Page 39 of Mateo & Nicole
Every so often, Mateo would catch her attention and wink at her, making all kinds of fluttering feelings explode in her chest. No matter how much she tried to squash them down and remind herself that just because times were good right now didn’t mean they always would be. Things could change in an instant. All she could do was enjoy the time she had with this amazing man and not plan too far into the future—if only to keep her heart safe.
By the end of the night, Paxton and Mateo were in the lead. Sophia and Nikki worked together, and Nikki got the feeling Sophia wanted to say something but kept whatever it was to herself. The other siblings pulled in lower scores and eventually called it quits.
“Rematch,” Camilla and Isabella insisted as one.
Mateo smirked, pulling Paxton to his side with an arm around his shoulders. “I’m sure we can wipe the floor with you again. This kid is a whiz at drawing.”
Paxton had a beautiful glow about him as he stared up at Mateo, and Nikki’s heart constricted. He’d never looked at Dennis that way. Then again, Dennis hadn’t been all that interested in being a father. He’d been kind—but that was where his affection ended. He hadn’t wanted to adopt her son. He hadn’t wanted to raise him.
Nikki’s eyes shifted to Mateo, wondering just how involved he would be if they were to do as he’d suggested earlier and start a family.
Something told her things would be very different than they’d been with Dennis, and she couldn’t say she’d ever be disappointed by that.
He caught her eye and smiled. She returned it with one of her own. Yes, she could definitely see a future with him. And he’d make a wonderful father, too.
18
Mateo
That’s weird.
Mateo stared at his phone at the unknown number. He never got text messages from people other than his contacts. Granted, he’d gotten a handful over the years from people who had the wrong number, but this one was addressed to him.
Unknown:Mateo, I want to see you.
His thumb hoveredover the option to delete the message. He didn’t know why he hesitated. If he didn’t have the number saved in his phone, he didn’t need to know who it was. The fact that they knew his name had to be the only reason.
And yet his gut was telling him he should just ignore it and move on. If it was important enough, they could call. Or they could tell him who they were.
He stared at the message and then shook his head before closing out the app and shoving the phone into his pocket. Whoever it was could reveal their identity if they wanted information from him.
Allowing himself to brush off the strange feeling he’d gotten from the message, he thought back to a few nights ago when he’d finally mustered up the courage to have Nikki included in his family activities.
He’d noticed the strange behavior from some of them. They knew of Nikki’s relationship with his ex. And for all he knew, they were only wondering if Mateo had lost his ever-loving mind.
Maybe he had.
How else did one describe when they fell in love after having their heart broken?
He couldn’t help it, though.
Nikki was like the spring rain after the harshest of winters. She was the first sign of green sprouting and the first kiss of warmth from the sun. He could already feel himself releasing the reins he’d clutched so tightly for so long.
And she was everything.
So was Paxton, for that matter.
When the time was right, he’d make sure they both knew he had every intention of claiming them both. He didn’t know the full extent of Paxton’s parentage, but he would do whatever it took to become that boy’s father.
His phone buzzed and he frowned again, pulling it out of his pocket.
Then his heart dropped out of his chest and landed with a thud at his feet.
Unknown:I can tell you saw my message. If you want to ignore me, turn off the read receipts. It’s been almost ten years. I would have thought you were over what happened.
There wasno denying who this person was. He’d deleted Caroline’s information and blocked her for good measure when they’d broken up. Apparently, she had a new number but hadn’t lost his.
Mateo glowered at the message, tempted to ream her out and tell her to go where the sun didn’t shine. He wanted to tell her everything he hadn’t had the strength to say back when she’d ripped his heart into ribbons. He wanted to let the festering anguish rise up and burn with the fury of everything she’d done to hurt him.
