Page 46 of Minor Trouble
To show Noah I could be a good father.
To showeveryoneI could be a good father.
“One day, Noah, I’ll tell you everything that happened between me and your Mom. Today isn’t that day, but soon, I promise. I’ll show you I’m not as bad as Kaley Smart paints me to be.”
He gave me a watery smile. “I don’t think you’re all bad. And don’t think Ms. Coren does either.”
“Do you want me to stop seeing her?” In stepping up for Noah, I might have to step down for Ainsley. Putting things right with my son was front and center for me. Anything else could take a back seat.
Noah vigorously shook his head. “No. I need a mom figure in my life. No offense, but you could never replace Mom.”
I held up my hands. “Of course not, I would never try to do that.” Leaning in close, I whispered conspiratorially to Noah. “Ainsley’s actually the first woman I’ve been seriously interested in for years. Almost since your mother.”
He didn’t respond, taking time to digest what I’d said. It was the truth. Anyone I had been seeing over the past few years hadn’t been anything other than a distraction from the humdrum of my day-to-day life. A string of faceless, nameless dates and one-night stands.
“Then why isn’t she here now?”
Because I was a complete prick to her this morning.“We, um, had words earlier, when I couldn’t find you. I’m not sure I’m top of her list of favorite people right now.”
“You need to make it up to her.” Noah folded his arms across his chest. “Because I think she’d be good for you. And me too.”
I held back a laugh. When did Noah get to be the wise one in this relationship? “Okay, I think I’ve been told. Why don’t we go over there this afternoon and see if she’ll give us another chance?”
“Us? Don’t you mean you?”
This time I couldn’t help myself as laughter roared out of me. “Go and get a shower,” I commanded. “Then we’ll go and see Ainsley.”
While Noah did as he was told, I went back downstairs to get an adult take on the situation.
Maddox was in the office, staring at the computer screen, muttering away to himself. “Why the fuck can’t I get that valve to connect properly?”
“Because you’re a perfectionist?”
His head snapped up. “I don’t know why it’s being so awkward. All the tutorials online seem to show it being dead simple. Sorry, buddy, I don’t need to bother you with it. How did it go?” He gestured upstairs with his chin.
“I think we’re getting there. I’m not going to wave a magic wand and fix everything overnight, but it’s progress. At least we could talk about things.” I screwed up my face. “Like how he’d caught me and Ainsley in bed last night.”
“Shit, he saw?”
“Yup. Can’t say I’m not mortified.”
“What did he say?”
“That he likes Ainsley and wants me and her to get together.”
“And what do you think of that?”
“It’s fucking scary, man. I think I’m falling for her. Hard.” I rubbed my jaw. Knowing I had Noah’s blessing made it somewhat easier, but could I go for it? “What do you think I should do?”
“Remember what I said to you earlier. What do you want to happen next?”
With every bone in my body, I wanted to give this a chance. If I could get Ainsley to accept my apology, explain how I actually felt, then there was every possibility we could make this work.
Twenty
Ainsley
When Marlena knocked on my door shortly before dinner time, my heart sank. Deep down, I’d hoped it might have been Seth. I thought he might at least have contacted me to let me know whether he’d found Noah.
