Page 15 of Mateo & Nicole
But her heart? That was another story.
Her heart remembered back to a time when he was sweet and friendly. How, once upon a time, he’d told Caroline to stop putting her down. Or when a bunch of jocks had gotten together with some of the cheerleaders and stolen her clothes from the locker room, Mateo had turned the tables on them, and they’d had to walk to the middle of the commons in their underwear to get their own clothes.
Those memories seemed so long ago, and Nikki had nearly forgotten all about them.
Mateo had been nothing but nice to her, and here she was, trying to keep him at arm’s length for what purpose? Because of some deep-buried crush?
She sighed with a new sort of resignation. “What do you want to know?”
The light that returned to his eyes was enough to burn a hole right through to her heart. “First of all, tell me about your son.”
Paxton was in the kitchen. He hadn’t been interested in leaving the kitchen while she worked. The fact that Mateo was asking about him unnerved Nikki to the point that her walls came right back up into place.
“Why do you want to know about Paxton?”
Mateo shrugged, his eyes shifting to the cowboys as Daniel started leading what could only be an employee meeting. His hands were on the table again, and they were oh so close to her own. It wouldn’t take any effort at all for her pinky to graze his.
She had half a mind to do just that—if only to recreate the sensation that had occurred just moments ago. Nikki was so wrapped up in trying to decide whether or not to let her fingertips graze his that she hadn’t realized Mateo had been answering her question. And now he was waiting for an answer of his own. Wait a minute. He’d mentioned her ex. Maybe he’d shifted his question because he could tell she was uncomfortable talking about her son.
Shoot! She really should have been listening.
Well, she wasn’t going to make him repeat himself. That would be mortifying all on its own.
Nikki cleared her throat and gave Mateo a side-eyed glance. “There’s not much to say. It wasn’t a terrible relationship in the grand scheme of things.”
He huffed. “That doesn’t sound good either.”
She shrugged. “We fell out of love.” Nikki wasn’t certain, but she thought she might have sensed his whole body stiffening at her confession. The embarrassment over her inability to keep a man interested was like a sour, twisting rope that knotted within her stomach and threatened to come up and out any way it could. Nikki frowned, wishing she hadn’t said it.
Mateo didn’t move. His eyes remained locked on Daniel where he stood.
“I mean, we were in love once. I wouldn’t have married him if I hadn’t been.”
“But he cares for Paxton? Spends time with him?”
Her brows creased, and then she realized her mistake. Mateo thought her ex was the same man who had fathered Paxton. While Dennis had been good to Paxton, he’d never wanted to adopt him. He’d never wanted children.
Nikki swallowed hard. “Actually, his father isn’t in the picture.”
Mateo’s head snapped around and fire filled his gaze. “What?” The single word sounded like it was spoken from something that was half-man and half-beast.
She faced him and forced a smile. “You misunderstand. My ex isn’t Paxton’s father. Not his biological one. Paxton knew this growing up, so when I ended things with Dennis…” She paled as she noted the confusion mixing with the irritation in his eyes. She’d always been good at reading him. Or at least she had been when they were younger.
“So, this Dennis guy… he’s not related to Paxton by blood… but he was his dad, right?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks, blossoming beneath her skin. This sounded like such a mess even to her. Nikki shook her head. “Dennis neverwantedkids. He wasn’t cruel to Paxton or anything, but he never wanted to be called ‘dad’ either. It was like he’d put up with having one since he was part of the packaged deal.”
Mateo’s expression morphed into something resembling distaste. “Sure sounds like he was cruel to me. Kids don’t understand the nuances of that sort of thing.”
She flinched beneath the weight of his judgmental tone. “Yeah, well, he loved me, and he cared for Paxton, so that was enough…” Her argument was weak, and she was beginning to hate herself for letting Mateo get under her skin.
“So what about his father? His biological one?”
“What does it matter to you?” Nikki snapped. “He’s out of the picture. A mistake in a long list of mistakes I’ve made in my lifetime.”
His eyes softened, and he shifted closer to her. But she wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. She wouldn’t back away. Nikki had learned how to be strong in the face of adversity. And this situation was no different.
He lifted a hand slightly, and for a moment she imagined that he was going to reach out and caress her face. The way he was looking at her—Goodness… No. She couldn’t go there. Nikki schooled her features in an attempt to recover the bantering tone they’d had. “Your turn.”
