Page 61 of Rectify

Stay relaxed. Stay cool.

He had money, power, and fame. And he was terrified of a two-year-old.

“Why don’t we play with the train, Mateo?” Natalya said, rescuing him.

Still watching him with distrust, Mateo grudgingly let Aedan touch his train set. Gradually, Mateo relaxed, and surprisingly, Aedan found he was actually enjoying himself. He stole a glimpse at Natalya, who was watching them both with a small smile. As soon as she saw him looking, her face closed down and she turned her gaze away, checking her watch.

“Mateo, it’s time for a nap now.”

Mateo glanced up with a frown, his lower lip coming out.

“No nap!” he announced.

Aedan opened his mouth to agree, but Natalya’s look of warning had him closing it again.

“Yes, nap,” Natalya said firmly. “You’ve been playing for over an hour, and it’s already past nap time.”

Mateo’s bottom lip stuck out farther and he folded his arms. Obviously stubborn like his mama.

“Hey, go have your nap, and when you wake up, you can show me your books,” Aedan suggested. “They look pretty cool.”

Mateo stared at Aedan, then his mother. Aedan was certain he was going to refuse. Then the little boy shrugged and took the hand his mother held out to him.

“Okay.”

When Natalya returned ten minutes later, her demeanor had grown colder. “I wish you hadn’t said that.”

“Said what?” he asked with surprise.

“That you would play with him when he woke up.”

“What? Why?” He needed to figure out this child stuff quickly if he was going to win both of them over. That is, if he could get Natalya to forgive him for being an idiot.

“Because he’ll nap for over an hour, and you won’t be here when he wakes up.”

“I won’t?” He raised his eyebrows.

“No, you won’t,” she said with frustration. “And I can fold my own goddamn laundry!” She snatched a pair of pants he’d been folding.

“Just trying to help. Looks like you’ve gotten a bit behind.”

She stared at him as though he’d slapped her. Shit, this was like navigating a damn minefield without a map.

“I might not be the best housekeeper, but I’ve been kind of busy taking care of Mateo.”

“Baby, that wasn’t a criticism. I just meant . . . ”Christ, way to fuck this up, man.“Natalya, if you needed help, you should have asked.”

“How? You haven’t exactly been available.”

He couldn’t argue that. His only excuse was that he thought he was giving her what she needed. In truth, he’d been patting himself on the back for being a martyr.

“I know. I’m sorry. Mateo didn’t seem to like me, and you needed to concentrate on him, so I figured it would be easier if I kept my distance. I really thought I was doing the right thing.”

She messily folded a T-shirt and threw it on the sofa.

He winced, restraining himself from picking it up and refolding it. “So I threw myself into my work. I thought I would just get in the way here, and that space was what you really needed. I never expected you to leave Rogan’s.”

“I couldn’t stay there forever. Bad enough I have to rely on him to pay for my apartment, but he shouldn’t have us under his feet.”

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