It was more than just a job.
Hart only hoped that spending time with his daughter didn’t make the woman want to run. He knew there were days he wanted to escape. He was ashamed of that, but he had to be honest. Being a single parent was hard.
“I’ll be right back, Ivy.”
She began playing with her toys all over the place.
When Hart opened the door, he prayed that Lennox wouldn’t be out of place there.
Really, it would suck.
“Here’s your guest. I have to get back to the office and Justin for clean-up duty,” Vivian said, waving as she walked away.
“Welcome to my home. I know it’s not huge like yours, but it works.”
She could hear the tone in his voice.
The guy was worked up. There was that feeling in her gut that the man was ready to boot her out the door. He had the same look on his face as he did when the paparazzi caught them getting out of the SUV together.
He was worried.
Walking in, she smiled brightly to help him relax. “Well, someone loves pink,” she teased.
He blushed.
There were pink pillows and a pink blanket on the couch. Ivy loved the color.
“Well, when you have a girl…”
“It’s my favorite color,” she offered, proving it by pointing at her purse and t-shirt.
“Are you hungry?” Hart asked. “I was about to feed Ivy. She’ll be going to bed soon, and then we can talk.”
“I’d love dinner. Do you need my help?”
He wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Hart was having a hard time focusing on her and his daughter. Maybe if he was in the kitchen, he could think straight. Lennox’s perfume was luring him in, and he was thinking about the time they spent making love.
Immediately, his body reacted.
Yeah, no.
He needed some space.
“I was going to make her macaroni and cheese, since she’s picky about her food. I normally just eat what she has. It’s easier than cooking twice after a long day. I can order you take out if that’s a problem,” he offered, again embarrassed by the whole situation.
He felt like an idiot.
Hart knew that when you brought a woman home, it should be candlelight, sexy music, and not ponies and cartoons on the television.
Yeah, he was screwed.
No sane woman wanted this mess. He was dead in the water, and this whole thing was futile.
“I happen to love the stuff. That sounds perfect.”
He didn’t know if she was bullshitting him or not. Hart was wary of this whole thing.
No.
He was shit scared.
“I’ll go handle the cooking. Can you keep your eye on her? She’s a menace when left alone.”
“Pop?” Ivy asked.
“No pops. You know the rules, Ivy. First, it’s dinner, tubby, bed, and in that order, princess.”
She went back to playing with her toys.
“I can watch Ivy. Don’t worry,” Lennox offered, trying to help the man relax. His eyes were filled with concern, and he was tense.
Not the good kind either.
While she might not have a lot of kid duty under her belt, she had taught art classes once at a children’s hospital. Kids didn’t bother her at all. She could roll with the punches.
Hart hustled away to make their dinner…and to escape.
Lennox sat on the floor beside the little girl and figured it was time to see what would happen if they interacted. If she stood a chance with Everhart Rose, it was going to come down to this little girl.
“What are you playing with, Ivy?” she asked.
“Pony.”
“I have ponies at my house,” she offered. “I like to ride them and play with them as much as possible. I even have one that is about your size.”
She needed Ivy to like her.
“Really?”
“Yes, I do. Would you mind if I played with your ponies now that mine aren’t here?”
Ivy handed her a pink pony, and then she saw it.
“Purse?” Ivy said, pointing at it.
“Yes, it’s pink. Would you like to see it?” she offered, picking up the giant designer bag.
Ivy crawled toward it, a little hesitant. She was looking at Lennox and waiting to see what she’d say.
The poor kid.
She was just like her daddy—a nervous wreck. She’d read once that kids could sense all kinds of emotions.
Instead of worrying about her stuff, she slid it toward Ivy. “Go ahead. You can play with it. It’s only a purse. I don’t bite.”
Ivy dug through it pulling out the drawing pad that she carried in there.
“Do you like to color?” she asked.
Ivy smiled. “Yes. Pretty colors.”
“Here,” Lennox said, digging out some of the watercolor markers she kept when inspiration hit. Her other project to make money for her charities was to make smaller pieces to sell along with her room sized art.
“Please?” Ivy asked.
“Go ahead, but keep it on the paper or Daddy will be sad.”
“No, sad Dad.”
Lennox laughed. “No, sad dad is bad. Dad should be glad.” It amused her that she sounded like Dr. Seuss, and not intentionally.
The little girl laughed and began using the pricy markers on the paper. Immediately, she went for the pink and reds.
Lennox didn’t blame her.
They played for about twenty minutes. Lennox knew two things. The little girl loved art, and that the markers were toast. She didn’t care about the latter.
There were more at home.
“Dinner is about ready,” Hart said, entering the room. When he saw what his daughter was doing, being rough with Lennox’s markers, he nearly freaked out.
“IVY! NO!”
The little girl jumped at the tone of his voice.
Her eyes filled with tears as she went from happy to sad in seconds. She held out the marker to Lennox. “I sorry. I sorry I broke.”
Lennox didn’t even get to say a word before Hart took the situation to the next level, and not for the benefit of anyone in the room.
“That’s not yours!” Hart stated. “What have we said about being gentle with other people’s things?”
Lennox felt horrible as tears filled Ivy’s eyes and spilled over. She didn’t have kids, but she knew what the little girl was feeling. She’d been that child, afraid to do anything wrong, never living, and only existing.
Lennox took a chance even though Hart was on the edge. The man was way too stressed.
“Everhart, it’s my fault. I let her have it. I didn’t know you didn’t want her to color. I thought you only said no to paint. Don’t blame her. This is my fault.”
He stared down at it. “Did you want her to use them, or were you afraid to tell her no?”
She hated that he thought she’d kowtow to a child to get to him. While Ivy had to like her, she wouldn’t let her take a hammer to her Jeep to get his attention.
This was about the little girl enjoying art.
“Every kid should color, Everhart. I have no problem with sharing with Ivy.” She didn’t.
In that moment, staring at the little girl, she felt horrible, but there was a bond there. She could do this.
Hart analyzed her words. She wasn’t lying to cover for his daughter. “You don’t mind that she just ruined them?”
He knew the markers had to be pricy, and Ivy had done a number on them. The colors were mixing on the tips.
“When I did a show for the children’s hospital, I taught a class for the sick kids there. I don’t mind. They’re only markers. They can be replaced.”
The little girl’s feelings couldn’t. She knew that well enough.
“I’m sorry, Ivy. You can color.”
She shook her head. “No. Color is bad. Dad is mad. I make you mad.”
Hart was exasperated.
His stress was transferring to the child
.
“Maybe I should go,” Lennox said, standing up. “I didn’t mean to upset her or you. I just don’t know how to relate to kids other than through art. I was trying to…”
To what?
Oh yeah.
To make him fall in love with her.
It was a horribly idea.
She was out of her element.
Ivy pushed the paper and markers away and scooted back over to her princess castle.
Hart walked away in exasperation. He found it worked best when he was out of his element. He needed a minute to process all of this. He was on edge, and that never worked well when you were trying to raise a kid.
In the kitchen, he leaned against the counter with his eyes closed. In his head, he was counting to one hundred.
“I’m sorry,” Lennox said from the doorway. “I really am. I didn’t think you’d freak over it. I was trying to relate to Ivy. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
It was.
Hart glanced over. “It’s not you. It’s me.”
“Want to talk about it?”
It opened the floodgate.
He pointed at the mac and cheese and waved his arms to encompass the room. “What the hell was I thinking?”
She had no clue.
Really.
None at all.
“Um…? I don’t know. What were you thinking?”
“You’re Lennox Freaking Easton. I’m some ex-cop with a kid. What the hell are you doing here?”
His words stung.
She was trying to have a relationship with a man she had fallen in love with, but apparently, he wasn’t interested. Here was the proof.
“I can leave,” she offered. “You’re the one who wanted me to come here. I offered to stay elsewhere.”
Apparently, a hotel would have been a much better idea after all.
“You don’t fit here. Do you not see it?”
Again, he kept piling on the hurt, and she struggled not to take it personally. It was clear he was struggling too.
She looked around. “Why don’t I fit here? I don’t see what the issue is, Everhart. You’re going to have to explain it to me. I haven’t given any indication that I don’t. You’re the one who is losing his mind.”
“Let’s see…you’re ridiculously rich, probably went to some fancy school, and you’re in this tiny apartment about to eat macaroni and cheese from a box. You tell me. That’s not insane in your world?”
She stared at him.
Her heart broke from his words. Here it was again, and she knew there was no escape.
“So, this is about my money.”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
“I’m the last person you should be sleeping with, or whatever it is we started.”
She couldn’t even speak. It hurt way too much. She wanted to run. This man made her feel, and that wasn’t always a good thing.
Here was the proof.
Hart closed his eyes, shutting her out. Again, it was easier for him to do that and regroup.
“I’ll go since you aren’t comfortable with me here. Just tell me where the nearest hotel is, and I’ll get a cab.”
He heard it in her voice.
There were tears.
When he opened his eyes, he saw them filling hers. He felt like an asshole. He’d basically just told her to get out, but not nearly as kindly as he should have.
“I’m sorry.”
Yeah, so was she.
“You don’t fit here.”
She saw that now, but still…he needed to hear her side of this. Unlike Ivy, she wouldn’t push it away and avoid. She’d done that her whole life, and she was done letting people use her as a doormat.
“Know why I slept with you, Everhart? Well, let me tell you why. For the first time in my life, I thought I found a guy who saw me. It wasn’t about the Easton money. It wasn’t about the size of my fucking bank account,” she said, keeping her voice low so Ivy wouldn’t hear her curse. “It was about me.”
He stared at her.
“I didn’t want a man who wanted to be rich. I wanted to be with someone who was genuine. Who was sweet. I wanted to be with someone who saw me as a person and not a redhead covered in dollar signs.”
“I do see you.”
“No. You see me as some rich bitch still, and that won’t work. I’m Lennox. What do I have to do to prove that? I’ll give the fucking money away. I want to be happy, and I want to be an artist. That’s it. I’m not the woman you think I am. I don’t have some ulterior motive by sharing some markers with your child. Why can’t I just want to fit in for once?”
Tears filled her eyes and began spilling over.
“Lennox.”
“No. It’s too late. You said what you felt, and now I get to have my say too. For the record, I went to a state college, and I didn’t use money from my family. I took out student loans. I had an apartment just like this that I worked to pay for at a local pub, and I loved it. It was my home.”
He stared at her.
Tears were streaming down her face.
He’d done it again.
He’d judged her.
Shit!
This was harder than being a single parent. Falling in love was one hell of a bumpy ride.
“I used to eat macaroni and cheese as I studied for finals, on my old couch, in my small apartment, where I could paint and be me. You have no idea how hard it is to be me. You saw it tonight. I can’t go anywhere. You’re going to be all over the papers tomorrow, and on those cheesy Hollywood TV shows. I have nowhere to be me. Nowhere. I felt welcomed here, but I see that wasn’t the case. You don’t want to be with me because I’m not a person. I’m a persona the media created.”
She wiped at her eyes.
Hart knew she was right. He’d just stripped her down to his opinion of her.
“I was happy coming here because I thought you saw me. Now I have to see that you still see my money. Maybe you don’t want it, but it’s still there looming over me.”
She turned to leave.
“Wait.”
She wouldn’t look at him.
Hart ran his hands through his black hair. “I’m sorry.”
She didn’t say a word.
“I’m not used to bringing anyone here, and I didn’t want you to judge me. I hide this side of me well. Being a father…it’s damn hard. I feel like I’m failing most of the time. I’m struggling, Lennox. I don’t have a clue what the hell I’m doing. I took that out on you. It was wrong to do that to you. I want you to be comfortable here.”
Yeah, well, he’d pretty much shot that to shit. He’d found a really sweet person, and he’d aimed his anger right at her. Yes, he was frustrated, but it didn’t have anything to do with her.
“I want you to be happy,” Hart said. “I want you to relax and be at peace. I know what it’s like not to have that. I work all day and I come home and it doesn’t end. Making you bleed for my stress isn’t right. I’m so very sorry.”
Lennox turned. “Then stop seeing Lennox Easton and just see me. You scared the hell out of your kid because she was drawing with my markers. They aren’t gold. They’re markers. You’re so worried I’m checking out the silver to see if it’s real that you’re missing the big picture.”
He knew he was.
“I’m a person too. I’m a person, Everhart, and I have feelings that should matter. I didn’t come into your home and judge you. Why would you keep doing it to me? I’ve accepted who you are. All I’m asking is you do the same. I want level ground, but you keep making me fight for it. I don’t want to do battle. I’m tired, Hart. I’m exhausted too.”
She was right.
He crossed the small space and hugged her. “I’m sorry. I know I say that a lot to you, but please forgive me. I want you to stay.”
She stayed against his chest.
“I promise to learn how to react better,” he offered. “I will try to stop seeing you as an Easton.”
“Pretend
I’m normal.”
“You are normal.”
That’s exactly what she wanted to hear.
“Want to have macaroni and cheese on the couch?” he asked, leaving a kiss on her forehead. “When Ivy goes to bed, we can have some alone time.”
“That sounds really nice. Do you have any beer?” she asked.
Hart started laughing. “I’m a single father. I have a lot of beer.”
She found that amusing.
“You grab that out of the fridge, and I’ll meet you on the couch. Ivy and I eat there while we watch cartoons. It’s our before bed tradition. Want to join in with us?”
“It sounds awesome. I happen to love cartoons. I can draw them for Ivy.”
He knew she was trying.
Hart opted to do that too.
“I’d really like that.” He grabbed the plates and headed out. If he wanted to make anything of this moment between them, he needed to chill out.
In the living room, what he saw made him stop in his tracks. “Oh, Ivy!”
Lennox heard him and rushed into the room.
There stood Ivy.
She’d covered herself in scribbles with black marker, and his TV screen too.
In five minutes, she’d decimated the living room.
“And this is exactly why I don’t let her paint,” he said, as Lennox started laughing at his side. She couldn’t help it. This was some funny shit. The little girl looked like she had a mustache.
“Well, if it’s any consolation, it looks like a pony on the television screen. It’s pretty good for three. Ivy has excellent ability already.”
“Pony!” Ivy squealed, pointing at it.
Lennox laughed even more.
Hart put down the food and glanced back at the woman he really needed to fit into his life. She was gorgeous when she was laughing, and she was handling this much better than he was, that was for damn sure.
“I’m glad you’re amused.”
“I am. She’s a little female Picasso. That speaks to me on a deep level.”
“Great! I’m glad you feel that way because she drew it on your freaking pink purse too.”
He waited for her to get upset.
Instead, she laughed so hard she started to cry.
Hart knew right then.
He’d found the woman he was supposed to marry.
Now…
How the hell was he going to pull that off?
Forbidden Secrets Page 31