Cecilia stopped washing the dishes and turned at the despair in Victoria’s voice. She wrapped her in a hug.
Victoria closed her eyes and held on tightly. Her mother always knew that a hug could take the edge off of any kind of pain. When her mom pulled back, she looked Victoria in the eye. “Helena was as close to Roger as anyone could get. She always followed him around, from the time she could walk, even if he ignored her. That was her way of spending time with him. She loves her dad, and that stopped her from seeing how miserable you were.”
Victoria sighed. “I didn’t want them to see how miserable I was.”
“In any case, right now all she’s thinking about is her dad is gone, and she’s probably blaming you.”
Victoria opened her mouth to speak, but her mom shook her head. “It’s not your fault, we know that. But Helena is a hormone-fueled pre-teen who has to blame someone, and right now, that’s you. She’ll get over it in a little while. She’ll see how her dad really is. Now, as for the kids at school, I can’t say. But that can be serious. You need to talk with her teachers. If you need me to go with you, I can.”
Halle laughed softly. Victoria had forgotten she was there. “You asked for advice, Victoria. I’d say you got it.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Victoria smiled at her mom, even though some of it was hard to swallow. “Thanks.”
“That’s right. Now finish these dishes. I’m going to spend time with my granddaughters. Expect Addie to be coming to help.”
Chapter Eight
THE NEXT MORNING Victoria met Nick outside her office at eight a.m. He waited with two cups of coffee, and she wondered if he knew this was the straight line to her heart, the IV that kept her going sometimes. She’d stayed up most of the night, worrying about Helena because of her attitude and Lucia because of her desire to go on the date Friday night.
“Morning.” Nick flashed a smile that made her forget all about her worries, including her lack of sleep. He held the cup out for her.
“Do you ever wear anything other than jeans and a t-shirt?” When she realized how bitchy she’d made it sound, she took the coffee. When his fingers brushed hers, she let out a silent gasp. “Thanks. And you don’t have to answer that. I’m just tired.”
He leaned against the side of his beat-up truck, grinning suddenly as if he loved getting up early and going antique shopping.
“Why the heck are you so happy?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I get to chauffeur a beautiful woman around all day and help her pick out old furniture for clients.”
Surprised laughter burst from her. “Old furniture? I’d love to hear what my clients say about that.”
He opened the passenger door for her. “Well, let’s get to it. I’m sure there’s plenty to find at the flea markets.”
Victoria slid in, making sure her sundress didn’t expose anything, and noticed that the truck smelled like vanilla. Her eyes swept the cab, and she knew he’d cleaned it. It was immaculate. Not a fast food wrapper or empty can in sight. “Did you clean just for me?”
“I may or may not have decided that you might run screaming if you saw the state of my vehicle, so I may or may not have thrown some stuff away.”
“Well, maybe I’ll thank you or maybe I won’t. Since you might or might not have cleaned it.”
They both looked at each other and started laughing as he pulled out of the parking lot.
Victoria sipped more of her coffee. “Thanks for taking me. My dad is being ruthless in his efforts, but I really couldn’t reschedule some of my clients.”
Nick nodded. “It’s cool. I figured that by the look of panic on your face when he said he couldn’t take you. It was the least I could do.” He took his gaze off the road for a quick second and winked. “It’s going to be such a hard day.”
“Ha.” Victoria felt a wave of heat hit her cheeks. Her lips stretched into a wide smile. She hadn’t felt this happy in a long time. It was nice to enjoy the attention of a man without there being huge expectations. Without wondering if you said the right things or made him feel flattered enough. With Nick it was easy. Almost too easy.
“So, where to first? I kind of need to know where we’re going.”
Victoria thought about it. “Let’s try the flea markets on the north highway first, and then if I can’t find everything there, we can go to the outlets in the next town.”
He nodded as if he did this every day. “Okay, so what put that frown on your face this morning?”
“What?” She glanced over at him. “What frown? I didn’t have a frown.”
“Yeah, you even had that wrinkle in your forehead, like the morning you came in after the girls fought.”
For a moment she sat, speechless. “You noticed that?”
“Hard not to.” He looked at her, then back at the road. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Victoria was shocked. Never had Roger bothered to ask if she wanted to talk about how she felt. What did Nick want to know? Was he just being nice or looking to strike up a conversation? Or did he really want to know how the other half lived? What it was like to live with children? “You don’t want to hear about the drama in my life.”
He turned down the radio that was barely audible to begin with. “Sure I do.”
Her heart melted. This was too good to be true. Why would he care to hear about her struggles? And did she really want to tell him?
“Were the girls fighting again?”
His question snapped her out of it. “Oh, no. If you really want to know…” He nodded. “Helena’s been having some trouble accepting the divorce. She misses her dad, even though he never really spent time with them. She’s also having some trouble with kids at school.” She watched the scenery outside the window go from town proper to fields. They passed a few farmhouses.
“What kind of trouble?”
“I walked in on her and Lucia fighting about it. It seems some kids are making fun of her for being in the math club, which I don’t think is a big deal. But kids can be so cruel.”
“Have you talked to her about it?”
“I’ve tried. She’s so defensive lately. Right now, I’m her enemy, and my advice means nothing.”
“What about your sisters? Would they talk with her?”
She immediately turned and looked at him. She was surprised he would come up with that piece of wisdom. With him being a bachelor, she didn’t think he’d be able to offer sound suggestions when it came to parenting. “Yeah, they have. Addie spends a lot of time with them, especially if I get caught up at work. Halle does what she can, but she’s always working.” Victoria noticed him tense at Halle’s name. “What is it?”
“Nothing. Maybe the kids teasing her has triggered the stuff with the divorce or made it worse. My dad ran off when I was seven, and I know it’s a tough thing to deal with.”
She shifted in her seat. A thin thread of pain laced his voice, but she couldn’t see any evidence on his face. “That’s awful.”
He shrugged and wouldn’t look at her. “Yeah. It was hard watching my mom deal with it. But I’m sure you’ve already heard this from people around town.”
“Actually, I haven’t. I’ve only heard about you from my dad, and he’s always spoken highly of you. How is your mom now?” She was ready to find out more about him and stop talking about her problems.
“She’s fine, I guess. We worked hard to make sure she was.” He kept his gaze on the road, gripping the steering wheel until the whites of the knuckles pressed through. “Anyway, what about Lucia? Is she handling it well?”
He effectively blocked her from inquiring anything else about his past, about who he was. She could handle that for now. “She seems to be okay, but she holds it in. I know she’s hurting, but she puts on a brave face because of Helena. She wants to go to the movies Friday night with some boy named Jack.”
> “Dating? That’s a tough one. How old is she?”
“She’s only twelve and in her first year of middle school. That’s why I told her no. I want them to wait about ten or fifteen years before they start dating. I’m not ready.”
“Hmm. I don’t think Mom let us near girls until we were fifteen or so. Or at least she thought we didn’t go near them.”
“Oh God. Don’t give me something else to worry about. Like them sneaking behind my back. Have you lost your mind?”
He laughed. “Sorry. Guess I could’ve kept that to myself.”
By the time they reached the first flea market, Victoria definitely got the sense that while Nick could charm her endlessly, anything serious about his home life was off limits. Any time she mentioned it or asked a question, he deftly changed the subject.
The air carried a spring morning chill, but she’d anticipated it and brought a gray cardigan to wear over the dress. Her feet were clad only in sandals, but the day would warm up before that started to bother her. They crossed the gravel parking lot to the last tin-roof covered aisle. It wasn’t busy yet, and only a few people mingled through certain vendors.
Nick followed her patiently through the aisles, making her laugh or just standing with her in companionable silence.
They spotted a perfect 1900s desk and a lamp for one of her clients and loaded it into the truck, then headed to the next flea market. The temperature had risen while they’d driven, so she left her cardigan behind. Victoria pulled her hair up in a ponytail. It frizzed out in little strands from the humidity, and she wished that the heat didn’t turn her into Cousin It. She snuck a glance at Nick while they strolled through the aisles. When he reached to pick up something, his muscles flexed underneath the thin cotton material. Her stare followed the sleeve of tattoos, eyeing one of various bright colors. Cherry blossoms surrounded a kneeling samurai. It made him look sexy, especially with the gleam of sweat on his skin. She wondered how he looked shirtless.
He stopped at a table selling water and bought them each a bottle. It didn’t seem like that big of a gesture, but it made her feel special. That he cared about her. Just like how he brought her a cup of coffee that morning. None of which he had to do.
“Nick?” A bubbly voice called out.
Both Nick and Victoria stopped, and panic crossed his face. The voice called out again, literally trilling like a bird. Nick winced.
Victoria turned and watched a pin-up blonde come across the aisle, arms outstretched. She launched herself into Nick’s arms and planted a raunchy kiss on him, leaving hot pink lipstick behind. Victoria’s eyebrows rose.
Nick tried to disengage himself, but the girl clung tighter. “Oh, Nicky. I’ve missed you. Why don’t you come around anymore? I loved playing your nurse, fixin’ up all your bumps and bruises.” Nick shot her a pleading look. Victoria knew he wanted her help, but she was too busy trying to tamp down her irrational hurt at seeing another woman all over him.
“Nicky?” The girl paused when she noticed he wasn’t giving her any love back.
“Uh, Sabine, it’s been a while.” He peeled her arms and legs from his torso and set her down. “I haven’t been fighting for the past two years. I quit.”
Sabine crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up and out. She even pouted. “But, Nicky, that’s no excuse. We used to have so much fun.”
Victoria wanted to know what he meant by fighting. Was he a violent person? It was weird; she hadn’t really thought he was. She turned to give the two of them more privacy and herself space to breathe and went farther down the row to a seller who had shelves of wood statues. She tried so hard not to listen to the conversation carrying down the aisle, but she couldn’t not hear.
Sabine had that whiny voice that she’d always hated. She remembered a few girls from school who’d talked like that because they thought it made the guys like them. That it made them seem fragile and womanly. Victoria snorted. Ridiculous. She didn’t know how men put up with it. She didn’t realize that Nick liked that kind of thing.
Victoria snuck a glance over her shoulder while she pretended to sift through lace doilies a stall over. Nick stood with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. Apparently, he didn’t find Sabine adorable anymore. That little warmth she felt at that could shove it. She didn’t care if he had a woman, or several women. It was none of her business.
With a few more words, Nick broke away from Sabine and strode over to Victoria, frown still in place. “Thanks for deserting me.”
Victoria scowled. “You looked like you had it handled.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Is she still standing there?” She peeked over his shoulder and nodded. “Christ.”
“Maybe if we walk farther down, she’ll lose sight of you.” Victoria pulled him with her, ignoring the warmth of skin when she placed her hand on his arm. “So, fighting?”
Nick sighed. “I used to do fights when I was younger. With my brother. I quit the national circuit and came home two years ago, opened this business.”
“That sounds nice,” Victoria said to be polite. She hated fighting, always had. It seemed brutish and primitive. She could understand doing it for self-defense, but for fun? She didn’t understand that at all.
Nick searched her face for a moment. “Maybe. But it came at a point in my life where I needed the structure and discipline of it. Me and my brother. If not for MMA, I probably would’ve ended up a felon.”
“A felon? Were you a troublemaker as a kid?” Victoria led them over to a table full of eccentric figurines. Some of them were beachy, and she could use them in some of the condos and beach houses.
“I got into some trouble.”
Victoria exhaled slowly. “You’re not going to go into it, are you?” She picked up a pink starfish, looked closely, and set it back down. “I guess it doesn’t really matter.”
“Okay.” Nick looked at her, confused. “You against fighting?”
“I think it’s stupid.” She let it slip before she thought about it and heat crept up her neck and into her cheeks. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
When Nick laughed, it didn’t make her feel better. “It’s okay. My mother hated it, too. Couldn’t stand it when we came home, bruised and beaten. My brother broke a few bones. How about this?” He showed her a picture frame that held real sand dollars in different sizes.
“That’s actually cute.” She took it from him, checked the price sticker. “Only seven dollars.”
“Actually? I have some design sense.”
“I bet your apartment, or wherever you live, is bare. Only essentials. Nothing hanging on the walls.” When he didn’t say anything, she laughed. “I thought so. Usually when people leave their homes bare, it’s because they don’t actually feel like it’s home. They want to be able to leave at a moment’s notice. Or they’re afraid of the commitment.” She left him staring at her as she went to pay for the frame.
Chapter Nine
SPENDING AN ENTIRE DAY in Victoria’s company probably hadn’t been his best idea. Nick stared at his empty walls, at his “bare essentials,” and damned if she hadn’t been right. He sat back on the couch, propped his feet up on his coffee table, and took a sip from his beer. He didn’t like the fact that she made him rethink his bachelor pad. It suited him just fine. And what was that shit about not wanting to commit? How the hell do you commit to a damn apartment? Bare walls didn’t mean he had issues, and she wasn’t going to make him rethink bachelorhood, no matter how much he wanted her in his bed.
When a knock sounded on his door, he swung his feet over and stood. The beer dangled in his fingertips as he opened the door.
“Hi, Nick.”
Just his luck. Another of his one-night stands had hunted him down. “Hey, Alyssa.” He stood in the doorway, blocking her way in. She wore a short, denim mini skirt and a shimmery halter top that
looked like she poured glitter all over her torso. She’d teased up her hair and wore too much makeup. When she stepped closer, she smelled of cheap beer and cigarettes, and it almost choked him. Funny, none of that used to bother him.
“You going to invite me in?” She licked her lips and leaned into him, giving him what she thought was a sexy glare. To him she just looked ridiculous. When had all this changed?
“No, Alyssa. It’s late, and I have to work in the morning.” He tried to shut the door, but she maneuvered her body through the small opening.
“That never stopped you before.” She cocked her head to the side. “You look like you could use some fun. You seem tense.”
He rubbed his eyebrow, wondering why the hell he’d thought these women were sexy. “I’m fine. I don’t need company tonight.”
“Oh, come on, Nick.”
He could tell he needed to be an asshole to get her off his back. “Alyssa. I used to be interested, but I’ve grown out of it. Go back to the clubs and hunt someone else down.” He pushed her out the door and locked it.
She banged on it for a good ten minutes, yelling at him. He sank onto the couch and waited for her to go away. He spotted his cell phone, fought the urge to text Victoria, and lost.
Nick: Hey. Hope you found everything you needed today.
It took her a few minutes to reply.
Victoria: I did, thanks.
He stared at the screen, at a loss. Why did he have this compulsion to talk to her? And what did he want to say? He’d never had a problem talking to a woman. They usually just fell right into his bed, no heavy seduction needed.
Nick: Anytime you need a ride, or a truck, you can ask. Let your father enjoy retirement.
Victoria: Yeah, maybe.
Crossing the Line Page 5