New Beginnings (108 page)

“No, but…” Cole shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable. “What happens when she meets someone she is into? You think she’ll ask you for a divorce?”

I knew Cole had every right to be curious, but the question hit me like a sledgehammer. “I don’t intend to let that happen, kid.”

“So you are gonna step up your game?” Zane popped the earbuds out of his ears. Apparently he’d been eavesdropping. “’Cause we were starting to think maybe you were over Mom.”

“Definitely not.” I curled my hand around the steering wheel. “I’ll never be over her.”

Mackenzie

I smiled politely as Kyle told me about his mother’s hip replacement surgery, wondering why he thought I would be interested. Did it look like I needed a new hip?

“So your ex-husband,” he said after his second glass of wine, “he’s a pretty big dude.”

Kyle was younger than me, only five years according to Molly, but it may as well have been twenty for all we had in common. Starting with his overuse of the word
dude
. He reminded me of one of my sons.

“I guess he is,” I said, reaching for my wine glass. I was still nursing my first glass since I had a feeling I may be the designated driver tonight.

“What is he, like six-two, two-twenty?”

I frowned, unable to suppress the biting comment. “I don’t know. I didn’t go into the bathroom with him when he weighed himself.”

He laughed, almost spewing his wine across the table. Classy guy.

“Is that tough guy act all for show or what?”

“No, it’s not.” I suspected it may work to my advantage if he was intimidated by Ryker since I already knew I never wanted to hear from him again.

“So he’s a real bad ass, huh?”

“You could say that.”

When we were younger, Ryker had been the very definition of an outlaw, but he’d worked hard at controlling his temper and cleaning up his image since the boys were born, claiming he wanted to set a good example for them.

“Yeah,” he said, smoothing his hand over his tie. “He seemed kind of pissed that we were out together tonight. He knows I work with Molly. You don’t think he’ll show up at the school and try to rough me up, do you?”

I couldn’t help but smile at the picture he painted. The old Ryker would have without thinking twice, but the new Ryker was too dignified for that. He was a father first, a business man second. He wouldn’t risk his business or his reputation on someone like Kyle.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that.” I pulled my cell phone out of my purse when it buzzed. “Sorry, it must be one of the boys calling from Ryker’s place. I have to answer it.”

“No problem,” he said, reaching for the wine bottle to refill his glass.

“Hello.”

“Hey, Mom,” Cole said. “We forgot our house key. Can you drop off the spare?”

The boys knew I always carried a spare house key in my wallet in case I lost my keys. I was forever losing things: my cell phone, keys, wallet, purse, anything that wasn’t nailed down.

“Why do you need the key?” I asked. “I should be there when you get home on Sunday.”

“We need to come back to the house tomorrow morning to pick up some homework we forgot. Don’t you have an appointment with your trainer at eleven o’clock?”

“Yeah.”

“Dad’s taking us to the basketball game, then we have karate, so we have to pick up that homework in the morning. We’ll have to get it done tomorrow night.”

“Um…” I tried to work out the logistics, since I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting my
date
drive home in his condition. “Just let me talk to Kyle, figure out what our plans are, and I’ll text you back to let you know.”

“But you will drop the key off, right?”

“If not, I’ll just drop the homework off on my way to the gym in the morning.”

“No!”

“Why not?” I asked, smiling politely at Kyle who was eating his steak like I imagined Hannibal Lector would have.

“Cause, uh, you don’t know what we need.”

“You can tell me,” I said, trying to maintain my composure. My sons loved to push my buttons, and I had a feeling this call had more to do with interrupting my date than their desire to get their homework. “Or maybe your dad can drop you off a bit earlier on Sunday and you can do it then.”

“Not gonna work.”

“Why not?”

“We’ve got plans with Dad on Sunday.”

Since I knew this back-and-forth could go on indefinitely, I said, “Fine, I’ll text you in a bit and let you know what’s going on.”

“Mom, we need that key. Tonight.”

“Later, Cole.”

“Problems?” Kyle asked before digging into his baked potato. “I know how difficult boys that age can be. I teach eighth grade, remember? Some days I just want to throttle the little bastards.”

“Guess you won’t be winning any Teacher of the Year awards, huh, Kyle?”

He laughed uproariously as though I’d been trying out a stand-up routine. “I’m just in it for the vacations and pension.”

“Glad you don’t teach my kids,” I muttered. I knew it wouldn’t matter what I said to him at this point, since it was obvious we would never be seeing each other again.

“Hey, I’m not a bad teacher,” he said, shaking his steak knife at me. “You just gotta know how to keep ’em in line. You show any sign of weakness, and they’ll beat you down!”

I reached for my napkin when a drop of his steak juice landed on my chin. Lovely. “I’m sure you’re a stellar teacher. The kids must love you.” Like a character on my favorite sitcom, the fine art of sarcasm was lost on this man.

“I didn’t want to be a teacher.”

“You don’t say,” I said, reaching for my water glass.

“My mother talked me into it.”

“Interesting.” I wanted to kill Molly for subjecting me to this. “What did you want to be, an astronaut or a physicist?”

He pondered my question, as though those had actually been reasonable options. “I wanted to be a fishing guide.”

“Huh.” I didn’t want to ask him to elaborate. I just wanted this night to end. “Well, I really should be going.”

He glanced at the food still on my plate. “Aren’t you gonna eat that?”

“No, do you want it?”

He shrugged before reaching across the table to grab my plate. I watched him dump the contents of my plate onto his while offering a tight smile to the little silver-haired lady sitting next to us. She was shaking her head, her lips pursed. I couldn’t say I blamed her. I felt the same way.

“Blind date,” I whispered to her, shuddering.

She shook her head in understanding before turning her attention back to her dinner companion.

“So, as I was saying, I have to go. My kids need me to drop the house key off for them.” He was so engrossed in the pasta he’d lifted from me, I wasn’t even sure he’d heard. “Don’t worry about me,” I said, though I knew he wasn’t. “I can take a cab. You should probably think about doing the same.”

“Why?” he asked before shoving a wedge of bread into his mouth.

I gestured to the wine bottle between us. “You’ve had a few glasses of wine.”

“I don’t need a cab,” he said. “I can just call my mom to pick me up.”

Lord help me.
“Okay, well then, it was nice to meet you, Kyle.” I would have offered my hand, but I was afraid he’d take a bite out of it.

“Yeah, you too,” he said, reaching for the wine glass I’d abandoned. He poured the rest of my wine into his glass. “We should do this again sometime.”

“Hmm.” I reached into my purse and tossed a few bills on the table. I wasn’t surprised he didn’t try to stop me. My contribution would allow him to order another course.

***

By the time I arrived on Ryker’s doorstep, I was tired and pissed. I still couldn’t believe my so-called best friend would set me up with a loser like that. I’d tried calling her from the cab, but she wouldn’t pick up. The coward.

“Hey,” Ryker said, opening the door.

Oh my God. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. Why wasn’t he wearing a shirt? “Um, Cole called about the key.” I held it between my fingers. “Can you give it to him?”

He looked past me, zeroing in on the cab in his driveway. “Why’d you take a cab?”

“Don’t ask,” I said, shaking my head.

He grinned. “That bad, huh?”

“Worse.”

“Hold up a minute,” he said, reaching into the pocket of his low-slung, faded jeans. “Let me take care of your driver.”

“Uh, wait,” I said, grabbing his bicep. Big mistake. I’d forgotten how hard Ryker was. His biceps. How hard his biceps were, because I definitely was not thinking about other parts of his anatomy. Okay, maybe I was, but only because his happy trail was on full display. Well, maybe not full display, but definitely partial display. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Sure, I do,” he said, his eyes travelling to the hand still wrapped around his arm. “I can’t let you stiff her.”

Stiff?
Like a puppet on a string, my head dropped forward, zeroing in on the happy trail I’d been ogling, and sure enough, he was hard. Damn it. Why did he have to be so sexy?

“I’ll take you home.”

“Are the boys sleeping?” I asked, praying they weren’t. I needed them to act as chaperones so I wouldn’t jump their father.

“Yeah.”

“You shouldn’t leave them alone.” I knew I was grasping. Zane had just turned sixteen and had already started bugging us about getting a car now that he had his learner’s permit and test scheduled.

Half of Ryker’s luscious mouth tipped up. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. We won’t be long.” His eyes drifted over my body in what could only be described as a thorough examination before he licked his lips. “Unless you wanna invite me in?”

Oh God. I’d almost forgotten how potent Ryker could be when he turned on the charm. “Um, I…” I didn’t realize my mouth was hanging open until he set his fingers under my chin to gently close it.

I could hear his chuckle all the way down the driveway. Insufferable man. I stood at the door, watching the female taxi driver ogle him like he was a cherry lollipop she wanted to suck on.

By the time he came back to the door, he was looking so smug, I had to say something to wipe the smile off his face. “Looks like you’ve put on a few pounds, Ryker.” I was lying through my teeth. He still had a six pack that made me want to glide my tongue over every inch of his body, paying extra attention to
my
name colorfully tattooed on his chest.

He patted his flat stomach, the smile back in place. “Must be all the takeout. Being a bachelor sucks.”

I used to love cooking for him, mainly because he was so appreciative. His mother considered TV dinners a gourmet delight, so he’d never had
real
food until he met me. “That’s no excuse,” I teased. “You’re the grill master, remember?”

We shared a smile as I remembered all the family barbeques in our backyard. The boys would have friends over, they’d splash around in the pool all day, and Ryker would fire up the grill before the boys started to harass him about his days in a gang. He always corrected them, insisting it was a motorcycle
club
, but they weren’t stupid.

“Do you ever miss it?” he asked, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.

“Of course I do.” I’d be lying if I pretended otherwise, and Ryker always claimed I was a terrible liar. “We had a lot of good times together, you, me, and the boys.”

“The best of my life.”

My heart ached because I knew he meant it. He hadn’t had it easy growing up, and the boys and I had given him the family and stability he’d always wanted.

“You’re an amazing dad,” I said, touching the stubble on his jaw with my fingertips. Just the feel of it elicited a flood of memories, like what it felt like brushing my skin when he kissed me
all
over. “The kids are so lucky to have you.”

Since the separation, he’d made even more of an effort to be there for them, often calling them at night to ask about their day at school or how a big game had gone. Cole played basketball and ran track. Zane played soccer and baseball. Both were considering football, but I wasn’t thrilled with the prospect.

“They’re lucky to have you too.” He reached for my hand, taking the key I’d forgotten I still held. “You look amazing, Mac.”

I was surprised by the shift in conversation, but I didn’t want to reveal how much the compliment affected me. When we were together, I would have given anything for him to look at me the way he was now. Like he thought I was still the sexiest, most desirable woman he’d ever seen.

“Thank you. It’s been a lot of hard work, but worth it. I feel better about myself than I have in a long time.”

“It shows.” He ran the tip of the key down my arm, watching its slow descent. “You’ve got that sparkle back in your eyes.”

I saw it too. I used to look in the mirror and see the lifeless expression of a woman who’d lost herself. Now I saw curiosity, interest, and pride again. I was slowly but surely finding my way back to the woman Ryker fell in love with. Not that I was doing this for him. I was doing this for me. And my kids. So I could be a better, happier mother. They deserved that. I knew it wouldn’t be long before they went off to college, and I didn’t want their last years with me to be riddled with arguments because I didn’t like myself.

“You must be cold,” he said when the breeze kicked up to rustle the leaves on the trees.

“Me?” I asked, gesturing to his bare chest. “You’re the one without a shirt.” I couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to it, by the way?”

“I just got out of the shower when you rang the doorbell. Barely had time to throw these jeans on.” He tugged on one of his belt loops, and I noticed he wasn’t wearing a belt. His black boxer briefs peeked out above the waistband, making my mouth water.

“You wanna come in and have a drink before I take you home?”

I knew I shouldn’t, but I wasn’t ready to go home to an empty house. I wanted to spend more time with Ryker, the man who’d been my best friend for the better part of the last two decades.

Ryker

Curling up on the couch with Mac again, enjoying a cold beer while she sipped wine, reminded me of the best years of my life, when we used to talk until the sun came up about anything and everything. But mostly about our dreams for the future. All of those dreams had come true, but I never imagined we wouldn’t be together to enjoy the rewards of our labor.