Page 48 of Mateo & Nicole
She seemed to think on Nikki’s words a bit, tapping her finger on her lip before she shrugged. “I guess we’ll never know.” Caroline shifted her attention to the flowers and allowed her fingertips to graze the petals of a carnation. Then her eyes lit up, and she turned to Nikki. “I’m going to be here for at least a week. We should catch up while I’m here. You know, pick up where we left off.”
Nothing sounded worse than spending more unnecessary time with this woman. She was like an illness that Nikki couldn’t seem to cut from her life. She opened her mouth to say as much, but the phone on the table to Caroline’s right flashed and buzzed.
Caroline didn’t even hesitate before picking up the phone and turning it over to see who was calling. Any normal friend would have declined the call, sent it to voicemail, or asked if it was okay to answer it while out with someone else.
But not Caroline.
She simply answered the call and held up a finger to Nikki.
“Sarah! Hey! It’s been forever. How are you doing?”
Based on that answer alone, Nikki knew the call would drag on. She knew Caroline had all but dismissed her. The longer she sat in front of Caroline, the more she hated that she’d allowed herself to get wrapped up in a friendship with her in the first place.
Caroline was no friend of hers.
Nikki sighed, slipping out of the chair where she sat. “Goodbye, Caroline.”
Her friend waved a hand at her. “Oh my gosh, I know, right? Who would have ever predicted that?”
Nikki didn’t look back as she slipped from the coffee shop and headed for her car. Well, that meeting couldn’t have gone more wrong if she’d planned for it.
22
Mateo
Mateo lifted the fist of wildflowers he’d gathered for Nikki. He had a vase for them. While they weren’t as flashy as the flowers from the shop, they suited her better anyway. They were wild and unique, not cultivated the way society thought they should be. He probably should have gotten them to begin with.
A smile tugged at his lips despite the sour way his afternoon had turned out. Caroline might have tracked him down and pushed her way into getting coffee with him, but she wasn’t going to take away the happiness he’d found with Nikki. He’d kept that part of his life secret from Caroline, and he couldn’t have been happier about that.
He marched into the house with his handful of wildflowers and hunted for the vase he knew was around somewhere. His sisters had gotten vases throughout the years from the occasional guy. They wouldn’t mind if he borrowed one.
The flowers looked good on the kitchen table. He stared at the vase with a tilted head, wondering if he should have at least picked up a card. Notes were nice, but saying something in person would probably be better.
Yes, something in person would be better for sure. Nikki seemed like the type who would prefer something thoughtful straight from the source.
He headed to his office to get some paperwork done. Nikki’s car hadn’t been out front, so she was likely running errands. Paxton wasn’t running around outside, so either he was with his mother, or he’d found some cowboys to spend time with. Or maybe one of Mateo’s sisters was watching him.
It was nice having the kid hanging around. He felt like one of the family already, and Mateo was looking forward to the day when he could make that permanent. The warmth that spread through his chest at the thought of officially forming a family with Nikki and her son had him reeling. Not even a few months ago, he’d never thought of himself as a family man in the traditional sense. A forever bachelor? Sure. But a dad?
He chuckled to himself, his thoughts going haywire rather than staying focused on his work. Maybe it was time he spoke to Nikki about all of this. She should know where he stood when it came to her boy. He couldn’t imagine she’d be upset.
Mateo lost track of time as he struggled to remain focused on the task at hand. There were documents he had to file, invoices he had to send out, and records he needed to send to his accountant, for heaven’s sake.
The door to the front house opened and then slammed shut as quick footsteps darted through the house and toward the stairs. Paxton had been living here long enough to be able to recognize his steps. Mateo pulled back from his desk and stood, intending to see who was with the boy when he heard her exasperated voice.
“What did I say, Paxton? No running.”
He frowned. She didn’t sound happy. More like she sounded exhausted. Mateo moved farther from his office and caught sight of her as she started up the stairs. Their eyes locked. She didn’t smile at him. Her expression was tight as her focus darted upstairs, then back to him. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” she said with a sigh.
That didn’t sound good. He should get her the flowers. He should pull her into his arms and tell her that whatever was bothering her would turn out okay. He had to do something, right? His fingers twitched at his side, and he nearly took a step toward her but stopped himself. “Everything okay?”
She glanced again up the stairs. Was something wrong with Paxton? He didn’t sound upset. Nikki’s shoulders slumped, and she came down the stairs before lingering at the base. “Can I ask you something?”
Mateo moved toward her. “Of course. You can ask me anything.”
She gnawed on her lower lip, and he got the feeling she wanted to look anywhere else but at him. Something was definitely wrong. He could feel it in the way the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. What happened today to send her into this mood?
