Nico
NICO
With no parking spaces directly in front of Archie’s burger joint, I eased my car around the corner and parked on an adjacent street. I’d lost track of Everly’s vehicle on the way here, but as I climbed out and locked up, I spotted her rusty pickup truck parked on the corner, a short distance from the diner.
I still had no idea what the fuck I was doing here, given I’d made several promises to stay away from a woman who had more than enough shit to deal with without me dumping more in her lap. I carried around far too much bitterness for someone as soft and warm as Everly. I’d only bring her more heartache, and she didn’t deserve that.
Rhett. I was here for Rhett. Something in that boy’s eyes had called to me on a human level. His excitement at the track today had lit him up from the inside out, but as soon as the elation wore off, his demons would return.
Mine always did.
I pushed open the door to Archie’s, the noise inside hitting me. The place buzzed with customers, every table full to capacity, and servers scampered around holding trays of burgers and fries and milkshakes high above their heads as they tried to keep up with the never-ending demand. I spotted Everly and Rhett sitting in a booth. The two of them had their heads buried in a large plastic menu. I ignored the weird feeling churning my stomach and headed over. Everly glanced up and smiled as I approached, then motioned to the empty bench across from her.
“You made it.”
Rhett’s head came up as his mother spoke, and he grinned. I held up my hand for a high five, and he obliged, his grin broadening.
“This place is crazy,” I said, sliding onto the red plastic seating, thankful I had jeans on instead of shorts. I didn’t fancy having to peel myself off the faux leather at the end of the meal.
Everly nodded. “It’s always like this. We were lucky to get a table. Sometimes the line goes around the block.”
I lifted a menu from the stand and skimmed it. “What are you having, Rhett?”
“Cheeseburger,” he responded immediately, which led me to believe that was his staple choice. “With extra ketchup.”
“Sounds good. I’ll have the same.”
“And a milkshake,” Rhett added. “You gotta have a milkshake.”
“Got to,” Everly corrected. “Not ‘gotta.’”
A server stopped by our table and took our order, then ducked behind the counter and handed it to the kitchen. My gaze flicked around the place, conversation drying up now that the formalities were out of the way.
“You didn’t have to come,” Everly said. “It’s awkward, I know.”
I gave Everly my attention, running my eyes over her face, settling on her mouth. I wanted to kiss her. God, how I wanted to kiss her. “I was happy to come along.”
“Is that so?” Her brow lifted in question.
“I’m not in the habit of allowing myself to be coerced.” Realizing how snippy that sounded, I scraped a hand down my face. “Sorry. That came out wrong.”
The server returned with our shakes, and Everly removed the paper from Rhett’s straw, then pushed it in front of him. He slurped noisily, brightening as the sugary treat hit his taste buds.
“Good?” Everly asked, affectionately running a hand over the back of his head.
He nodded. “Sooo good.”
“How about yours?” Her eyes flicked to me, and she pointed her chin. “I hear the peanut butter shake is good. I haven’t tried it myself.”
I reached for a second straw and stuck it through the hole in the plastic lid. “Be my guest.”
Everly smiled and pulled my shake over to her side of the table. She bent her head and sucked, her cheeks hollowing as she tried to force the thick milkshake up the narrow tube. My dick jumped inside my jeans, and I only just managed to stop a groan escaping my lips. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I found her looking at me, a faint blush of pink dusting her cheeks.
“It’s good.” She pushed it back across the table and lowered her chin, looking up at me through luscious lashes. I couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t wearing the normal thick mascara most women favored. “Want to try mine?”
I rubbed my fingers over my lips. “Sure.”
She followed my lead and popped in a spare straw, then slid her shake over to me. Our fingertips touched. Instead of withdrawing hers, she left them there, lingering against mine, her skin soft and warm.
I bent my head and sucked, the strong taste of strawberry exploding on my tongue. “It’s good,” I said, moving my hand away from hers. If the broken contact disappointed her, she didn’t show it.
What the fuck are you doing?
I cleared my throat and focused on Rhett instead. “How’s the vanilla, bud?”
Rhett stopped drinking his shake and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “The best, which is why I’m not sharing.”
I laughed while Everly turned her horrified gaze onto her son. “Rhett Lawson, that is not a very nice thing to say.”
I reached out a hand and touched her arm. She jerked as if I’d burned her. “Let him be,” I murmured. “It’s all good.”
Her expression told me she disagreed, but rather than make a scene, she let it slide. I got it. She wanted to teach her son manners and make sure he grew up well-adjusted and polite. But at the same time, she didn’t want to steal a moment of joy in his life or risk causing a tantrum by coming down on him too harshly.
Not for the first time, the challenges she faced tugged at me. She must be constantly on edge, watching every single word that spilled from her lips.
Lips that right now I was staring at.
I tore my gaze away, but not before she noticed. Damn it. I didn’t want to give her any signs of encouragement. Sure, I fancied her like hell, the stiffy rubbing against my zipper testament to that, but if I bedded her, it’d be a onetime thing, and then it’d just get awkward around the track. I wasn’t capable of getting into any kind of a relationship, and Everly was too nice a woman to mess around. She had it hard enough as it was without me fucking her about and then dropping her once the night was over. Better to avoid any entanglement in the first place. Save us both a lot of shit down the road.
Our food arrived, and the waitress also brought a drawing and some crayons to keep Rhett occupied. Once Everly had seen to him, she picked up her own burger and took a delicate bite. A spot of ketchup settled in the corner of her mouth. She wiped it with her little finger, then licked it off.
“Jesus,” I muttered.
Everly caught my eye. I shifted my position, my rock-hard dick giving me grief, constrained as it was by a tight pair of jeans.
“Adele told me about your accident,” she said, empathy softening her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
My dick deflated. I clamped my jaw shut, my hands unintentionally curling into fists. I hated being pitied. Hated it. Even more so by a woman like Everly. She oozed sympathy and compassion. I didn’t want either. Not from her. Not from anyone.
“Thanks.” I took a huge bite of my burger, chewed, swallowed, and took another bite, all the while staring out the window.
“If you ever want to talk, I’m a good listener.”
I barked out a laugh, and the sarcasm in it was obvious enough that even Rhett lifted his head from his coloring and gave me an odd look. I pinched one of his fries and winked, the attempt at diversion working when he laughed and wrapped his arms protectively around his plate.
Once he started drawing again, I looked over at Everly. “I’m good.”
She drew her teeth across her bottom lip and nodded. “Well, the offer stands if you ever change your mind.”
Fuck. This woman was too nice for her own good. I didn’t want or covet nice. I wasn’t comfortable with nice. I didn’t want a dreamy romance, all hearts and flowers and shit. I wasn’t that kind of man. I preferred harsh, hard, frayed at the edges. One night of hot, sweaty sex and then “See ya, babe.” No ties. No disappointments.
No regrets.
I almost got up and left, but worried that might generate questions from Rhett, and especially as the kid already had issues of abandonment, I kept my arse on the seat. I didn’t want him to think I’d cut and run because of him. So I stuck it out, answering Everly only when I had no other choice. She caught on pretty fast, eventually falling into silence.
We finished our food. I threw a bunch of notes on the table, dismissing Everly’s objections with a flick of my wrist. She smiled thinly, then ushered Rhett out of the restaurant and walked to the corner where she’d parked her beat-up truck.
“Thanks for the invite, bud.” I tweaked Rhett’s nose, which earned me a giggle. Somehow making this kid laugh brought warmth to my chest. Even more reason to deny whatever feelings I had for his mother. The very last thing Rhett needed was for me to bed his mum and then have all this awkwardness between us. Kids picked up on stuff pretty easily. And what if she stopped bringing him to the track? No, better to leave things as they were.
“See ya, ,” Rhett said as his mother lifted him into the back seat and strapped him in.
“See you,” Everly corrected.
“Got a losing battle on your hands there,” I said, not wanting to leave when there was this unspoken tension hovering in the air.
She straightened and closed the door, then turned to face me. “Thank you for paying. You didn’t have to.”
I shrugged. “I know. I wanted to.”
She shielded her eyes from the sun and tipped back her head. “No coercion, right?”
“Correct,” I said, offering up a wry smile.
A moment passed between us. Our eyes locked, and despite the promises I’d made to myself five seconds earlier, I lowered my head to kiss her.
“?”
“Hmm.”
She ran a hand down my arm. “I meant what I said. If you ever want to talk, I’m happy to listen.”
Her altruistic comment broke the spell, and I straightened, a torrent of harsh words on the tip of my tongue. I should have swallowed them. I didn’t.
“Don’t try to fix me, Everly. It’s insulting and unwelcome. I’m not in the market for a woman, and even if I were, I wouldn’t pick a woman like you.”
I whirled around and walked away, but not fast enough to avoid seeing her face crumple. A strong urge to return to her and apologize tugged at me.
Instead, I climbed into my car and left.