by Katie Knight
“God.” Trevor got up and paced the room, trying to come to grips with it all. “I wish you’d just told us what was happening. Believe me, it could never have been as bad as all the stuff I imagined. Jesus, I thought you were practically a gangster.”
“No, son. If anything, I was just a small pawn in a much larger game. A stupid pawn who should’ve known better than to get involved in the first place.” His dad sighed. “Sorry I can’t help you with your investigation, but I really don’t know anything about money laundering or secret bank account shifts or anything like that. All I was back then was an accountant. And not a very good one at that, apparently.”
Trevor stopped near the fireplace and leaned his hand on the mantel, his back toward his father. All these years, all this time, he’d been judging the man because of one mistake. One stupid mistake that had cost them all a lot, sure, but still. Maybe it was time to re-evaluate. After all, it wasn’t like Trevor hadn’t made a whopper or two of an error himself.
He turned to ask his father more, but his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to see Steve’s number on the caller ID. He excused himself and walked into the adjacent dining room for a bit of privacy before answering. “Trevor.”
“Hey, man,” Steve said. “Wanted to let you know I hit a dead end with those funds in your account. Sorry I couldn’t give you more to go on, man.”
“No problem. Thanks.” Trevor ended the call and headed back into the living room. “Got to go, Dad. Thanks for the talk. It was very enlightening.”
“Sure, son. Any time,” his dad said, following him to the door. “I hope we can see more of each other when you’re in town. You know, between missions or whatever.”
For the first time in a long time, that niggle of dread he always felt around his dad wasn’t there anymore. Trevor smiled at his father and meant it. “I’d like that, Dad. I’d like that a lot.”
22
Maria’s day didn’t go as planned at all. After leaving Camille with Penelope, she’d headed into the office, determined to speak with several of Trevor’s SEAL teammates about their last mission. From what Steve had told them, it made sense that it would have been someone either on the team or close to them who’d shot the captain. That youth hostel near the base in Kabul wasn’t exactly on most travelers’ itineraries, given the fighting and tensions in the region.
All her good intentions went out the window though when she walked into the office and found her assistant, Cindy, putting out one small fire of a problem after another. Between accounting glitches and unreturned phone messages, to contractor snafus and walk-in clients who required the skills of a marriage counselor instead of a PI, this day was turning out to be the Monday-ist of Mondays. She’d known being a single mother and a small business owner would be hard, but some days were more difficult than others and today had been a whopper. Not to mention her lingering unease over the way things were going with Trevor.
Still, she couldn’t blame him entirely for all the awkwardness between them now. She’d made the choice to sleep with him again, and now she needed to live with the consequences. Never mind that she’d lain awake last night, craving his touch and his kisses. Didn’t matter how sweet and attentive he’d been at the creamery. She’d told him flat-out what she needed from him if he was going to stick around. The ball was firmly in his court now. It was his decision.
And maybe that was part of the problem. Growing up the way she had, without much parental support, she’d learned to be independent. The fact she’d been an introvert and geeky, with few close friends in high school, had only reinforced that. She’d used her loner ways to her advantage as an adult, forging her own path, running her own company, raising a child on her own.
But now she was re-evaluating things.
Perhaps having someone in her life, a partner to share the burdens, wouldn’t be so bad.
As long as that partner is Trevor….
Ugh. That line of thinking was not helping at all.
When she finally found a moment later that afternoon to close herself in her office and do a bit of deep digging into Trevor’s SEAL team, she’d found out from the operator on the military base that the team was unavailable until further notice due to training exercises. Great. It could be true, or it could be a lie to keep any nosy reporters away until their internal investigation into the captain’s death was completed.
Then there was all that money in Trevor’s bank account. With such a large amount of cash in play, someone had to be planning something. What, though, she couldn’t say. Hacking a bank account was a pretty ballsy move, so whoever had done it wasn’t particularly concerned about privacy. Maybe it wasn’t someone on Trevor’s team then. SEALs were notoriously private, given the nature of their work. Then again, what better way to throw others off the scent than to act the opposite of what was expected?
Pondering all these ideas in her head, Maria packed up once 5 p.m. rolled around. She sent Cindy home, then locked up before leaving herself. At least she didn’t have to worry about Camille. She snorted as she climbed behind the wheel of her car and started the engine. Funny, but Penelope had turned out to be a real godsend. Who would’ve guessed it?
If someone would’ve told her a year ago that Trevor’s mom would be babysitting for her, Maria would’ve laughed in their face. At the time she’d had the contract drafted, she’d been adamant about doing it all on her own. Now, she was glad to accept any help she could get.
How times had changed.
She pulled into the driveway, then sat in her car a moment, thinking how nice it was to see lights glowing in the windows and knowing that at least one area of her life was under control. After locking up the car and grabbing her purse and tote from the backseat, she headed inside to find Penelope in the kitchen with Camille, feeding her a bottle. The place looked spic-and-span too. Apparently, Trevor’s mom had cleaned as well. It seemed tidiness ran in his family.
“Welcome home,” Penelope said, smiling. “Look who’s here, sweetheart! It’s your mommy. Yes, it is! Do you want to say hi to your mommy?”
Camille was busy eating, so Maria settled for a kiss on her daughter’s head after she set her purse and tote on the sofa in the living room and toed off her shoes. “Thanks so much again for watching her today. It was a huge help.”
“No problem whatsoever.” Penelope put the empty bottle in the sink, then hoisted the baby over her shoulder, rubbing her back gently. “I’m available anytime you need me, dear. I hope you know that.”
Maria shrugged and crossed her arms, feeling a bit too vulnerable for her comfort. “I know. I just don’t like to ask.”
“Hmm.” Penelope chuckled as Camille burped loud. “There’s a good girl. How about trying that nap again, eh?”
“Let me see her first.” Maria took her daughter and kissed her soundly on the cheek before walking around the living room with her, cooing and cuddling and catching up after their day apart. Soon though, her tiny daughter’s head drooped and it was clear she was ready to be put down for a nap. With a smile, Maria carried Camille into the nursery and tucked her into her crib. The baby was out before she got back out the door.
Must be nice, Maria thought as she headed back toward the kitchen.
Penelope was washing up the bottles and glasses from the day. Maria grabbed a towel and started to dry them. “Have you heard from Trevor?” she asked.
“No. Not yet.” Penelope shut off the water, then gave her a small smile. “Everything okay there, with you two?”
Heat prickled Maria’s cheeks as she put away the bottles and glasses. “Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Can’t be easy,” Penelope said, pulling out a jug of iced tea she must’ve made that day. Maria barely had time to run water from the tap most of the time, let alone make tea. “Want some?”
“Uh, sure.” She kept out two glasses and filled them with ice. Penelope poured them each a glass, then they took a seat on the couch in the living room. Feeling like she sho
uld say something, but wary of Penelope’s too-perceptive gaze, Maria said, “Trevor and I are just friends. Right now, he’s also my client. That’s all.”
“Right. Sure.” Penelope smiled, then set her glass on a coaster on the coffee table. “My oldest son can be a handful sometimes, no doubt about it. Ever since all that happened with Maxwell, he’s had a chip on his shoulder. Truthfully, we were hoping that maybe the whole deal with you might soften him a bit. All that SEAL stuff can make a man too hard, too guarded.”
“The whole deal with me? You mean the contract?” Maria swallowed a sip of tea. She’d known Trevor had told his family about the contract before he’d signed it. Unlike her own parents who saw Maria as nothing but a disappointment, Trevor’s family was close. He wanted them to know what was going on, even if they’d never have any contact with his child. She’d consented, thinking it wouldn’t matter. Now, it seemed to matter more than she wanted to admit. Softening Trevor’s rough edges sounded like maybe his parents had been wishing for more than just a fling between her and their son. And sure, that was what Maria was hoping for now too, no matter how dumb it sounded. She’d had no business falling in love with Trevor Daniels, regardless of how nice and sweet and kind and considerate and smoking hot he was. They’d made a deal. She’d violated it by sleeping with him again. Hell, she was violating it now by sitting here having tea with his mom, by letting her babysit. Turned out her contract wasn’t worth the paper it was written on because of Maria’s own choices.
Still, it was nice to have a friend, and an understanding ear to unload with about it all. Maria shrugged, feeling the weight of Penelope’s stare on her. “Honestly, my relationship with Trevor is a bit complicated at the moment.”
“The best ones always are, dear.” Penelope sighed. “Maxwell and I made the conscious choice not to tell the kids too much about what was happening during the trial and the imprisonment afterward. But now, I’m not sure that was the right choice. Tim and Tamsyn seemed to deal with it all better than Trevor did. I think my oldest son took the wrong lesson from the whole thing. I never meant to instill that sense of distrust in him, but I was hoping by having him back here, with you and Camille, that he might learn a different way.”
Maria snorted and shook her head. While Trevor had seemed fully engaged and fully open in bed with her, afterward, he’d seemed to shut her right back out again. “He’s a bit…skittish, you’re right. I do think him being around Camille is a good thing, but it’s only temporary.” That word hurt to say, even though she’d known it all along. She gulped more tea to wash away the lump forming in her throat. “Once we complete the investigation and clear his name, he’ll go back to his SEAL team and Camille and I will get back to life as usual.”
Penelope watched her for a moment, silent, before patting Maria on the knee. “Well, regardless of what happens with my son, please know that I’ll always be there for you and Camille. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. Not to push or anything, but I’ll always support your decisions. Okay?”
“Okay.” Maria blinked back the sting of tears and smiled. What she would have given to have her own mother say those things. Penelope was like her surrogate mother now and it felt so good to know she had that safety net available in case she fell.
Speaking of falling….
Outside, the sound of a car door slamming echoed from the driveway.
Trevor.
Her pulse skipped, despite her resolve to keep her distance, both emotionally and physically.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Penelope said, pushing to her feet and taking her empty tea glass to the kitchen. “This was nice, dear. We should do it more often. If you want, of course.”
“I’d like that.” Maria smiled as Trevor walked in with a pizza box in one hand and an unreadable expression on his face. “Your mom was just leaving.”
“Hey, Mom.” Trevor kissed Penelope’s cheek as she walked past him out the door.
“Behave, kids.” She winked, then left the two of them alone, staring at each other across the expanse of the living room that might as well have been the Grand Canyon for all the things said and unsaid between them.
“I, uh, stopped at Martelli’s on the way home and got us dinner. You still like peppers and sausage, right?”
“Yeah.” Maria picked up her tea with a shaky hand and walked into the kitchen to set the table. Her knees were tingling and her stomach was in knots. The air smelled of baked cheese and spicy sausage from the pizza. Trevor seemed oddly subdued tonight and he wasn’t looking at her. Neither were good signs. “So, what did you do today?”
“I went and talked to my dad.” He took a seat at the table and opened the pizza box. “Didn’t find out much about the case. Found out some other interesting stuff though.”
“Like what?” she asked, pulling the pitcher from the fridge. “Want tea?”
He nodded and she filled him a glass, then refilled her own. Camille was still snoozing away, thank goodness. From his somber tone, this sounded like it might be an important conversation.
She took the seat across from him and helped herself to a slice. “Tell me.”
23
Trevor took a big bite of pizza, kicking himself mentally for even bringing it up, but it was too late to change the subject now. Besides Maria was the closest friend he had, outside his SEAL team. He felt like he could talk to her about this, even if other things between them were strained as hell.
He shrugged and swallowed, then took a long drink of tea. His mom always made the best iced tea.
“I guess I always had this understanding of what happened with my dad when I was a kid, you know? I’d worked it all out in my head, the kind of guy he was based on his actions.” He shook his head, remembering all the stories he’d concocted about his old man to make himself feel better about the fact his dad was behind bars. A gangster. A kingpin. A supervillain like the ones in all those comic books Trevor had loved to read. “Turns out none of that was true. Did you know that he only committed the one crime? A single count of tax fraud. One mistake. That’s it.”
Maria narrowed her gaze on him. “I knew that. It was in all the papers at the time. The media tried to make it into more than it was, but it’s easy enough to look up the court records and see the truth.”
Damn. Trevor supposed it was, but he’d never bothered, had he? Nope. He’d been content to live within his own fabricated view of the world and deal with it on those terms. It was like a punch in the gut. All those years, all that wasted time. His dad wasn’t getting any younger and Trevor wasn’t either.
Camille squeaked from the nursery and they both froze, listening to hear if it meant she was awake or if she was just stirring before falling back to sleep again. Luckily, it seemed it was the latter.
“I’m glad you worked things out with your dad,” Maria said after a minute, her posture relaxing once more. “He’s a good guy, even if he made a few mistakes. Who hasn’t?”
“True.” Trevor finished off his first slice of pizza and grabbed a second. Martelli’s had the best pizza in Little Creek. He’d used to crave it when he was away on missions. The salty sausages and spicy tomato sauce were the perfect foil for the tart banana peppers and gooey cheese. “I’ve made quite a few of my own.”
Their eyes locked and his heart squeezed.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes with you.
The words threatened to tumble out before he swallowed them down.
It was the truth, sure, but he was still working through the chewing out she’d given him the other night. Still trying to determine if he could be what she needed or if his best bet was to put in for a transfer to somewhere far away once this was all over.
So instead, he changed subjects to safer territory. “You find anything new on the case today?”
“No.” She sighed and stared down at her plate. She’d eaten three slices herself already and Trevor grinned. He did love a woman with a good appetite. “I was going to try to interview some people
, ask more questions, but the day got away from me. I feel like I’ve been neglecting my other PI duties since you’ve been here.”
“You work too hard,” he said around a chunk of crust. “I’ve never known anyone who works harder than you, and that’s saying something.”
She smiled and his shadows receded. “I can be a bit of a workaholic, it’s true. But it’s hard juggling it all—work, kid, life. I do the best I can.”
“You do great.” After devouring one more slice, Trevor sat back and rubbed his full belly. “That was awesome.”
“Yeah, it was. Thanks for picking it up.” She took the box and put their leftovers in the fridge before refilling their glasses. She was in her stockinged feet and he could see her pink polished toes through her sheer stockings. Trevor’s mind immediately flashed to fantasies of them together in bed, him kissing and licking said toes as she writhed beneath him.
He coughed to clear his constricted throat. Not helpful, dude. Not at all. “You’re welcome.”
Maria walked down the hall to check on Camille, then returned, slipping off her blazer to leave her in just her white shirt and pants. “While she’s sleeping, we can maybe get a bit more done on the investigation.”
“Sounds good,” he said, his tone gruffer than he’d intended. Anything to keep his mind from fantasizing about the one woman who was definitely off-limits at the moment. He needed to make some serious decisions about her and Camille and the future before he even contemplated touching Maria again. That was only fair to her. Otherwise, it was just sex, just messing around, and she deserved so much better than that.