Everly
EVERLY
I’m not in the market for a woman, and even if I were, I wouldn’t pick a woman like you.
Nico’s harsh rejection sliced through me as easily as a sharpened blade. Heat crept up my neck as I stared after his imposing figure striding away. What did he mean, “a woman like me”? What was wrong with me? Was I inherently unlovable or something? Is this why Paul left?
No. I refused to believe that. I might not be the catch of the century, but I wasn’t unlovable. Rhett loved me. My parents loved me. And they’re the only ones who mattered.
A hankering to see my mom and dad washed over me. They moved to Mexico three years after Dad had an accident at the construction site, which meant he couldn’t work there any longer. It was much cheaper to live in Mexico than anywhere in the United States, and given my dad’s tiny pension, it made sense for them to stretch what little money they had as far as they could.
Maybe if I saved enough, I could fly down for a few days the next time Rhett broke up for the school holidays. Then again, two round-trip economy tickets to Querétaro would cost over seven hundred dollars, and that was money I could put toward a therapist for Rhett.
I’d FaceTime them instead. Tonight after Rhett’s bath. It would be wonderful to see them, and Rhett would enjoy talking to them, too. At least that was better than no contact at all. When Paul walked out, Mom had wanted to return to America to help me with Rhett, but I’d flat out refused. They’d settled so well in Mexico, and by coming back here, they’d have to live in virtual poverty. I wouldn’t allow that to happen. It was my mess, and I’d clean it up.
When we got home, I plunked Rhett in front of the TV and set about tackling the huge pile of ironing stacked on the kitchen table. Turned out the mind-numbing task wasn’t a good idea, though. It allowed far too much time to think, and my mind kept returning to Nico’s stark rebuff. I’d made it perfectly obvious I found him attractive, and if I’d read the signals correctly, he liked me, too. But clearly the offer of lending a sympathetic ear had hit a nerve. Maybe he wasn’t yet over his accident. I shouldn’t have pressed him on it.
No woman wanted to be so easily spurned by a man as gorgeous as Nico Palmer, but despite how much his cruel and flippant dismissal had hurt me, I still wanted to erase the sadness in his eyes and tell him everything would be okay. One day. Maybe.
Oh, what the heck did I know? It wasn’t as if I had it all together. Hell, I was a mess. I put on a good show, but inside, I wanted to curl up in my dad’s arms and bawl my eyes out. I loved Rhett. I’d do anything for him, but damn, single parenthood was hard. It killed me that I couldn’t afford a top-notch therapist, one who would find the key to unlock the thoughts in Rhett’s head and somehow convince him that Paul’s leaving had nothing to do with him. I could say it until I was blue in the face, but even though Rhett would tell me he knew it wasn’t him, he didn’t believe it. Not in his heart.
On a sigh, with barely a dent made in the ironing, I gave up and opened my laptop instead.
“Rhett, don’t sit so close to the TV,” I said automatically, tapping my password on the keyboard.
He shuffled back about six inches.
Better than nothing, I suppose.
I opened my email program and scanned the list of unread emails. Most of them were junk, and not for the first time, I questioned why the spam software I’d purchased didn’t filter them out as it had promised to. I should ask for a refund.
I was so busy pressing the delete button that I almost missed one. Only the subject matter gave me a momentary pause. It was a response to the cold-call emails I’d sent to tout for work. The first one I’d received.
My fingers trembled as I opened it. Scanning the response, a smile edged across my face.
“Yes!” I cried.
Rhett shot a glance over his shoulder. “Mommy?”
I put the laptop on the coffee table, jumped to my feet, and did a little jig. Rhett giggled and joined in, and for those few moments, my boy came back.
“Mommy got a new client.” I gripped his hands, and we spun around, which brought on more laughter.
Out of all the messages I sent, this one was the one I’d pinned my hopes on. The company was a subsidiary of a much larger firm, and I hoped that if they were happy with my work, they might recommend me up the line. If I could get a foot in the door with a large company, that would open doors for others to take a chance on me.
And finally, I’d be able to start putting aside some money for Rhett’s therapy sessions.
I responded, accepting the appointment. Where one spark of interest caught fire, maybe more would follow.
I bathed Rhett, and then the two of us snuggled on the couch and video-called my parents.
Half an hour later, I hung up and put Rhett to bed. I perched on the edge of his bed and read him a story, but he’d withdrawn into himself again, and I could tell he wasn’t listening. I brushed aside a lock of his hair and kissed his forehead.
“Sweet dreams, soldier.”
He offered up a faltering smile, then turned on his side, facing away from me. His mood swings from happy and giggly to withdrawn and sullen happened so fast that my head spun. The thoughts running through his head, ones he refused to share with me, scared the hell out of me.
And it was all Paul’s fault.
There were times the rage festering beneath the surface rose up, surprising me with its strength. Right now was one of those times. I hated the misery Paul had heaped upon my life, but more especially on Rhett’s. Yet, as well as anger, there was an icy chill in my veins that any day Paul might turn up and demand access to Rhett. He’d already wreaked havoc, but he could so easily cause more pain and disappointment.
If he ever showed his face again, I’d fight him.
I’d fight tooth and nail to protect my son.
I stood outside the school gates with bated breath, waiting for Rhett to appear. There hadn’t been any more altercations with the students, including Brad, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen. If past experience was anything to go by, I expected it to happen and dreaded the fallout that would undoubtedly occur when it did.
I glanced at the other mothers and fathers waiting for their charges, all of them huddled in little groups, chattering away, laughing and smiling. I didn’t mix with the other parents. I was an outsider, a deliberate stance I took in case they judged me and Rhett adversely. I’d love to belong, to join in, to have a support network to lean on, but with friendship came questions, and I wasn’t prepared to provide the answers and risk scrutiny.
Rhett flew out of the building, surrounded by the other kids, his shirt hanging out of his trousers. I blew out a relieved breath, as I did on every school pickup when everything was fine. If there’d been another incident, the school would keep Rhett back until the other children had gone. The fact that he was here, running toward me without Miss Carmichael bringing up the rear, lifted my spirits.
I bent to hug him. “Good day, honey?” I asked, taking his hand.
He wrinkled his nose. “S’okay. I’m going racing now, though, Mommy, aren’t I?” He beamed at the latter comment. “I’ve waited all day, and it’s been so long.”
“You are.” I swallowed down the lump of fear that lodged in my throat at the thought of Rhett being let loose in a motorized vehicle that he might crash and potentially injure himself in. Deep down, I knew Nico and his team wouldn’t allow any harm to come to him or any of the other children in their charge, but asking me to stop worrying about Rhett was like asking the sun not to rise in the east.
The closer we got to the racing school, however, the more my nerves jangled, partly for Rhett and partly for myself. Every time I was due to see Nico, I found myself consumed with anxiety and trepidation. Never had a man made me feel so… off-balance. Whenever I was around him, I acted like a gawky teenager rather than a grown woman and a mother.
As I pulled into the parking lot, I spotted one of the other kids madly beckoning to his parents. Clearly, they weren’t walking fast enough for his liking. I smiled at the sheer excitement plastered all over his face, and weirdly, it calmed me down.
“Ready, soldier?” I asked, twisting in my seat so I could look at Rhett and pick up on any signs that he was feeling anxious or worried about the next couple of hours. The beaming grin that greeted me told me all I needed to know.
“Yes!” he exclaimed.
I unbuckled his seat belt and lifted him down. I managed to catch his hand before he went tearing off up the path. Walking with a child who insisted on bouncing and skipping the whole time wasn’t the easiest, but Rhett’s excitement was so infectious I joined in, and the two of us skipped to the entrance, laughing the whole way. It felt so damned good to see Rhett acting exactly as a carefree six-year-old should, without a worry in the world.
As we walked into the reception area, Nico was the first person I saw. He stood beside Patrick, their heads close together, poring over a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard. I’d hoped for a little time to compose myself before coming face-to-face with him, but fate had other heinous plans for me.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him, though, the pull of attraction making it impossible to look away. Rhett yanked his hand from mine and cried, “Nico,” then ran across and threw himself at the tall, impossibly good-looking man I wanted to climb like a tree.
For goodness’ sake, . It’s not going to happen. Give it up.
“Hey, little man.” Nico tousled Rhett’s hair, then slid his gaze over to me. He smiled, and his dimple appeared. God, I loved that dimple, the rarity of it making it even more special. “Ready for your first outing?”
“Am I ever,” Rhett said, bouncing higher.
I chuckled at such a grown-up comment and made my way over. “He’s barely stopped talking about it the entire drive over,” I said.
Nico nodded, his smile tightening. “We’ll take good care of him. You’re more than welcome to watch him from the viewing platform. Adele will take you there.”
My eyes widened at his suggestion. “Wait, hang on. I’m not watching my son from some viewing platform. I’m coming with you. I want to be exactly where he is.”
Nico drew in a deep breath, then dropped to a crouch in front of Rhett. “Patrick will get you kitted up, little man. I’m right behind you. I’m just going to have a quick word with your mum first.”
“Okay,” Rhett said.
I listened for a tremor in his voice and looked for a lip wobble, but there were no signs of nerves as he happily went off with Patrick. I scanned the faces of the other parents as their precious charges were led away. Not one of them seemed the slightest bit worried.
I frowned, confused. Am I the only concerned parent here?
Nico strode in the direction of his office with me following behind. He opened the door and gestured for me to go in first. There wasn’t a lot of room to pass him, and my arm brushed his as I walked inside. Even that slight contact set off a delicious fluttering in my belly. Jesus. I had it bad. What was it about this dour, arrogant man that made all my lady bits tingle? I must be one of those weird women who were attracted to men who treated them badly. First Paul, with his quick temper and sharp tongue, and now Nico, who’d made it crystal clear he wasn’t interested in a woman like me, whatever the hell that meant.
He closed the door and walked around to his side of the desk as if he wanted to use it as a shield of some kind. He didn’t sit. Neither did I.
“I don’t want to watch Rhett from some viewing platform where, if something happens, I can’t get to him.” I tried to make my voice sound reasonable rather than irate.
“I already told you, , the kids do better when the parents aren’t hanging around. I’ve discussed the same thing with all the other mums and dads, and they’re fine.”
“Meaning what, exactly? That I’m some irrational, overprotective mother who smothers her son?”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
I gasped, my mouth parting in shock. “That’s not true,” I exclaimed.
“Then prove it,” Nico said, folding his arms.
Oh, clever.
I planted my hands on my hips, unwilling to accept defeat but recognizing I’d already lost the argument. “If my son comes back with a single scratch on him, you will have a major problem on your hands. Understand?”
His lips didn’t even twitch. “Yep. Loud and clear.” He skirted around his desk and touched my arm. “That wasn’t an attack, . You’re a great mum. Just back off a little, yeah? Relax. Stop trying so hard.”
I bit the inside of my cheek and nodded. “About the other day, I’m sorry if you thought I’d overstepped the mark.”
His flat stare rippled through me. I waited for him to say something, but when he didn’t, I shook my head and left.