by Leanne Banks
“No. I planned to enroll him in T-ball in the spring.” She shook her head. “I can’t agree to karate at this young age.”
“He’s A Medici,” Rafe said. “At some point, he may run into people who, for whatever reason, resent me. I want him to be able to defend himself.” He paused a half beat. “Maybe it would help if you learned some self-defense techniques for yourself.”
“Me?” she echoed, aghast. “Why would I want to do that?”
“So you could understand why I think this is a good idea for Joel.” He shrugged. “I could teach you. I’m a black belt.”
She met his gaze and a slice of fear cut through her eyes. “A black belt,” she said, looking slightly ill. She shook her head. “I’m not really interested in learning karate. In fact, I’m really exhausted at the moment. I’m going up to bed.”
She rose from the tub, the water dripping down the porcelain skin of her lean frame. She looked like a goddess rising from the water. He rose to his feet and noticed her swaying movement.
He immediately shot out his hands to steady her. “Are you okay?”
“I guess I got a little too relaxed.” Her gaze dipped to his shoulders and chest then she blinked and looked away. In that second, he’d seen her covert admiration of his body. That Nicole, with all her reservations against him, was suffering a little lust in her heart gave him a rush. Touching the wet, naked skin of her waist made him hard.
“Let me help you out,” he said, guiding her up the steps and grabbing her towel on the chair. He wrapped it around her and gave her arms a gentle squeeze. “There. Better get you inside or you’ll get chilled. It’s warm tonight, but not that warm.”
While she stepped into a pair of flip-flops, he grabbed his own towel and gave himself a cursory rubdown. He ushered her inside the house and she stopped just inside the door.
“I’m okay now,” she said in a low voice that made him wonder if she would sound that way in bed. “Thanks. And good night.”
He watched her walk away, his gaze latching on to her bare legs and shoulders. Curling his fingers into a fist, he felt a punch of desire that surprised him. She was beautiful and classy, but so were other women. He liked the way she defended Joel like a mama bear. Her combination of toughness and sensual softness mesmerized him. He couldn’t remember aching for a woman with such fierceness. Was it because she was turning him down?
The truth was Rafe didn’t usually get turned down. Hell, for the most part, he didn’t even have to ask. Women came to him, and they all knew he wasn’t looking for anything serious or permanent. Although he’d confined his involvement to women who were both intelligent and beautiful, he could tell there was something different about Nicole. And he wanted a taste of it.
The next morning, Rafe’s driver took Nicole and Joel to the preschool where they met a teacher and went for a tour. She was prepared to dislike it and searched for reasons to nix the choice, but the Montessori-based school was clean, the staff-to-student ratio optimal and most importantly, the children appeared happy and well-tended.
After their visit, Nicole and Joel returned home. While Joel rushed to the playroom, Nicole went to her bedroom and booted up her laptop, eager to check her email.
Sipping the perfect coffee brewed by Rafe’s staff, she immediately noticed an email with an attachment from the P.I.
Her heart hammering in her chest, she downloaded the document and quickly read it. Rafe’s history was laid out for her in black and white. His birth, his father’s death and his subsequent displacement. His foster family had taken care of him as best they could, but they’d been unable to afford to send him to college. A football scholarship had helped him complete his education.
With unabashed curiosity, she read the rest of the report. He’d worked on yachts during summers off from high school and college. Before he acquired his first yacht, it appeared as if he’d worked nearly twenty hours per day. She couldn’t help feeling impressed. Rafe had worked and lived the American dream.
Under his criminal records, he’d been charged with assault on five different occasions.
The notation stopped her cold.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to read the rest of the report, but she feared she might faint. Stepping away from her laptop, she sank on to the bed and tried to gather her wits.
Assault. Assault. Assault. Assault. Assault. She gulped at the thought. What had made Rafe use his fists? Did that mean he would use them again? On Joel?
A cold chill rushed through her.
She could not let Rafe hurt Joel. She would do anything to stop him.
Returning to her laptop, she read the rest of the report. She should operate from truth. Rafe had been a bouncer for two of the hottest clubs in Miami. His charges had all been related to his job and they’d all been dismissed. Perhaps that should have made her relax, but it didn’t.
If Rafe was capable of violence, how would he use his strength against her or Joel? The instinct to take Joel and run roiled through her. If Rafe ever found out she was even thinking of running away with Joel, he would never let her near his son again. She was totally trapped unless she purchased flexible flights. Nicole printed off the investigator’s report then conducted a search for a schedule of flights that left Miami for international destinations. She placed her passport with Joel’s in the drawer and locked it. She needed all of this available for use at a moment’s notice if Rafe threatened Joel.
The rest of the week, Rafe must have arrived home after Nicole went to sleep and left before she rose. Although Nicole didn’t trust Rafe with Joel, she mentally gave him a black mark for not spending more time with Joel. If he was going to ignore his son, why should Joel move here?
The chauffeur drove Nicole and Joel to preschool and Nicole kissed him good-bye. The sight of him uncertainly entering his schoolroom tugged at her heartstrings. If only Rafe hadn’t reappeared, Joel would be safe and secure in his own comfort zone in Atlanta.
She swam several laps in the pool in hopes of reducing her frustration. In other circumstances, she would welcome this time as a long-delayed break, but the situation was far too complicated for her to relax.
Her cell phone rang and she noticed the incoming call was from Rafe. She felt a spurt of adrenaline. “Hello,” she said.
“Hi. How are you?”
“Fine, and you?” she asked, keeping her tone cool.
A brief silence followed. “You don’t sound fine. What’s wrong? Is the new assistant okay? What about Joel?”
“Everyone is fine. Joel is at school.”
“Oh, bored?”
Standing, she paced around the pool. “No, but I am used to working.”
“In that, you and I are the same. I’ve got a good distraction coming. I’m going to take you and Joel for a cruise on Friday evening. We won’t return until Saturday night.”
Surprise rushed through her. “Really? You’re so busy. I wouldn’t have thought you could make the time for this kind of trip?”
“I’m making the time. Just pack what the two of you will need. In the meantime, if you’re really bored, you could do some shopping to furnish the house.”
Nicole blinked. “Shopping. Why me?”
“I’m still making up from the time I spent in Atlanta. I hope to be caught up next week. It would be a huge favor to me if you would take care of it.”
“But I don’t know your taste,” she protested.
“I trust you,” he said, and she felt a stab of bitterness that she couldn’t trust him in return.
“I don’t know much about the shopping down here,” she said.
“No problem. Just give Maddie a call and she can fill you in. See you tomorrow night.”
Just before dusk, Rafe welcomed Joel and Nicole on to his yacht. He gave them the grand tour and enjoyed Joel’s enthusiasm. Joel was especially excited to see the engine room and the game room. The three of them were served dinner and watched the lights as they left the harbor.
Joel was so woun
d up that it took him a while to settle down.
“I’ll read the bedtime stories tonight,” he said to Nicole.
She hesitated then nodded. “Okay.”
Rafe had made the offer impulsively, but as soon as Joel sank down on the bed beside him with a book, he realized why he’d wanted the good-night time with his son. As he read the story about the big strawberry and the little mouse, he remembered piling into a bed with his brothers and listening to his father’s deep voice as he told stories. His father had made them up on his own, stories of adventure that had evoked his imagination. He and his brothers had competed for the positions on his father’s left and right side. Rafe couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt more safe and secure.
Now, with his son curled against him, Rafe felt a wave of emotion at the bond forming between them. He wanted that sense of safety and security for Joel. He never wanted his son to experience the uncertainty he had.
“Do you like strawberries?” he asked Joel.
Joel gave a big nod. “I like them as much as the little mouse does. Again,” he said. “Read it again.”
Rafe laughed. “The same book?”
Joel nodded again. “It’s the best book in the world,” he said solemnly.
“Hmm,” Rafe said, ruffling his fingers through Joel’s hair. “Then I guess it’s worth hearing again.”
He started at the beginning and Joel moved his lips, wordlessly repeating each word of the story. The fact that his son had clearly memorized the book brought him enormous pride. Rafe ended up reading it yet another time, then he turned to another book. With Joel fully relaxed against him, Rafe glanced down and saw that his son was asleep.
His heart twisted. Joel’s ability to let down his guard with him made something inside him swell with emotion. He wanted Joel to trust him. It was vital to him.
Gently, he tucked the covers over his son and slid out of bed, returning to the upper deck.
Nicole stood next to the side of the ship, looking into the distance.
He stepped beside her. “You think he liked his first day on the yacht?”
She turned to glance at him. “It was obvious he loved it.”
“I’m glad he’s a good sailor. I worried a little about seasickness and had both the meds and the sea bands ready for him just in case.”
“That was thoughtful,” she said.
“You sound surprised.”
“You’re a new dad. I wouldn’t expect you to be prepared for everything.”
“What about you? Do you like it out here?”
She inhaled. “Who wouldn’t?”
“Someone who gets seasick.”
She gave a low reluctant laugh that made him want to bend his head down and feel the sound against his skin. “It’s so quiet and peaceful out here,” she said.
“Right now it is. I’ve been out in some pretty rough storms where it’s anything but peaceful.”
“When did you first develop your fondness for boats or the ocean?”
“My father took us out a couple of times. I was very young, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.” He thought of his father, his hair whipping in the wind as he called out instruction to him and his brothers. A wave of longing and nostalgia washed over him. “He was a good dad.”
“In what way?” she asked and he felt her searching his face.
“Don’t get me wrong. He could be tough as nails. With four sons and a wife who was-” He paused, feeling another twist of loss for his mother. “Fragile, he had to stay on top of everything. He taught us to work hard, taught us to swim and play poker. He even taught us all to cook.”
She smiled. “Really?”
He nodded. “I can make some pretty mean spaghetti. He made great lasagna, but none of us can quite remember how to pull that together the same way he did.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure my mother or father know how to boil water.”
“Different planet,” he said.
“Not necessarily better,” she muttered and looked out to the horizon. She gave a shiver.
He pulled off his jacket to put it around her shoulders. She glanced at him in surprise.
“You looked like you got a chill. I’ve been doing all the talking. How did a wealthy girl like you learn how to cook?”
“In boarding school. It was an elective and I decided it would be a necessary skill since I knew I wouldn’t be living with my parents.”
“Independent even then,” he said.
“Yes,” she said, her face solemn. “I think I was nine at the time.”
“I get the impression your home life wasn’t all that happy,” he ventured.
“It wasn’t. My parents were unhappily married. My father had a terrible temper. That may be part of the reason I’m so determined for Joel to feel safe and happy.”
“You can’t protect him from every bump in the road,” Rafe said.
“No, but I can try to keep him out of the potholes,” she said.
“Ever think you’re overprotective?” he asked.
She shot him a look that reminded him of a mama bear ready to defend her cub. “Are you questioning my parenting skills?”
“Just curious,” he said.
“Because if you are,” she said. “You don’t have a lot of experience yourself.”
“I don’t have experience being a parent,” he agreed. “But I have experience being male.”
“Plenty of single mothers have successfully raised boys on their own.”
“But you won’t have to,” he said. “I’m Joel’s father and I’m here to stay.”
She lifted her shoulder. “We still don’t know how involved you really want to be in his life.”
Her cool response irritated him. “Very involved. You need to get used to the idea that Joel will be spending lots of time with me.”
“Like I said, that’s yet to be determined.”
“No, it isn’t,” he said, putting his hand on her arm to get her attention.
She turned her head and glanced meaningfully at his hand. He removed it. “I’m not going to be an absentee father. I’m rearranging my life so that he can be in it all the time.”
“It’s not that easy,” she said. “You can’t just take over.”
“I can and I am,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I want Joel with me. You need to get used to the idea. I don’t need your approval to get custody of my son.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you threatening me?” She bit her lip. “Tabitha said you were a bully. This just goes to show-”
“Tabitha,” he echoed in disgust. “The woman who laughed at me when I asked her to marry me.”
Nicole gasped. “You proposed?” she asked in disbelief.
“She said I was good enough for a good time, but not for anything long-term. Then she didn’t bother to tell me she was pregnant with my child. I could forgive her for that because she was so wild maybe she didn’t know who the father was.”
Nicole gasped again. “How dare you insult her when she’s not here to defend herself?”
“She lost that right when she neglected to tell me she’d given birth to my son.”
Nicole stared at him, her eyes glinting with fear and anger. “Why do you want him?” she demanded. “Is it your way of paying back my sister? Or is it some kind of ego trip?”
Offended by her assessment of his character, he ground his teeth. “I’ll tell you when you have a more open mind. Now it’s shut tighter than a jail cell.”
“Don’t underestimate me. I will do anything to protect Joel.”
“Then you may want to be smart about it. You can waste your time fighting me, or you can officially move down here and work with me.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding. Give up my life so you can control it and Joel’s.”
He gave a chuckle that sounded harsh to his own ears. “If you and I both really want what’s best for Joel, why would I need to control you
?”
She gnawed her lip for a moment then gave him his jacket. “Are you going to tell me that you’re not accustomed to getting your way?”
“Only because I’m right most of the time,” he said.
“That’s arrogant.”
“No, it’s true.” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “When are you going to stop fighting me every inch of the way?”
“I agreed to come down here. I wasn’t fighting then.”
“I wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“You don’t make it easy. You march into our lives and want everything changed this second. It doesn’t work that way. This is going to take time and trust.”
“The time to start is now. Joel is young enough that if we move forward decisively then he’ll feel secure in no time.” Rafe knew what he was talking about. He’d been several years older than Joel when he’d lost his family, and he’d never fully recovered. “This can’t be the worst offer you’ve received. Move to Miami and live in a nice house with a pool. You don’t even have to work.”
“I could have done that in Atlanta if I’d agreed to live with my father,” she said with a trace of bitterness. “You’re the same as he is. It all comes down to controlling other people to get your way.”
“This isn’t about control. This is about doing the right thing for Joel. You are the only mother Joel he has ever known. You’re the one who has rocked him to sleep, kept him fed and warm. You’re the one who has made him feel safe. Ideally, every child would have a caring father too. If you move down here, Joel would have the two most important people in his life together.”
Six
Rafe made a good argument, Nicole thought after she’d returned to her room. She pulled the covers over her in her bed while the gentle rocking of the ocean lulled her. It would be best for Joel if she and Rafe could get along and even better if they lived together. But that was a fairy-tale possibility.
If only she could be sure that he was who he seemed to be. Strong, good-looking, gentle, responsible. He appeared to be every woman’s dream come true. Even hers if she’d had the time to dream during the last four years.
