Page 8 of Holiday Hookup

“Oh, no! Jaxon James, what have you done?”

“Nellie, it’s okay. It was just an accident.”

Her eyes meet mine, but the shock that was there a minute ago is replaced with frustration.

“Yeah, Mama, I didn’t mean to.”

I give Jaxon a wink as he gives me a big toothless smile, but that smile doesn’t last long as Nellie kneels down, takes him by the shoulders before taking a deep breath.

“I know you didn’t mean to, sweetie, but you need to be more careful when you’re out here. Okay?”

He nods his little head, the blond hair going in every direction causing Nellie to laugh while fixing it with the tips of her fingers. Her head turns my way, our eyes meeting over her shoulder before she turns back to Jaxon.

“Sweetie, can you go back inside so I can talk to Dane?”

He nods again, waving goodbye as the door closes, leaving Nellie and me alone. The air changes instantly, it becomes charged, and for the first time since leaving her in that lobby, I feel that pull.

Neither of us says a word for a solid few minutes, her eyes never leaving the floor. So, I take it upon myself to start the conversation neither one of us wants to have.

“So… you have a son.” The realization that the woman I haven’t been able to stop thinking about, no matter how hard I tried, is a mother… to a five-year-old. Fuck.

“I didn’t think that was something I needed to tell you,” she admits as I bark out a laugh.

“No, I guess not, considering I had my tongue down your throat. But, ya know what bites? I texted you for three days and got nothing in return.” I can’t help the bitterness in my tone, and from her intake of breath, I think I hit a nerve.

“Dane, I’m sorry. I really like you… but as you can see, I have way too much going on to worry about a relationship.”

“Who said anything about a relationship?” I mutter, hurt flashing behind her eyes as she puffs out her chest, looking identical to her son. “Wait. Are you married?” I blurt out, hoping to God we didn’t do anything that would break up her family.

“You think I would give you my number and make out with you knowing I had a husband at home?”

I shake my head, but she continues.

“I’m glad you think so highly of me.”

I go to argue that it’s exactly the opposite of what I think of her, but she doesn’t give me the chance.

“Anyway,” she says, looking behind her at the mess the movers are in the process of cleaning up off the floor. “Let me know how much that was and I’ll pay you back.”

I shake my head, not wanting anything from her, especially her money, but she holds up her hands to stop me.

“My son broke something and he will learn that that has consequences. So please let me know how much it is to replace it.”

I decide against arguing further, so I nod, watching as she opens up the door and escapes into her apartment.

“Well, this just got interesting,” I mutter to myself, making my way back into my apartment, starting to unpack and wondering what I’m going to do now that I know Nellie lives across the hall, and that she has a son.

Chapter 7

“Mommy!” Jaxon yells from the kitchen as I pick up my black blouse off the chair sitting in the corner of the room, doing up the buttons slowly as my son continues to yell, his voice going higher and higher.

“Jaxon James, what did I tell you about yelling. You either come and get me or you wait patiently,” I say, making my way down the hall, forgetting about the buttons as my mind tries to come up with scenarios that would cause my son’s voice to go that high. When I make it to the kitchen, I stop dead in my tracks as my gaze follows the steady stream of water that is falling from my ceiling into the middle of the floor.

What the heck?

“Jaxon, go into your bedroom please,” I whisper, trying to figure out what I’m going to do to stop the water pooling into the middle of my kitchen.

“But Mom! There’s water everywhere!” he says in awe of the scene before him. His eyes meet mine as his hands wave in the air as if I don’t see it.

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