Crossing the Line Part One (A Novella) (8 page)

"I'm feeling great, Nick." She raised on her
tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Before she turned back to the stove,
she patted his cheek. "How's work going?"

"Good." He crossed to the counter and poured
himself a glass of sweet tea. "We're making steady progress."

She smiled. "And how is Victoria doing these
days?"

"Mom." Nick watched the smile blossom on her
face and his heart warmed. For the longest time, he and Luke were
terrified she wouldn't make it. Watching her take treatments, vomit
for hours on end, and lose her hair was the most petrifying thing
he'd ever faced. If talking about Victoria made her this happy, he
might just bring Victoria over for dinner. Anything to keep that
sparkle in his mom's eyes.

"Is she as pretty as I remember? I haven't
seen her since I used to clean her parents house."

"I didn't know you cleaned their house." He
commented.

"Is that going to be a problem between you
two? She probably doesn't remember it either. It was just after
your father left. Anyway, is she as pretty?"

"Even more." Nick thought back to the flea
market. "She's feisty, too. You never told me about cleaning for
them."

"You didn't need to know. Giving my baby a
run for his money, is she?" Charlotte's brown eyes danced. "Good,
you need it. Always having women fall over you makes you weak. You
need to work for the right one."

Nick arched a brow. "Who says I want
to?"

Charlotte tapped the side of his thigh with
a wooden spoon. "Sit. You're making me crazy standing about."

He complied, taking his tea and sitting at
the table nearby.

"Hey, Mom. Nick." Luke walked into the
kitchen just in time, in Nick's opinion.

"You know Luke's still pining after
Halle."

Luke stopped just inside the kitchen. Beside
the yellow walls, his dirty white shirt stood out. "That's not
fair. I just got here. You can't throw me under the bus that
quick."

Charlotte laughed. "That's what mom's are
for. Besides, I think it's sweet. One day she'll come to her senses
and divorce that weasel. Then Luke will sweep her off her feet.
Show her what a real man is."

"We're only real men because you taught us
how to be." Luke hugged her.

Her eyes misted. "Stop that. We've had
enough tears for this lifetime. Now, wash your hands and set the
table."

Nick met Luke's gaze, knowing that they both
thought the same thing. They were blessed to have her.

§ §

Victoria sat in her comfy chair in her
pajamas while the girls watched
Good Luck Charlie
reruns.
She wasn't going to lie, sometimes she peeked over the edge of her
laptop to watch too. The girls talked quietly about school while
she mulled over if she needed a receptionist when the office
opened. What was the point in having a
receptionist
counter
without someone to man it? Could she afford to pay someone or could
she just do it herself?

It would look more professional if she had
someone to greet the clients. She knew first impressions were
important and she wanted to impress. Her livelihood depended on
it.

"Mom, can I go to cheer camp over the
summer?" Lucia suddenly asked. She'd finally forgotten her mom's
refusal to let her go on the date, and had returned to acting like
her normal self.

Victoria looked up from the computer screen
and blinked. "Camp? How much is it?"

"I don't know. Some of the girls were
talking about it at school today and I want to go. I think it's two
weeks long." Lucia rose on her knees and put her hands together.
"Please, please, please!"

Victoria laughed at her theatrics. "Get me
the information on it, and we'll see."

Lucia squealed and wrapped Helena in a tight
hug. "Yes!"

"Get off of me." Helena shoved at Lucia, her
mouth turned in a severe frown. "No one cares about your stupid
camp."

"Helena!" Victoria snapped.

Helena jumped at the sound of her mom's
outburst. Tears filled her eyes. "I hate you! I hate both of you!"
She darted out of the living room and stormed upstairs.

Victoria heard Helena slam her door and her
stomach rolled. She didn't mean to yell at her, she just didn't
appreciate how Helena acted toward Lucia. She refused to cry in
front of Lucia, even if the backs of her eyelids were hot with
tears.

"What is wrong with her? Why is she being
such a bitch?"

"Lucia!" Victoria could feel her world
spinning out of control. "Do not say that word again. Especially
about your sister. Go to your room, right now!"

Lucia scowled at her, but Victoria didn't
back down. She pointed to the stairs and Lucia trudged up them. Her
door slammed a second later.

When did everyone start fighting with each
other? When did she lose her grip on her daughters? Was it because
their dad hadn't spoken or seen them in a while? Well, even if it
killed her, if she had to drive the girls to his place, Roger was
going to spend time with them.

She wanted to go check on Helena, but lately
every time she showed even an ounce of worry or care, it made
Helena's attitude nastier. Resigned, she went to bed, hoping that
when she woke up tomorrow, everything would miraculously be
better.

When Nick called
and asked her to meet him for a business dinner later in the week,
stating a problem at the office, Victoria reluctantly agreed. Even
if it was only for business, it made her jumpy. Being with him
again, outside of work, tested her resolve to stay away from him
socially.

He picked a small seafood restaurant nestled
on the boardwalk near her office. She could tell he hadn't gone
home by the sawdust on his jeans. He grinned when he saw her look.
"I didn't have time to change. I came straight from the
office."

She shook her head, trying to resist the
urge to let her guard down around him. He could obviously charm
women into dropping their walls, becoming addicted to him, and then
throwing them away, like the girl at the flea market. She didn't
want to end up like that.

He led her to the tables situated on a deck
facing the water and pulled out her chair.

Because manners were important in her
family, she smiled over at him, let him push the chair in.
"Thanks." She glanced over the beach to the water beyond. The sun's
setting rays cast pink light over the horizon and only a few clouds
floated in the sky.

"What do you want to eat?"

Victoria turned her attention back to the
plastic menu in front of her. "I have a craving for fried
shrimp."

"Good choice." He grinned at her over his
menu. "I'm getting the sampler platter."

Victoria's brows rose. "That's a lot of
food. Think you can eat it all?"

"If I don't, I'll take it home." Nick leaned
back in his chair. "Since this is a business dinner, does that mean
you're paying?"

Victoria couldn’t fight her smile at the
humor in his eyes. "I guess it could be a write off."

"There's no way you're paying for this
dinner. My mother would be disappointed if I was so
ungentlemanly."

Watching him move across the table, the cut
of his muscles underneath his shirt, the easy way he smiled,
awakened more sensations in her body. She wondered what it would
feel like to have his weight settle on top of her. She quickly
averted her eyes, just in case her thoughts were written on her
face.

The waiter took their orders and disappeared
into the back. A few people looked over curiously, wondering what
the two of them were doing together. She'd have to make a point of
letting people know it was just a business dinner. If it got around
that they were having dinners, date-like dinners, the gossip would
be all over the town in less than an hour.

What was she thinking? It was probably
already all over the place.

"What's on your mind?" Nick asked. His head
cocked to the side and she felt the intensity of his stare slide
over her skin. She resisted a shiver.

"Nothing." She made a mental note to ignore
the other people and focus on the business.

He looked like he wanted to say something
more but instead asked, "Did your clients like the furniture we
picked out?"

"We?" She laughed. "I'll go with that since
you helped out. Yeah, so far. The sand dollar frame is going in a
beach house I'm redecorating."

"What exactly is it that you do? I've never
met an interior decorator." Nick nodded to the waiter that brought
his beer and her sweet tea.

"I redecorate for clients and hunt down
furniture and accessories they want. Some give me creative control.
I also help out the real estate agents around here with stagings,
which is basically where I decorate a house they're trying to sell.
Decorated houses usually sell easier than bare ones."

"Makes sense." He looked at her over his
beer, his stare assessing. She felt naked underneath it, like he
was looking for something she didn't know was there. "How long have
you been in the business?"

The sincerity in his voice weakened her
walls. She was used to Roger's indifference, his questions had
always been a roundabout way to talk about himself. "For a little
more than five years. Once the girls were older, I could put the
time I needed into it. It took a while, but the business grew."

"Because you worked hard." Nick's serious
gaze met hers. "My mom worked hard, too. I can appreciate what that
takes when you have kids."

A blush crept into her cheeks. "Thanks."

He winked at her. "Anything to see you
smile."

Her smile widened and she shook her head.
"What did you want to meet me about?"

"Okay, no flirting." He sat back, expression
business-like. "We ran into a problem with the old bathroom. We
were building your pretty bathroom around the old pipes and
fixtures, but they busted when we were taking the sheetrock and
wall out."

"Okay. Will that delay things?"

He shrugged. "It wouldn't have if Lowe's had
the piping we needed in stock. Apparently there's a lot of
construction going on right now. They ordered what we need, but
it'll take a few days to come in. Whoever owned the place before
you did a horrible job of taking care of it."

"Dad said it was an out-of-towner. They left
it when tourism dropped and forgot about it. Apparently they had a
lot of money to waste. When they finally put it up for sale, Dad
and I decided to buy it."

"Your dad's a great guy." Nick told her. An
expression crossed his face that she couldn't read.

"Yeah, he is." She toyed with the straw in
her drink, nervous but not sure why. "Him butting in at the office
isn't aggravating?"

"No." Nick smiled, all trace of whatever was
bothering him gone. "He's a big help. Hell, he could run the
place."

"I think he misses working. Mom probably
drives him crazy, asking him to do gardening and stuff with her.
Thanks for letting him help."

"It's no problem."

The waiter brought their food and set it in
front of them. The smell drifted to Victoria and her stomach
growled. She couldn’t remember if she'd eaten lunch or not.
Sometimes she got caught up in work and didn't realize until later
that she'd missed it.

"How's Helena doing?" He asked after taking
a few bites of his food.

His interest in her daughters only made her
attraction more intense. If she wasn't careful, she'd forget all
about wanting to focus on her career and fall into bed with him. He
made her crave the passion and desire that he could offer her. He'd
unknowingly woken an urge in her and she had to fight not to
succumb and have him satisfy it.

"She's not acting any better. Lucia hasn't
said anything else about the bullies at school, but Helena still
feels that I'm enemy number one and that her dad walks on water.
Sometimes I wish I could tell her the truth about her dad, but I
don't want to be the one that breaks her heart. Not that she would
believe me anyway."

"She probably wouldn't. She's focused on her
dad, and sees him the way she wants to. Trust me, it won't be long
before she realizes it and you'll be there for her. She has a great
family that will help her through it."

His bittersweet tone squeezed her heart. He
messed with the food on his plate without eating. She wanted to ask
again about his childhood, wanted to make him smile and forget it,
but he'd made sure she understood that topic was off limits. She
steered the conversation back to business. "How long until you
start laying the floors and everything?"

His blue eyes warmed as he discussed the
work he needed to do. Her heart beat rapidly every time his lips
turned up at the corner and his dimple appeared. She glanced at his
hands as he ate and suddenly wished for those hands to be on her.
Warmth flushed her skin and the air became hotter. She had to get
herself under control. Panic set in and she curled her fingers
around the napkin in her lap. These new sensations overwhelmed her.
How had she lived to be thirty-two and never felt them?

True to his word, he paid for the meal. She
ignored more of the curious stares as they left the restaurant. His
hand went to her lower back to guide her as they walked down the
wooden stairs to the parking lot, and the breath left her body. The
hotness of his skin against her shirt soaked through to her back
and liquid fire settled between her legs.

"Thanks for meeting me." He rubbed the
stubble on his cheek. His eyes roamed over her face.

"You're welcome." She leaned against her
driver's side door. He stepped closer, placing his arms on the
roof. She held her breath, afraid to breathe in his scent as
aroused as she already was. He surrounded her and every nerve
ending she had lit up.

His head dipped lower and her lips parted.
His right hand came up and brushed right below her lips. Her knees
weakened.