Crossing the Line

by Long, Samantha

  Her eyes widened and she blinked the hurt away at his sharp tone. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

  “I am sure.” His temper snapped. “Just because we slept together last night doesn’t mean I’m going to run over here every time you need help with something.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she stepped closer, her body tense. “You offered to help me. I didn’t call you. You called me.”

  He did, and he couldn’t figure out why the hell he’d done that. “It doesn’t matter. We’re not a couple; we had sex. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  She froze, and he saw the wall come over her. She wiped all expression off her face. “It’s good to know you feel that way. Thank you for helping me.” Her voice was flat as she slung the door open. “Next time I’ll make sure to say no when you offer to help.”

  “Fine.” He stepped outside and flinched when she slammed the door behind him. “Fine.” He repeated to himself, even though he didn’t feel fine. He wasn’t even sure why he’d freaked out. It didn’t matter right now, he needed to get away from there.

  The sun shone brightly in the sky, but the world was dark around him. His panic and anger faded away as he drove, and he realized he’d just royally screwed up. She’d even made sure he was okay with helping her, and he’d thrown it back in her face. He wasn’t sure what to do now. Did he turn around and apologize? Let her calm down, then call her?

  He knew he was clueless. This whole thing with her? Entirely new to him. This was all new territory to him. He hadn’t outlined this as a one-night stand with her, and what the hell did that mean?

  * * *

  Victoria didn’t know which emotion dominated the rest. She was angry, hurt, confused, frustrated. Nick had offered to come and fix the pipes. When she’d left him under the sink and went to clean, everything had been fine. Normal. Then when he left, he’d blindsided her. Went off about coming to fix her stuff and then threw in that they weren’t in a real relationship.

  She knew that, and still his words had sliced into her. The sting had settled into her chest and stayed ever since. As she moved through the house, deep cleaning everything now to work off her emotion, she went over the fight again and again. Nothing jumped out at her, no red flags that she knew of. All she did was offer him something to eat, maybe some tea. Was that code for marry me in men’s eyes?

  Hell if she knew.

  Her shoulders and arms ached from dusting high and low, from wiping down nooks and crannies. By the time her parents dropped the girls off, she looked like a hot mess.

  “What happened to you? We were only gone a few hours.” Cecelia gave her a once over as she stepped inside.

  “The pipes under the sink broke. Nick fixed them for me, and then I tackled some deep cleaning I hadn’t done in a while.” Victoria avoided eye contact with her parents so they wouldn’t see the pain in her eyes. So they wouldn’t ask questions.

  “That was nice of him,” Wes said.

  “Yes.” Victoria nodded. “Thanks for taking the girls.”

  Her mom pulled her into a hug. “It’s no problem, sweetie.”

  Her parents left after that, and Victoria hated that she was glad for it. She just didn’t want to put on a front for them. The girls were oblivious, wrapped up in shows and games, and for once that was okay with her. She didn’t want them looking too closely either.

  She decided that something else was going on with Nick. Something deeper, that made him react like that. She knew from rumors around town that Nick had a heartbreaking past, and while she didn’t know all the specifics, she imagined it might mess with his relationships today. It didn’t excuse his behavior, but it helped her understand the reason behind it.

  * * *

  Nick couldn’t concentrate on his work; he’d even put his shoes on the wrong feet this morning. It wasn’t the best way to start off a Monday, but what could he do? Victoria had soaked into his bones, and everything he did reminded him that he’d hurt her yesterday. That didn’t sit well with him.

  It also annoyed him. No woman had ever monopolized his thoughts like this. He grabbed the blueprints and laid them out on the receptionist counter, looking twice to make sure his measurements were correct. His crew was getting ready to lay the hardwood in her back office. The entire job would only take about a month or more, and for some reason that irked him. Would he still be in Victoria’s mind when he wasn’t working on her office every day? Would she still be in his?

  He needed to stop being a girl and focus on work. He had plenty of jobs lined up after Victoria’s office, and he needed to make sure he finished this one on time. He had an excellent reputation, one he’d worked hard for. Not everyone had wanted to hire him in the beginning. Wes had helped him out back then, giving him a chance when no one else would, giving him jobs that he himself couldn’t get to because he was so busy.

  The man was a saint, and Nick prayed to God that when Wes found out he’d slept with his daughter, he wouldn’t think differently of him. That wouldn’t be good for business or for his relationship with the man.

  “Boss, the floors are being delivered in half an hour.” Steven, his right-hand man, held out the paperwork. He was a short, stocky man with a hilarious personality. He’d been with Nick since the beginning. “Just need you to sign these.”

  Nick scribbled out his signature. “Are the bathroom fixtures still arriving next week?”

  Steven was a hell of a foreman, and an even better friend. Nick relied on him, trusted him. “Yeah, we’ll finish the piping this week. All in all, it’s been a smooth job.”

  “Good, I’d hate to mess up Wes’ daughter’s office.”

  Steven gave him a side-long glance. “Is Wes’ daughter the reason you’ve been pissed and scatterbrained this morning?”

  Nick shook his head, but when Steven continued to look at him, he sighed. “Yes, okay? I acted like an idiot yesterday, said some stuff I didn’t mean, and then left her angry.”

  “Smooth.” Steven pretended to look at his clipboard, but said, “And does that make you feel relieved or worried that it’s over?”

  “What are you, my shrink?” Nick snapped. “Worried. Damn it.”

  Steven slapped him on the back. “Then maybe you should apologize. I’ve never seen you act like this over a woman. It just might mean something. And don’t let her stew in it for long; it’ll be harder for her to forgive you.”

  “Yes, Yoda,” Nick shot out.

  Steven laughed and walked back to the crew.

  Nick grabbed his phone and walked outside the office. He’d be damned if the guys heard him groveling to Victoria. He dialed her number and waited on her to pick up.

  “Hello?” He listened to the impersonal tone in her voice. His pride stung that she could sound like that after the amazing night they had together, but he had no one else to blame but himself.

  “Hey.” He hesitated and then said, “I was calling to see if you would come by the office tonight, after the crew is gone, so I can show you around. Show you how the progress is going.”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea, Nick. You made your stance perfectly clear to me yesterday.”

  The coldness in her voice chilled him. He started to pace the office fronts. “Yes, I know. And I’m an idiot. Will you please come by? You deserve for me to apologize to your face.”

  A silent moment, then, “Fine. I’ll be there at five thirty.”

  After he hung up, Nick went to the flower store. It couldn’t hurt to get her something pretty, right?

  * * *

  Victoria approached the door to her office, running her palms down her pants. She hoped she wasn’t walking into another argument or more disappointment.

  He looked up when she entered. He looked delicious, dirty from work, and that stirred up her desire. She knew she wouldn’t let that happen, though. She had more respect for herself than to j
ust jump into bed with him because he apologized. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” She stopped right inside the door, let it close softly behind her. She wasn’t sure she should step closer to him.

  He straightened, set down the blueprints he looked over. His lips quirked. “You can come closer.”

  “You wanted to say something to me?”

  His smile vanished and he shoved his hands into his pockets. He seemed to respect her need for distance and stayed where he was. “I handled yesterday all wrong.”

  She watched him steadily, saying nothing.

  “I panicked over nothing, over helping you. I have this rule that I don’t fix stuff for women I’m sleeping with, because it’s too close to what a man does for a woman when he’s in a relationship.”

  She arched a brow at him. Would it be so bad to be in a relationship with her?

  “I know you’ve never said anything about a relationship, and that I was the one to offer to help you.” His gaze settled on her. An emotion she couldn’t name shone there. “I was under the sink, and suddenly the walls closed in. I panicked, and I took it out on you. What I said was cruel and not true. Can you forgive me?”

  Could she? That was the question that rattled in her mind. He was doing something entirely new with her, spending more than one night, right? She could give him some growing room for a while. Besides, his apology was sincere. “I will.”

  The smile that stretched his lips was breathtaking. Her stomach fluttered. “Great. Now, do you want me to give you the tour?” He reached out his hand.

  Because she wanted that contact with him, she stepped forward and placed her hand in his. “Yes.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  LUKE WALKED INTO Nick’s shop a few days later, a scowl on his face.

  “What’s your problem?” Nick asked as he looked up from his worktable.

  “Don’t be a dick.” Luke grabbed a beer from Nick’s mini-fridge and ignored his raised eyebrows. “Shut up. I need this. I’ll buy you another damn pack.”

  “Seriously. What the hell happened?” Nick set his pencil down, took his glasses off, and focused on his brother. Luke was a normally easygoing guy.

  “I should punch the guy in his face. Break some bones.” Luke took a long swig of the beer.

  Nick swallowed a groan. He understood now. Luke rarely got mad, yes, but if it involved Halle and her cheating husband, his brother lost his mind. “Look, I’m done here. It’s dinner time anyway, so let’s go to the bar and get something to eat. You can tell me all about it.”

  “I’ll buy.” Luke walked out, not waiting on Nick’s answer.

  People filled the bar almost to capacity. Conversations rose and fell, and the brothers were lucky to find a table. Several different games were on the TVs, and an MMA fight caught Nick’s attention. Sometimes he missed the adrenaline rush of defeating an opponent, of being in the ring, fighting to win. A different waitress came to their table. Ivy glared at him from across the room, so Nick assumed she wouldn’t be taking their orders any time soon. After they ordered, Nick sat back and waited on Luke to start talking.

  “Damn it, Nick. I don’t know what to do. Trevor’s banging a nurse at the office. Right underneath Halle’s nose.” Luke clenched his jaw. “I want to break his face.”

  “Luke, I realize that you care a lot for Halle, but what happens in her life is none of your business. You’ve only talked to her a few times. You crushed on her in high school, and she doesn’t even remember you from then. I don’t understand where this protectiveness is coming from.”

  Luke stared down at his beer. “In school, she once stood up for me when a group of kids were bullying me. Before we got into the MMA stuff. She didn’t know me, didn’t know anything about me. She wore glasses, carried a bunch of books in her arms, and she was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. Those guys backed off, and she helped me up. I know it’s crazy, but since then, I’ve felt a connection with her.”

  “When did you become such a romantic?”

  “Fuck you, Nick. I need to kick that guy’s ass.”

  “It wouldn’t be a fair fight,” Nick reminded him. “The guy is a yuppie. He’s probably never thrown a punch in his life.”

  The fight drained out of Luke. “Yeah, I know. It just makes me so damn mad. She deserves so much more than that.”

  “I agree, but you can’t do anything about it until she wakes up and realizes she doesn’t want to be married to that piece of shit. If you tell her what he’s doing, it will seem like you’re trying to break up her marriage. Not a good way to start a relationship.”

  “It’s hard to sit back and watch her get treated like that. Back then, she’d been so brave to stand up to those kids. Now, she lets that man walk all over her.”

  “Maybe you should move on.”

  “Hell, no.” Luke looked at him across the table. “Now that you’ve had a taste of Victoria, do you think you will?”

  Nick shrugged, uncomfortable with his confusion over the answer. With any other woman, he would’ve already let her go and focused on someone else.

  Luke tipped his beer in a salute. “Welcome to my hell.”

  * * *

  Victoria slipped on her tennis shoes as Nick pulled into her driveway. Nora had given birth to the twins earlier that day, and since Roger was actually keeping to the every other weekend schedule, she and Nick were going to visit them. She was a little nervous about spending time with him again. While she kind of understood what made him panic the other day, she didn’t want a repeat.

  She climbed into his truck and gave him a hesitant smile. “How are they?”

  “Everyone’s good. Colin said that they did a C-section and that the kids have jaundice, so they have to be under a lamp for a while.”

  “Lucia and Helena had to spend time under the lamp, too,” she told him as they pulled out of the driveway. “Colin and Nora are in for an exhausting but extremely rewarding time.”

  Nick was silent and then asked, “Did Roger help out with the girls when they were little?” Nick looked over. “I’m sorry if that was too personal. You don’t have to answer it.”

  “No, it’s okay.” Victoria glanced out the window. “He was always too busy with his restaurant, first as a chef, then as an owner. I always got up with them, not that I minded.”

  “I bet it would’ve been great to have some help.” Nick hated men who couldn’t take part in the responsibility of raising kids. It was one of his greatest pet-peeves.

  “Oh sure. My parents and sisters helped out. Addie especially, because she was still in high school.” She remembered how much they’d helped her and was immensely grateful. There were plenty of single mothers who did it all on their own. “With twins it’s very important to have them on a schedule so they get up at the same time at night to eat. If not, you’d never get any sleep.”

  “Make sure you tell Colin and Nora.” Nick smiled at her before looking back at the road. “I’m sure they’d appreciate all the things you could tell them.”

  “I didn’t know anyone with twins, much less children. All my friends were still single. They weren’t even thinking of having kids yet. Learning by experience made it so much harder.”

  “Do you regret having kids?”

  It was such an off the wall, intensely personal question, but Victoria could tell by the true curiosity in his voice that he didn’t mean it to be insulting. “No, I don’t. Yes, it was hard because I was so young, and I didn’t finish college. And Roger had other stuff on his mind, but if I was at the end of my rope with no sleep or personal time—I couldn’t even go to the bathroom by myself—all it would take was a single look at them, or a hug, or to hear them laugh. I would fall in love all over again.”

  Nick waited a moment to speak, seeming to know she was lost to those memories. He acted more restrained with her tonight, like he didn’t want to s
ay or do something wrong. She hated it. Before she could say that, he asked, “Is Helena still having trouble adjusting to the divorce?”

  Victoria frowned. “Yes. And Roger isn’t helping. Apparently he’s telling Helena he left because I didn’t love him enough.”

  “That’s bullshit. How can he tell her that? Does Lucia believe it?”

  “She said she’s never heard him say anything like that.”

  “He’s such a coward that he can’t tell her the truth?”

  “Guess so. He’s a shallow person, and image is everything to him. It would tarnish his reputation if it got out that he left because he couldn’t handle being married and having children.”

  “You sure you don’t want me to kick his ass for you?”

  Victoria laughed and let him lead the conversation for the rest of the hour drive. She wanted him to get comfortable with her again, she just wasn’t sure how to get him there.

  They pulled into the hospital parking lot while the sun set. A slight wind brushed past them, chilling the air a little. They stopped at the gift shop, picking up balloons, flowers, and two matching polka dot onesies. While they rode the elevator, Victoria glanced at him. He kept looking down at the onesies in his hand, like they would bite him.

  Nick knocked on the door to Nora’s hospital room, and Colin called for them to come in.

  Colin sat in a rocking chair, a small pink bundle in his arms. Nick leaned over and kissed Nora on the cheek and set the gifts on the counter. Nora smiled sleepily while she fed the other twin.

  “What did you name them?” Victoria asked. She leaned over the hospital bed and peeked at the baby’s face. Both girls had a shading of downy hair. “Oh, they are just precious.”

  Nora beamed. “Thank you. This here is Lola, and Daddy is holding Grace.”

  “Such beautiful names.” Victoria smiled at Nick. “What do you think?”

  What did he think? Victoria looked absolutely gorgeous when she softened over babies. “They’re so tiny. Aren’t they breakable?”