“You know.” Her eyes teased him through the dark.
“I can do much more than that.” Nick raised an eyebrow and stroked the base of her neck before dipping his mouth down once more for another taste.
Paige closed her eyes, and could almost feel her heart beating through her chest. She buried her hands in his hair and dipped her head back.
As his lips explored her neck, he slowly reached for the top button of her blouse. At that moment, everything felt so surreal. Here they were making out, as they parked on the same football field, where she would fantasize about what one kiss from him would feel like when she was a teenager.
Paige shook her head and put some distance between them, just as he was about to free her from her blouse.
“Did I miss something?” He grinned and leaned back on one arm.
She took in the field around them, and shook her head, saying, “Did you know I came to every single one of your games in school?”
“Well, your brother was on the team.”
“I didn’t come to watch Sam.” She tilted her head. “Heck, I didn’t even like him back then. My brother was a pain in the butt.”
As Nick stifled a laugh, Paige watched his deep dimples and reached out to softly touch them. “Every game, I sat in those bleachers and cheered you on. And now here we are, and this is so, I don’t know.”
“I know.” He understood. Maybe he was moving too fast. “Did you know that I had the biggest crush on you in school?”
“You did?” She blinked. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Sam wasn’t just a pain in your butt. He’d have killed me – or anyone else that looked twice at his sister.” Nick sat up to gently stroked her hair. “Besides, I tried once.”
“I don’t believe you.” She gave him a look.
“Honest!”
Paige shook her head. “No, I would have remembered something like that.”
“It was the last day of school - my senior year. I figured Sam couldn’t hold it against me since I’d be leaving for college soon. And, well.” He paused to stroke her cheek. “I was going try to kiss you in the bus tunnel.”
She lifted a hand to her mouth and gasped. “No! I remember you stopping me that day. I thought you were just trying to tell me something.” She dropped her head and let out a laugh so loud; he was sure they could hear her over a block away.
“Shhh!” He chuckled, pulling her back in within his reach. “They bust kids out here every weekend there’s an away game trying to sneak onto the field. We don’t need to get caught too.”
She whispered through her now quiet laughter, saying, “So you wanted to kiss … me?”
All fun and games were aside. Nick’s smoldering look spoke volumes. “More than anything.”
Paige felt an electric current spread from her stomach and reach every fiber of her being as they locked eyes. Just like when they were at the bar, it was as if everything paled in comparison as every else thing faded into oblivion. As the music from the cab of his truck faded into the background, Nick reached for her wanting nothing less than to fulfill every desire he’d had for her.
As his hands traveled up her back, she shivered. How could he do that with just one touch? She was in awe of the connection they had. It was more than physical – it was almost spiritual.
As her legs entwined with his, Paige knew she was heading into dangerous territory. As his full lips brushed across hers, every ounce of restraint simply slipped away.
“What are you doing to me?” He groaned.
She looked into his eyes and softly shook her head, thinking the same thing. She wanted him more than anything, as he’d awakened something within her she never knew existed.
It was then that Nick’s cell phone began to buzz. He pulled it from his jeans pocket, and tossed it to the side of his truck bed, ignoring the interruption. “Don’t you want to answer?” Paige panted between kisses.
“It’s not important.” He grunted, working on unbuttoning his jeans.
Through the fog of desire, Paige still couldn’t ignore the continued buzzing that now vibrated throughout the vehicle beneath them.
“Nick.” She let the weight of her body drop completely over his and turned to look at the phone, which showed a missed call from his daughter. “Look.” She brought the phone up to where he could read the screen.
He dropped his eyes, with the cold realization that the spell had been broken. “She wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t an emergency. She knows how important my time with you is.” He quickly laid a kiss on her lips, saying, “Sorry.”
“No, don’t be. She comes first.”
“Timing sucks,” he mumbled, dialing his daughter’s number. As he waited for her to pick up, he remembered why he’d brought Paige out to the field to begin with. His eyes lit up. “Remind me to tell you something when I’m off.”
After talking to his former teammate and friend, Tyler, about some changes his former coach was looking into, he’d received a call from his coach. The two played phone tag, until yesterday when his coach tracked him down to come in for an interview, which was was set for first thing in the morning.
Nick was excited to share it with Paige, but their walk down memory lane had taken precedence.
Paige glanced at his eyes, which were dancing with mischief.
“Okay.” She watched them slightly change as he changed direction when talking to Katie.
“Hey - everything ok?” His concerned tone touched Paige’s heart. He was such a good father. She scanned the dark horizon with a grateful heart that God had given her a chance with Nick, who she knew took care of the people in his life. As she counted her blessings, she heard his tone go from fatherly concern to hardened steel.
“Put her on.” She heard him say. In efforts to give him more privacy, she slowly slid from the tailgate but what she heard next made her heart drop for the second time that night. Only, this time, it wasn’t from desire but dread.
“Ariana. What are you doing there?” His face was as hard as stone.
Ariana smiled sweetly at her daughter and pulled her to her side before taking the phone to answer her ex- husband.
“Well, dear – I’m here to pay a visit to my family.”
Katie gently squeezed her mom, before taking a seat on the couch. She pulled her knees up with a grin, wondering if she should throw some popcorn in the microwave for the show that was about to take place. If she had to bet, she’d lay money on the odds that her mom wasn’t just here to see her. She guessed she was here to stir up some trouble.
Nick took the steps two at a time, wondering what to expect on the other side of his door. His mouth clenched and eyes filled with anger; he prepared for battle. But before he could reach for the door, Ariana swung it open with an expectant smile. He briskly stepped inside as he brushed away her attempt for contact.
“Nick?” Ariana abruptly jumped aside as he pushed his way inside. “That’s some way to greet the mother of your child.”
He was about to tell her what kind of mother she was until he saw the smile on Katie’s face.
“Sweetheart, could you give your mom and me a few minutes?”
“Um, sure.” She wanted more than anything than to stick around but obeyed her dad, and quickly took the stairs to her room.
After his daughter was safely out of earshot, Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Ariana beat him to the punch.
“Now, where were we?” She sat and coyly patted the spot next to her. “Come and give me a proper hello.”
He stayed glued to spot across the room, stupefied by her audacity.
“Are you seriously walking into my house and demanding we pick up where we left off? The last I heard you were married! And while we’re on the subject of motherhood, what kind of mother rarely has contact with their child let alone deserts them on their birthday?!”
Ariana pouted. “She seemed to be fine with it once I sent her a credit card for her birthday.”
&nb
sp; “Well, she wasn’t fine with it. She was heartbroken. Thankfully Paige …” Nick stopped short.
Ariana’s eyes narrowed, filling in the blanks. “Is this the same Paige you’ve been bringing around my daughter? It’s all I hear – Paige this and Paige that.” She mimicked, still glaring from her seat.
“Oh, so now we’re down to it. You’re not here to spend time with our daughter! You’re here to check up on me.”
“I’m here to see Katie!” She pointed toward the stairs. “I’m her mother!”
Katie, who’d been eavesdropping at the top of the stairwell, slowly descended and cleared her throat. Both swung their gaze in her direction, wondering how much she heard.
“It’s okay. Come here, sweetheart.” Ariana beckoned. “It’s okay if we have a girls weekend, isn’t it?”
She looked over the top of her daughter’s head as she drew her in for a hug, and grimaced at her ex-husband.
“That’d be great.” She wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist, wanting nothing more than that, but wasn’t ignorant to the fact that her mother had many missed opportunities the past year for this very thing. While hoping her mother had altruistic intentions, she knew her mother was nothing short of selfish.
“We’ll stay up all night, and watch movies in the basement.” Ariana lifted her daughter’s chin.
“That would be great!” Katie ignored her skeptical heart, deciding to enjoy her mother’s attention, no matter the reason. She tossed an expectant look toward her dad, who looked torn.
“Not here.” He shook his head. “You can get a hotel.”
“Aw, dad. It’s late. Can she just stay tonight? I’ll make the bed in the basement, and we’ll be quiet. I promise.” Katie’s eyes pleaded.
Nick’s anxiety level spiked, but the desire to see his daughter happy soon won out.
“Just tonight. But, you stay out of my way, Ariana. Tomorrow, get a hotel for the rest of the weekend. Got it?”
“Got it.” Ariana gleamed, looking like she’d just cheated her way to first prize.
“Alright!” Katie pulled her mom by the hand down the hallway. “It’s this way.”
Nick slumped down in his easy chair, convinced he’d just opened a big can of worms. The question was, how big?
Chapter 27
Paige wrapped her flannel sheets around her body, as dawn broke and filtered through her curtains, leaving just enough light to see the silhouettes of her furniture. Running her hands through her hair, she sighed as the images from last night’s date rolled through her mind. Stretching, she rolled over to check her clock, wondering if it was too early to text.
Being pursued was something completely foreign in Paige’s world. As she’d never been the object of anyone’s desire, she wanted to see where things could lead but was torn. They were both adults, who had been married, and she had waited a whole lifetime for this kind of chemistry. But she didn’t want to fall back on that as an excuse to give way to desire. Her upbringing and her faith kept her from being blinded to the fact that they shouldn’t move too fast.
Compatible or not, Katie’s phone call had been the perfect distraction - as she’d rather not wake up this morning with any regrets. Suddenly, the recollection of Nick’s conversation quickly infiltrated the sleepy cobwebs that wound around the edges of her brain. Paige’s stomach lurched. Was Arielle here to see Katie, Nick, or both?
Her digital clock glowed, reading 6:45 a.m. With a split second decision, she jumped in the shower and thought it couldn’t hurt to run a few errands and happen to be in the neighborhood by Nick’s house.
Arielle snuck up the steps toward the kitchen. Katie was still asleep in the basement, and would most likely still be out for a while longer. If she timed it just right, she might bump into Nick on his way out the door.
She softly closed the door behind her and peeked around the corner, where Nick was predictably pouring himself a steaming cup of coffee.
“I thought you’d be up. Have enough for one more?” She leaned against the doorway.
“How’d you know?”
“We were married for ten years. I know you well enough to remember that your need your coffee before seven or the whole world better watch out.” She laughed and crossed her arms.
Nick glanced up from his mug and turned his back to her. She had slept in one of his old shirts. Her long bare legs used to beckon to him in that shirt. Nick blinked, clamped his lips together, and turned back around to face her.
“Why are you really here?” His eyes narrowed.
“I’m here to see Katie.” She innocently blinked.
“Really? Because she’s downstairs. And you’re up here, teasing me … in my shirt.”
“It’s mine now.” She raised her eyebrows and seductively smiled, taking a step further into the kitchen.
“If I remember correctly you used to love me in this shirt.”
“‘Used to’ are the operative words!” He slammed his mug down on the counter, causing hot coffee to splatter across the back of his hand. “Ouch!” He lifted his hand to his mouth and sucked it.
Arielle turned the cold water on, saying, “Come here.”
Nick placed his hand under the cold stream and nudged her away. “Get back, please.”
“Does it bother you for me to get close?”
“No.” He dried his hand off. “It bothers me that you’re still trying to get under my skin when you made your choice a long time ago. You left us, and I’ve moved on. You’re married - and I’m in a relationship.”
“Well, things aren’t what I thought they would be with my marriage.” She pouted, hoping he would sympathize.
Nick raised his eyebrow, fuming that she’d try to sneak back into their family after all she’d done. “After Katie wakes up … take her to the Hilton and lock my house up when you leave.”
Arielle watched him grab his keys and slam the door behind him. She slunk onto the couch feeling defeated, wondering when she’d lost her seductive powers over him. That’s when she spotted his cell phone, which he’d accidentally left on the counter in his rush to leave.
Instinctively, she reached for it and opened the door to remind him to take it, but all she could see was the tail end of his humble truck as it turned the corner.
“I always hated that truck,” she mumbled, shutting the door and putting his cell back in place. Almost simultaneously it dinged. As she glanced down, she noticed an incoming text from Paige, which read:
‘Will you be there in about 30 mins?’
Arielle deviously smiled. Nick won’t be here – but I will.
She sent a reply on Nick’s behalf and grinned while storing Paige’s number into her cell directory for future reference.
Thirty minutes later, Paige pulled into Nick’s drive with a couple of hot coffees from the bakery in town. She debated on getting half dozen bagels but didn’t know if it would send the wrong message. Coffee was quick and easy – but bagels meant staying for breakfast. Unsure of where she and Nick were, she figured coffee was the perfect offering.
As she put her car in park, she thought it odd that his truck wasn’t in the drive but discounted it, thinking it could have easily been in the garage.
Arielle checked her reflection, messing her hair up just enough to appear tousled. She quickly undid a couple more buttons on her night shirt and shook it loose to lay over her shoulder. She watched Paige approach the porch from the front window, and reached for the door knob.
Paige shifted her keys and coffee to one hand to ring the doorbell, expecting Nick to answer. When Arielle opened it, looking like she’d taken a few rolls in Nick’s bed - Paige sucked in a breathe. Dread slowly descended, claiming every part of her - as her heart slowly tore in two.
“Well, hi there.” Arielle grinned, pulling what looked like one of Nick’s shirts up to cover her shoulder.
Paige blinked in reply.
“You’re here for Nick?” Arielle cocked her head.
Paige pursed her m
outh. “Something tells me he’s busy.”
She casually looked behind her. “You could say that. Did You bring us coffee? How sweet.” Arielle grinned. “My Nicky’s friends are always the best.”
Paige glared across the threshold wanting to smack the indulgent smile from her face. Her eyes darted behind Arielle hoping to catch a glance of Nick so she could toss a cup of coffee at him, but shoved them in Arielle’s hands instead. She quickly raced down the steps toward her car, not wanting to give Arielle the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
It was happening again. Why did the men in her life always choose someone else? Why wasn’t she enough? When was she going to be the one?
As Paige piled into her car and sped off, Arielle chuckled and shut the door only to turn and face her daughter.
“Who was that?” Katie appeared from the stairwell.
“One of your dad’s friends brought us a treat.” Arielle feigned innocence, and set the cups on the kitchen counter. “Here ... You’re old enough for coffee, right?”
Katie cautiously nodded. “Which friend?”
“Paisley or something.” Her mom lifted her eyebrow and sipped her cup.
“Paige?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Katie wanted to believe her mother took the high road, but something told her that her mom had just stuck her nose where it didn’t belong. She slowly reached for her coffee and her phone and said, “I’m going to call her and thank her.”
Arielle laid a hand on her daughter’s hand and pulled it from her phone. “She said had a busy day. I wouldn’t bother her right now. Besides …” She nodded toward the bathroom. “Your dad told us to get a hotel, and we need to leave before he gets back. Time to hit the showers, kiddo.”
“Okay.” Katie’s skeptical heart warmed once more.
As soon as her daughter started for the bathroom, Arielle swiftly grabbed Nick’s phone to delete any text history with Paige. She set it back in place and started humming as she took another sip of her coffee. She thought back to the look on Paige’s face and smirked, thinking one more step was needed.
Second Chances Page 15
