CHAPTER SIXTEEN
TROY
N ash Nightingale called at nine a.m. on the dot.
He wasn’t happy that I wasn’t getting on the private jet with him.
“Louisville, huh?” He expelled a sigh.
“I need to be here for at least another day.” I’d explained to him the why . It helped that I framed Maddie as a client needing additional protection. “But I’m hopeful you’ll still consider me even though I missed the mark today.”
Nash was quiet for a few moments. Then he said, “What if we picked you up?”
“Sorry?”
“We can swing through Louisville and get you on our way south.”
“That would mean postponing the trip,” I said slowly.
“I’ve got some flexibility,” Nash said smoothly. “Do you?”
“I sure do.”
“Great. Let’s plan on that, then. We’ll see you in two days.”
I hung up the phone, both relieved and feeling sick. This meant I was actually leaving Maddie and Grace behind. I knew Maddie would understand. But dread coated my insides as I imagined this next chapter. Because deep down, I didn’t believe it could work.
How could it? Maddie and Grace in Louisville, and me, everywhere but. Maybe it could work if they traveled alongside me, but that was impossible. Maybe it could work if I got a desk job in Louisville, but that was impossible too.
The only thing that was certain was that I had no idea what it might look like moving forward. And that’s what I told Maddie when I shared Nash’s new plan after my call.
“I want to be with you, Maddie,” I told her. “I want you and Grace in my life. But I don’t know how it’s gonna look. I’ve never done this shit before and honestly, I’m out of my element.”
She nodded, rubbing her thumbs over my knuckles. She sat cross-legged on the bed in front of me, wearing only an oversized t-shirt as pajamas. I’d never seen her look so delicious, but now was not the time to feast.
“I want to be with you too,” she said softly.
“I’ll travel a lot. But I want to know that my sexy schoolteacher is here waiting for me for when I get back.” That earned me a smile. “So let’s try this. Whatever it looks like.” I brought the back of her hand to my lips, getting lost in her hazel eyes. “It can be something new. Something just for us.”
“Just for us,” she repeated, and then leaned forward to capture my lips in a kiss.
Quito. Cusco. Medellin. Panama City.
I accompanied Nash Nightingale’s crew across all of South America for weeks on end. And every morning and night, I started and ended my day with Maddie and Grace.
Without fail.
Some nights, we’d be on the video call while Grace colored and Maddie cleaned up the kitchen or worked on school paperwork. Other nights, Maddie and I were lying in bed together, chatting about the future. And sometimes, when Grace was asleep and I knew I wouldn’t be overheard by my travelmates, Maddie and I had adult fun.
We’d fallen asleep together on the video call. We’d watched movies while on video call.
It was fucking wild. Like living a dream that felt too good to be true. Here I was, traveling the world and dating a woman. I could be on the move, and let someone else into my heart. I hadn’t realized the two could co-exist.
For now, it was enough.
Nash Nightingale was a good employer. He was rough around the edges, got a little too drunk and prone to annoying songs sometimes, and could talk circles around anyone who dared utter a word about real estate. When he had beer, he could speak Spanish, and when he had whiskey, he could speak French. For a poor kid from an old steel town in Ohio, he’d come a long way. That’s what I related to the most. He didn’t have a stable father figure growing up—never even knew who his father was to begin with—and spent his life trying to claw his way out of poverty. Just like the rest of us in the Fairchild orbit.
He and I hit it off fast. It was evident by the end of week one that we were a good fit. By the end of week two, we’d gotten drunk together. By week three, Maddie had lured Nash onto a video call one night and roped him into the accountability plan for me taking care of my knee. And by the end of week four, we were finally considering coming back to the US. Nash and his twin brother Archer were somewhere between boss and brother for me. So when they began laying out plans for the upcoming year, I knew that New York was my new base.
It had to be. That’s where they needed me, and that’s what made sense.
Which meant my tenure in Seven’s apartment, looking after Jordan’s weird-ass cat Ranger, was back in the forecast.
It just didn’t leave a lot of time for visits to Louisville. That was the part I was trying to figure out. We could be long distance for a time. But I wanted her in my arms every night. That was the goal.
After Nash’s South American “test trip”, I finagled a stopover in Louisville. I got four days before they needed me back in New York, when I’d drive north from Louisville in my Jeep. Four magical days with Maddie and Grace…I hoped .
When I pulled up to her parents’ house in early March, I felt like I was in a dream. My muscles were coiled tight with anticipation of seeing them again. Seeing if these daily video calls for the past month had really passed as a relationship.
Maybe I was deluding myself.
Maybe the bottom would fall out on this any second.
Grace was the first to burst out of the door. She was dressed in a winter coat and boots, clearly dressed and waiting for me to arrive. I picked up the cute little blondie and spun her around as she shrieked with excitement. “Toy!”
Well if that wasn’t fucking worth the four week absence, I didn’t know what was.
But then came Maddie.
She burst out of the house next, racing my way with the biggest, prettiest grin on her face. My heart nearly stopped beating as I drank her in. Brown wisps of hair escaped her topknot as she shrieked and launched herself into my arms. I received her jump-hug easily, my heart racing a mile a minute.
“God, we missed you!” She cinched her arms around my neck, laughing wildly as I hoisted her.
“I missed you more.” I couldn’t wait any longer. I kissed her, my tongue finding hers instantly, onlookers be damned. Her thighs squeezed around my torso as my hands slid to cover her ass. A groan began to rumble out of me, until Grace’s little voice broke through.
“Mommy has a boo boo again,” Grace said.
We dissolved with laughter. I squeezed the melons of her ass cheeks, pulling back enough to kiss the tip of her nose.
“Hello. I’m ten seconds away from defiling you in your parents’ driveway.”
She giggled, pressing her forehead to mine. “Is that a promise?”
“Or a threat. Not sure which. Fuck, I missed you.”
“We should go inside. My parents are obsessed with you and need to tell you how much they love you.” Maddie wriggled against me and I loosened my grip, letting her slide to the ground. “How much time off did you get?”
I bit my bottom lip as I sized her up. Juicier than fucking ever. I found her hand and brought it to my lips. “Four days.”
I caught the slightest beginning of disappointment crashing across her face, but she perked up quickly. “We’ll make the best of it. Let’s go in.”
“Hey. Guess what?”
A knowing grin curled at her lips. “You went to the doctor.”
“I did. In Quito. Radiology and all.”
“Well?” She watched me expectantly.
“My meniscus was fucked up. You were right.”
She gasped and swatted at my chest while Grace hopped excitedly around us. “See? Don’t doubt me.”
“It was never doubt, baby. Just distraction. You think I’d give up precious seconds with you to go spend it with some ugly dude in a white coat?”
Grace jumped in front of me, wriggling her fingers so I’d pick her up. I scooped her up into my arms and found Maddie beaming at me.
“I’m glad you swallowed your pride and finally went.” She squeezed my bicep. “And now you can heal it, but this means you’re not carrying me anymore. You better listen to your schoolteacher from here on out.”
Fuck. I loved it when she talked like this. “Yes, Miss Maddie.” I couldn’t resist—I dipped down for a kiss. Before I pulled away, I whispered so only she could hear, “But if you won’t let me carry you, this just means that you need to sit on my face instead.”
Her cheeks flushed and she bit at her bottom lip.
Grace squirmed in my arms, giggling. “Mommy and Toy kiss.”
I followed Maddie inside, my gaze coasting over her curves. Now that I was mere feet away from her, it was hard work to keep myself off her. Her parents were just inside the door, which meant they’d probably seen me tonguefuck their daughter. Oops.
“Troy! It’s so good to see you again!” Mrs. Lambert hugged me tightly. When she released me, Mr. Lambert had a hand waiting for me.
“How was South America, son?” The sincerity in his question paired with the sparkle of admiration in his eye did something to the little boy inside me who’d always fantasized about having a stable dad. I didn’t begrudge my father for his mental illness—I’d long accepted him for who he was—but there was something that sparked in that moment. Grace danced in my arms, pumping her fists for “Toy!”
I’d never had the stable dad like Maddie did. And now Grace didn’t either. But maybe I could be something like that role model to this sweet little blondie in my arms.
Even though I had no role model, she was already looking at me with those hearts in her eyes. Jericho hadn’t respected that, or cherished it, but I would.
“South America was awesome. But it’s been a long month,” I told the family as Maddie shed her coat and boots and then helped Grace lose the layers. “I’m glad to be back.”
“We hope you’ll stay here while you’re in town.” Maddie’s mom patted my arm. “Our house is yours. Always.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be.” I brought Maddie’s hand to my lips for a kiss. Because I fucking meant it.
We just needed to figure out a way that we could have more time together than four days every month.
And I had an idea.