Page 35 of Mateo & Nicole
He nodded. “Good.”
“Why’s that?” she crooned.
“Because I want to do it again.”
She huffed a soft laugh. “I don’t know how often I can get away to go dancing?—”
“Not dancing.”
“Oh?”
Mateo shook his head slowly and pointed to the smaller of the three cups. “You know what this is?”
She glanced at it, then shook her head. “Should I?”
He chuckled. “I got Paxton a hot chocolate.”
That seemed to surprise her. Nikki’s mouth dropped open slightly as she exhaled. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I like him.” He leaned closer still. “And I like you.” When she remained silent, he had to chuckle again. “Nikki, Ireallylike you. I thought it would be nice if we spent more time together, and I know that means spending time with Paxton.”
She blinked several times. “You… want to spend time with my son?”
He reached forward and traced a line down her jaw, smiling when she shivered at his touch. “Let me take you and Paxton for a ride. He’s been getting real good at riding.”
“That was before he broke his collarbone.” She shook her head. “It’s not a good idea for him to do any physical activity?—”
“I’ll make sure he’s not jostled. He can ride with me on my horse. I swear he’ll stay safe. We can go for a short ride to this great place we have on the eastern side of the property. We can make an afternoon of it—take a picnic. We can bring music and play some games. It’ll be great.”
She bit down on her lower lip as she considered his offer. Already, he could see that her hesitation was fading. All he had to do was tip the scales in his favor and he’d get what he wanted.
“We don’t have to go today, of course. But we could do it on Saturday. That will give you a few days to prepare something simple for meals so you won’t have to worry about feeding the men.”
“He would probably like to get out of the house,” she lamented. “He’s been going stir-crazy since he broke his collarbone. And since he can’t do his riding lessons until it’s healed…”
“Exactly. This will be perfect for him.”
Nikki stared at him, her focus diving deeper into his mind and his soul. He shifted beneath that scrutiny, wondering if he’d pushed too much too soon. Technically, they’d only been on the one date. Nikki didn’t seem like the type to want to jump into something so quickly.
He placed the cardboard cup carrier on the counter at his side and took her hand in his. “I don’t want to rush anything if you’re not comfortable.” Even as he said the words, his heart lurched. There was a part of him that was worried if he didn’t hold tight to what he’d found with her last night, he’d lose it.
For a moment, she didn’t move. But then she shook her head. “I don’t feel like you’re rushing anything,” she hedged. “And Paxton is clearly comfortable with you. I don’t see why we couldn’t do something on Saturday. You’re sure it would be okay for him to ride with you?”
He expelled a breath of relief. “Positive.”
* * *
“Look,Mom! Look, there’s a bird over there.”
Mateo’s arm tightened around Paxton’s waist. “Easy, kid, you’re squirming too much. Can’t have you falling off this horse or your mother will have my hide.”
Paxton twisted his head around to grin at Mateo. “Sorry,” he said.
A chuckle reverberated from Mateo’s chest. Up until he’d gotten to know Paxton, he hadn’t realized just how fun it was to spend time with a kid. When he’d dated Caroline, he’d known he’d wanted children. He’d planned on having a big family just like his parents. Unfortunately, that dream had died along with his marriage.
Now, it was coming back to him, and it didn’t terrify him nearly as much as he’d thought it would.
His eyes glanced to Nikki’s from where she rode her own horse. Man, he loved seeing her smile. She had to be the most beautiful woman in the world, and he got the strongest feeling that she’d never quite see that.
