Chapter Two
As quietly as he could, Diesel let himself inside through the front door. He found his mom waiting on the other side—all smiles. Diesel ended up being the one surprised. He jumped backward.
“Holy shit, Mom. I didn’t expect you to be standing right there.”
Her musical laughter filled the air. “My baby is home.” She bounced in place.
Diesel dropped his stuff and hugged her, lifting her off her feet. “I planned to surprise you. How have you been?” He set her back on her feet.
She looked happy as hell, and Diesel loved it. “I was surprised when I heard the keys in the door. But I knew it could only be one person, and now I’m ecstatic. How did you manage to get here early? I thought you had a permanent client in California.”
Diesel pushed the door closed and moved his bags out of the door's path. He spoke while he moved. “Yeah. Blaze is at home with his soon-to-be husband, who used to be a Steel guard, so he’s good. I have another surprise.” His mom looked at him in suspense.
He couldn’t hold it back any longer. “Steel found a position in Seattle.”
Her screech nearly took out his eardrums. She leapt forward and stole another hug. “Oh my God. I’m so happy. When do you start? Do you want to live here? Tell me everything.”
Diesel ushered her to the couch. “His name is Kuba. He’s an MMA champion. As per my contract, I’ll be living with him. We met this morning. I like him. He seems great.”
His mom hadn’t stopped beaming yet. “I’m just happy to have you closer. It’s been so boring around here without a partner in crime. Getting iced coffee and hitting all the discount stores isn’t that fun by myself.”
Those were some of his best memories. Of course, his mom was also notorious for taking him out where it was too far to walk home before springing the tough conversations on him. That was how she had gotten him to confess he was gay. He never knew which trip was a trap, but he was always in.
“It’s still early. We should do that today. I’ll buy you dinner afterward.”
“I love this idea.” His mom popped to her feet. “Let me change and get my shoes.”
“Okay.” She looked fine to him, but he knew her.
His mom never left the house in sweatpants.
She prided herself on her looks. They were the same ones she had passed down to him.
At forty-five, Nova Henderson still had to fight men off everywhere she went, and they were always half her age. She was back in no time.
“Okay. Ready. Do you want me to drive?”
Diesel waved off her offer. “My Jeep hasn’t been out in a while. We should take that.”
Nova nodded as they headed for the door. “I’ve been starting it and letting it run occasionally. Every now and then, I move it a foot to keep the tires from getting flat spots, but you’re right. It definitely needs to be driven.”
Diesel drove. As always, they nonstop talked about everything.
Diesel made sure she knew all the gossip.
The entire day was a reminder of how they had always been.
Nova had gotten married straight out of high school, got pregnant right away, and that was when her husband decided he didn’t want the responsibilities he had helped create.
While his dad had always paid child support, he hadn’t once seen Diesel.
Diesel had a lot of feelings about that.
Mostly, he felt certain he was better off without the guy.
However, all those years of it just being the two of them had made them pretty damn close.
His mom had done her best to never lean on him.
The thing was, he wanted that. She was amazing and deserved better.
While she swore she got the good end of the stick in the deal, Diesel knew it hadn’t been easy.
He had been there for every second of it.
One of the reasons he got in shape the way he did was to protect her.
Outside their favorite coffeehouse, they sat side by side. Like every Seattle winter, it was gray, gloomy, and depressing. But it wasn’t raining, and that was a miracle meant to be enjoyed.
“What do you want to do next? Did you want to hit another store or head to dinner?”
Nova sipped her coffee. “I say, let’s go get dinner. The crowds are a nightmare today.”
Diesel opened his mouth to respond. His phone buzzed. “Damn. I have to check this.” He passed his coffee to his mom and dug out his phone. It was Kuba. Diesel rushed to open the message.
Kuba: Did you make it safely to your mom’s place? Also, I think I’m looking right at you.
Diesel’s head shot up. He eyed his surroundings. A lone figure stood in a nearby parking lot, leaning against a Dodge Hellcat. A smile exploded across Diesel’s face. He lifted his arm, letting Kuba know it was him.
Diesel looked his mom’s way. “It’s my client.”
Nova eyed him in a way he couldn’t decipher.
Kuba headed in their direction. He even moved like a deadly fighter. Diesel really needed to watch his thoughts. That didn’t stop his smile from growing.
In less than a minute, Kuba hovered over them. “I thought that was you, but wanted to make sure before coming over. In town less than a day and already making it a small world.” Kuba’s gaze shifted to Nova. He held out his hand. “I’m Kuba.”
Nova accepted the handshake. “Nova. I’m this one’s mom,” she added, motioning Diesel’s way.
Kuba clutched his chest dramatically. “Wow. There’s no way. You’re way too young to be a mom.”
Nova laughed. It wasn’t uncommon for people to say that to her. This was the first time her laugh didn’t sound uncomfortable and forced. “I assure you I am.”
His charming smile never budged. “It’s doubly nice to meet you, then. Diesel raved about you when we met this morning.”
Diesel had no idea why he couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot. “Kuba was super close with his mom as well.”
Kuba nodded. “I have several memories of sitting exactly where you are, drinking coffee with Mom.”
“Was?” His mom had a certain look in her eye that Diesel couldn’t read.
A sad smile touched Kuba’s lips. “She passed away not long before I turned eighteen. Brain aneurysm.”
Nova covered her mouth for a second. Her voice shook a little when she responded.
“I’m so sorry to hear that. That’s a tough loss.
I lost my parents in a car accident two weeks after I turned eighteen.
” She glanced Diesel’s way for half a second before meeting Kuba’s gaze again.
“We were about to head to dinner. Do you want to join us?”
Kuba looked his way, as if unsure how to proceed.
Diesel couldn’t let him think he was intruding. “Yeah. You should definitely join us.” He kept his voice as bright as possible. Diesel knew what it felt like to question if someone was just being polite or if they were genuine.
After a moment, Kuba caved. “I’d love that. Just let me know where to meet you.”
“You can ride with us.”
Diesel wasn’t sure why his mom was so gung-ho, but that was one of the many things he loved about her. She was genuinely a good person.
Kuba kept smiling, even as he declined her invitation. “I appreciate the offer, but I can’t leave my car.” His eyes flickered toward Diesel. “I need your son’s services for a reason.”
Nova nodded. She stood. “That makes sense. I think we decided on seafood. Do you have any allergies?”
Diesel fought all the laughter at the question. She was in mom mode.
Kuba kept smiling like he found her charming. “No. Seafood sounds great.”
Diesel stood. “Salty Pete’s?”
Kuba dipped his chin. “My favorite. I’ll meet you two there. I just need to run into this store real quick and grab something.”
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they went their separate ways. His mom made it until they were in the car. “Holy shit, Diesel. You’re in trouble.”
Diesel’s brow automatically furrowed. “How so? He seems really nice.”
Nova cackled like she had heard the funniest of jokes. “You’re so innocent, baby. How did I manage to raise someone with such a pure mind? I know you saw everything I just did.”
Diesel was confused as fuck. “Okay.” Even he heard the bewilderment in his voice.
Nova chuckled under her breath. “I’m so happy you took this job. I get the feeling you’ll love it.”
Diesel gave up trying to solve his mom’s riddle. He backed out of his parking spot and tried to clear his mind. All cleaned up, Kuba looked nice. He hoped Kuba hadn’t felt pressured to join them. Diesel wanted them to start out on the right foot.
Kuba sat in the parking lot of Salty Pete’s, staring at the building.
He shouldn’t have agreed to do this. Kuba had let Nova’s over-the-top smiles get to him.
He also couldn’t bring himself to accept how much this dinner was actually about Diesel.
What in the fuck was wrong with him? Was he this lacking in friends?
Had Kuba gotten desperate for company? Yes, actually, but something about the entire situation rattled him.
The level of happiness he had felt when he stepped from his car and spotted Diesel had been unreal.
Definitely illogical. Maybe he should text Diesel and make up some excuse.
As if reading his mind and challenging him, his phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Diesel: We already got a table. As soon as you come through the door, turn left. We’re at the end against the wall.
Damn. It would be rude if he backed out now.
Kuba: I’m here. Headed inside now.
With nothing left but to do it, Kuba grabbed the flowers he had bought for Nova and climbed out of the car.
As always, Kuba’s gaze stayed on the move, looking for threats.
Yet he never met anyone’s stare or returned a single smile.
He wasn’t actually considered that nice of a guy.
Kuba didn’t know why this was different.
Maybe the holidays had him extra missing his mom.
It kind of felt like his mom had sent him another one so he wouldn’t be alone.
He fought a goofy smile as he spotted the waiting pair. They beamed at his arrival. It was crazy how alike they looked. They honestly seemed nice, and not in a fake way.
Kuba handed the flowers to Nova as he chose the chair next to Diesel. “Thank you for the invitation.”
Nova looked ecstatic at the gift. “Oh my gosh. Thank you. These are so pretty. You didn’t have to do this, though. I’m just happy to have you here.”
He should have felt awkward, but he didn’t. “Yeah, I don’t know. It just felt like you needed something pretty.”
Nova’s gaze slid Diesel’s way. She wore an expression he couldn’t decipher. “Diesel tells me you’re an MMA fighter. Did you take a lot of martial arts lessons as a kid?”
If Kuba wasn’t mistaken, Diesel’s ears had turned red.
He kept his face buried in a menu, stopping Kuba from seeing if his cheeks matched.
Kuba had no clue why he would be embarrassed.
Of course, his mom would want to know what her son would be dealing with on his assignment.
“I did. But believe it or not, I hated every second of it.” Kuba laughed at his confession.
He kept going despite never having said that out loud.
“Hating it or not, I was good at it, so…” Kuba shrugged.
“Here you are,” Nova finished for him. “I’m sure your mom would be so proud of you.”
“I hope so.” Incapable of doing anything else, Kuba’s gaze swung Diesel’s way.
He was a little proud of himself for lasting this long.
“You’re blessed. You have a great mom.” And he looked like a god.
There had to be something wrong with him.
No one was perfect. Damned if Diesel didn’t look flawless from where he sat.
“I know.”
“Awww. Thank you.” Nova’s cheerful thanks forced Kuba to look her way again.
“I’m so glad you could come with us tonight.
Just knowing Diesel will be spending his time with someone nice makes me happy.
” Her tone changed and her expression darkened.
“Not everyone he’s worked with has been good people. Every new client worries me.”
He nodded along while his mind raced, wondering what had happened to Diesel to elicit such a strong response.
Kuba had all the questions now. His head turned Diesel’s way again.
Their gazes met and held. Kuba knew right then he would dig into Diesel’s past. The guy had him curious as hell.
Kuba fully intended to learn any detail he could.
He didn’t understand why he cared so much, but he did. Kuba needed to know everything.