t mind doing me a big favor.”

  “Sure,” I answered without hesitation. “What do you need?”

  “I have to run an errand. Won’t take more than a couple hours, tops, but I was really hoping you’d go with me.”

  I hesitated for a beat before asking, “What’s the errand?”

  The corner of his mouth hooked up. “You tag along, you’ll find out.”

  I wasn’t sure if tagging along with him was wise, but there was no denying that my curiosity was piqued. And as dangerous as it was, what Eden and Temperance said last night was still stuck in my head. That stupid kernel of hope had taken root, and I couldn’t rip the damn thing out.

  Narrowing my eyes and cocking a brow, I crossed my arms over my chest and stated, “Or you could just tell me so I could make an informed decision.”

  He took a step closer, his eyes flashing with humor. “But where’s the fun in that?”

  “You know, I’m pretty sure there’s a serial killer or two who used that very tactic to get women alone.”

  His head fell back on a deep, husky laugh that made my belly flutter. “You have my word, nothing nefarious. And I promise to have you back before your kids get home.”

  I gave him a skeptical look, but finally relented, “All right. Just let me grab some shoes.”

  I hit my bedroom a second later and began rummaging through my closet for my camel-colored gladiator sandals. As I strapped the sandals to my feet, I couldn’t help but feel relieved I’d decided against yoga pants and a ratty t-shirt when I got out of the shower this morning. The olive-green tank and khaki shorts I was wearing weren’t anything to write home about, but at least there were no holes or stains. And luckily I had great legs, so hopefully they would detract from the lack of makeup and sloppy hair piled on top of my head.

  Hearing my footsteps as I reentered the living room, Trick turned from his perusal of the pictures on the white built-in bookshelves on each side of the fireplace.

  A shiver worked its way up my spine at the expression that slid over his face as he scanned me from top to toe. There was something in the way he was looking at me that made my skin tingle and my nipples tighten. “Uh….” I licked my suddenly dry lips as I turned away from the heat in his gaze and moved to grab my purse from the console table against the entryway wall before looking back to him. “Ready when you are.”

  “I, um….” He cleared his throat, and I dropped my head to rummage pointlessly through my purse to hide the fact that I was biting my lip against a smile. As unhealthy as it was, it felt freaking great to know I had an effect on him. It helped me feel like I wasn’t the only one drowning. “Good deal. Let’s go.”

  The interior of Trick’s truck smelled like his cologne, spicy with a hint of citrus and clean cotton. As he rounded the hood for the driver side, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, wanting to pull as much of the seductive scent in as I could.

  The door jerked open and I shook off the fog just as Trick climbed into the seat beside me. “You good?”

  I turned my head in his direction as he started the truck and pulled from his driveway. “Yeah, of course. Why?”

  He cast me a sideways glance. “You had your eyes closed.”

  “Oh.” Busted. “I’m good. All good. So where are we going?”

  He chuckled at my nosiness. “You’ll see.”

  We drove in silence for a few minutes. My senses so in tuned to him that I noticed every little shift or movement he made. He didn’t even have to do anything to make me crazy, just his presence was like a force of nature I couldn’t deny.

  “So, you have any more trouble from your ex lately?” He asked after a while.

  “No,” I answered as I watched the foothills and trees whizz by the truck window. “Well, I mean other than having to give him my babies Friday. I don’t think I’ll ever stop hating that. It might make me a shitty mom, but most of the time I’m glad he’s a flake and bails on half his weekends. I hate seeing my kids suffering when he lets them down, but the only way I sleep at night is when I know they’re in their beds under my roof where I can protect them.”

  “Doesn’t make you a bad mom at all, baby.” His hand came down on my thigh, and my body reacted to the feel of his large, rough palm on my bare skin. My nipples puckered, and arousal pooled between my thighs, making me wet and achy. “In fact, I think that’s the definition of a good mom.”

  My head whipped in his direction as I asked in bewilderment, “Being happy that my kids’ father is a worthless piece of shit who can’t make time for them is a good thing?”

  “You aren’t happy he’s a piece of shit,” he stated seriously. “You’re too good a person to ever feel like that. What you are happy about is being able to keep them safe. That’s not a bad thing, beautiful. And it certainly doesn’t make you a bad mom.” His fingers pressed deeper into my skin, and I had to fight against the desire to squirm in my seat. “In fact, you’re one of the best mothers
I’ve ever met.”

  That compliment made me feel a thousand times lighter, and before I could think better of it, my hand came down on the top of his and squeezed in appreciation.

  “I think the same thing about you, you know. You’re an amazing father.” I stated, needing to provide him with the same comfort he’d just given me. “I’m sorry. I’m an asshole. I’m sitting here complaining about the occasional weekend, and you have to hand your kids over a week at a time.”

  He turned his hand over, interlacing our fingers. “I’ll admit, it fuckin’ kills only getting them every other week. It was an adjustment, but we make it work. My job’s not exactly a nine-to-five, so I try to work my overtime on the weeks I don’t have them. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to catch a case where that can’t be helped. I’m just glad Emma didn’t fuck with me when it came to custody.”

  Ignoring the pang in my chest at the mention of his wife, I turned to face the front and quietly replied, “Yeah, that’s good.”

  Before the conversation could go any further, Trick turned the wheel and pulled onto a long dirt drive that led to a cute little ranch-style house sitting on a huge plot of land on the outskirts of town. There were stables and chicken coops and dogs running all over the place.

  “Where are we?”

  Trick pulled up near the front porch, put the truck in park, and killed the ignition. “Found this breeder online.” he answered.

  “Breeder?” I sucked in a gasped. “You’re getting a puppy?”

  “English bulldog,” he replied, turning to look at me. “The kids and I always wanted a dog, but Emma was totally against it. I promised myself that once I got settled I’d get us a dog, so when Eden gave me the okay, I found these people.”