Page 46 of Drive To Survive

I poked my tongue into the side of my cheek. “Is it that obvious?”

“No. I took a stab in the dark. Thanks for confirming, though. I knew it had to be something big when Nico turned up this morning humming. Humming. The man growls. He doesn’t hum or sing, or whistle. Or even smile that often. But since you came into his life, he’s turned into the guy that Tate tells me about, the one I’ve never seen because I wasn’t around back in the day. But Tate reckons he was always laughing, joking, had a smile for everyone.” She poured two coffees and set them down on the table in front of me, then fetched a box of donuts. “I have a real soft spot for Nico, despite his grumpy demeanor, and to see him happy makes me happy.”

I chose a sugar-coated jelly donut and bit into it, heat snaking through my chest at Adele’s revelation. I’d done that. Me. I’d brought back Nico’s smile, the one I saw so readily given on the videos I’d watched of him back when he’d still raced cars for a living.

“It’s all still kinda new,” I said.

She made a zipping motion across her mouth with a pinched finger and thumb. “I won’t breathe a word.”

“Thanks.”

She changed the subject, telling me about her child developing into the kid from hell. I laughed, remembering the terrible twos myself.

“They grow out of it eventually,” I reassured her.

“Not soon enough,” she grumbled.

“Mommy!” Rhett appeared, flinging himself down next to me, squishing into the small space on the chair. “Did you see it? Did you?”

I smiled and kissed the top of his head. “I sure did.” My eyes lifted, locking onto Nico’s. A secret moment passed between us, one brought on by a new and exciting start to a relationship. I shivered with excitement, hungry for his touch but knowing I had a while to wait before we were alone. Once we were, though…

“Ready to go?” Nico asked. “I thought we could grab a bite to eat on the way home.”

I caught Adele’s surprised expression when Nico said “home,” but I also knew he meant it as a simple phrase, and not that it was our home. We were far, far from any kind of big step forward, and I’d already decided to talk to him after I put Rhett to bed this evening about moving back to my place tomorrow. I didn’t want Rhett to get used to the luxuries at Nico’s enormous beachside house and all the amenities right on his doorstep, not to mention the huge backyard with plenty of space for Rhett to let off steam and a pool for him to splash about in.

Even so, the idea of returning home, of not seeing Nico every day, made me more depressed than I ever wanted to begin to acknowledge. In a short time, he’d become not just an important person in my life, but in Rhett’s, too. And although Nico and I hadn’t discussed it, I could tell that the close bonds he’d built with Rhett were helping him overcome his own demons.

“Yeah,” Rhett said, leaping to his feet. “Can we have pizza?”

“Don’t ask me, bud.” Nico jerked his chin in my direction. “It’s up to your mum.”

Rhett spun around, his allegiance switching from Nico to me. “Can we, Mommy? Please?”

“On one condition,” I said, getting up. “That tomorrow, you eat every single vegetable I put on your plate without a murmur.”

Parenthood, I’d learned, was all about compromise with a healthy dose of bribery.

“I will,” he said.

I arched a brow.

“Promise,” he added with one of his impish grins that pulled at my heartstrings.

“You’d better.”

We arrived to find the pizza restaurant packed, but with a bit of fast-talking and flashing the dimple that made women promise their firstborns, Nico somehow jumped the line. We ordered two large pizzas between the three of us and milkshakes all round. The memory of that day at Archie’s pricked at me. That hadn’t ended so well. Tonight, though, it’d be different.

My chest ached as I watched Nico with Rhett, their heads almost touching as they chatted about cars. This man right here was the kind of father Rhett deserved, one who shared his interests, scolded him when necessary, comforted him when he needed an arm around his shoulder. Defended him in front of the bullies of this world. Stood by his side through thick and thin.

“You have a weird look on your face,” Nico murmured when Rhett’s attention diverted to the bucket of toys the server dropped by.

“I’m just thinking what a great father you’d make,” I said, then clapped a hand over my mouth. “God. Sorry. I’m not saying that I think…” I trailed off. “Oh, shoot.”

“Everly.” Nico took hold of my hand, knitting our fingers together. “It’s all cool. I don’t think you’re going to kidnap me, drag me down the aisle, and then force me to impregnate you in the next five minutes.” He laughed. “Although,” he added, his voice lowering to a growly rumble that made my thighs clench on instinct, “I’m not averse to doing the thing that couples do when they’re trying to get pregnant. Repeatedly.”

My stomach rolled, and I lowered my chin, looking up at him from beneath my lashes.

He groaned. “Jesus. Don’t.”

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