Crossing the Line Part One (A Novella) (4 page)

Nick scanned a piece of paper in his hand.
"Two months, if all the materials come in on time. I'll email you
the budget."

"Great." She didn't even need the cup of
coffee anymore. The news had shot a happy burst of adrenaline
through her. "Okay, I've got to go. I have a staging in a condo on
the beach."

"Cool. As soon as I have your okay, I'll let
you know what time we start Monday."

"I'll review it this afternoon." Victoria
smiled again. She couldn't keep it off her face, waving at him as
she climbed into her SUV. Everything was falling into place, a
little at a time. She'd had moments when she was sure the business
would fail, that she'd have to move into her parents' house with
the girls, but her hard work and determination had paid off.

On the way to the condo she stopped by a
Redbox to grab some movies. Tonight Roger was supposed to pick up
the girls for the weekend, but she knew it wouldn't happen. So,
they could curl up on the couch with popcorn and chocolate, wine
for mom, and enjoy some time together. She needed to spend more
time with them, work had definitely cut into family time. They
needed her more than ever since their deadbeat dad wasn't
around.

Maybe she could invite Addie and Halle over,
make it a girls' night. The twins loved it when they spent time
with their aunts. It made them feel grown up. She'd ask Halle to
bring over some spa stuff she used to sell and they'd do makeovers
and have fun.

Victoria felt herself relaxing already. It
would be amazing. When she pulled into the driveway of the condo,
she sent a quick text to both of her sisters. Hopefully they would
be down for it.

As Victoria
expected, Roger bailed on the girls. Thankfully, her sisters showed
up after work, Addie carrying wine and chocolate, Halle with spa
materials and pizza.

"I'm so glad you texted us." Halle's brown
hair fell in a short pixie cut that framed her model face. She wore
no makeup when she went to work, she thought it unprofessional to
be all dolled up in front of the patients. "Work has been extra
crazy. Like a full moon every night of the month. Trevor has had
double the amount of patients. Too many old men and women with
heart problems."

"I needed it, too. I can't wait for summer.
Why did I become a teacher?" Addie set the chocolate and wine on
the coffee table in the living room. She pulled her hair up in a
ponytail and cocked her head to the side. "Where are the
girls?"

"Upstairs. Their room was a disaster area. I
told them they had to clean it before we watched a movie or played
spa."

"Tyrant." Addie grinned. "Tell them to get
their butts down here."

"I'll go get them." Halle started for the
stairs. "I swear I haven't seen them in months. I miss them. Plus,
I want to hear how their tryouts went."

Victoria and Addie watched her go up the
stairs, then glanced at each other. "Does it seem a little like
something's bothering her?"

Addie nodded. "I wonder what's up. Do you
think we can ply her with enough wine so she'll talk about it?"

Victoria smirked. "You know she only has one
glass." She grabbed the bags, Addie following her into the kitchen
with the pizza. "I know it has something to do with Trevor."

"You two have an uncanny ability to pick
complete douches for husbands. That's why I'm staying single
forever." She placed slices of pizza on paper plates while Victoria
poured three glasses of wine. "Speaking of being down, Helena seems
quieter than usual. Do you think she's handling the divorce
okay?"

"How does anyone handle a divorce?" Victoria
shut her eyes against the pain in her heart. It killed her that she
couldn't provide that stability for her daughters. "If our parents
had divorced, we'd have been devastated."

"Lucia seems fine." Addie shook her head
when Victoria's eyes watered. "Hey, you made the right decision.
The girls would've been miserable watching you be miserable. Helena
will understand that eventually."

"I hope so. She's been more sensitive to
Lucia's comments. Usually she'd give it right back." Victoria took
a napkin and wiped her eyes before the girls came down.

"I see this sometimes in my students. Not
that it makes me an expert, and I assume it's worse in pre-teens,
but she will get used to the idea." Addie placed a wine glass in
Victoria's hand. "Forget all of this tonight. Business, divorce.
Focus on having a good time with your daughters and sisters. We'll
cheer Halle and Helena up, even if it kills us."

Thank God for sisters, Victoria thought. She
wouldn't survive without them. They were her rock when the world
crumbled, and after the divorce they helped build her back up by
taking care of her and the girls.

§§

After eating pizza and watching Helena's
sci-fi movie, which Victoria would never admit she liked, they
decided it was time for the spa.

Halle beamed, some of the stress falling
from her, as she mixed the facial paste and then applied it to
Helena and Lucia's faces.

"It's cold!" Lucia laughed, trying not to
flinch while Halle spread it around her cheeks. "It smells
good."

"Like cucumbers." Helena closed her eyes
when her turn came. She shivered when the paste spread over her
skin. "Will it get rid of blackheads?"

"Sure. It makes you glow, too. You're
supposed to use it once a week for a while." Halle shot Victoria a
quick smile. "We'll do the mani and pedi while the paste
hardens."

"It's a good thing you only had one glass of
wine." Addie giggled. "Because if they let me paint their nails,
it'd look like a toddler did it."

Victoria shook her head and laughed. This
night had turned out perfectly. Both Halle and Helena smiled
freely, and Victoria's own stress melted away with wine and her
family's laughter. Earlier, when Helena found out that Roger wasn't
picking them up, she'd looked like someone had slapped her in the
face. Helena had made excuses for him, swore he would pick them up
next weekend.

But he wouldn't come for them. Victoria knew
Roger too well. Before the bitterness could swallow her, she
watched her girls whispering and giggling to each other, and took
another sip of wine. They were going to be okay. Tonight was for
fun, so she pushed Roger out of her mind.

"Will you do this for us the night before
the first day of school?" Lucia asked Halle. "I'd love to go to
school glowing."

"Sure. You'll have to remind me. You're not
even finished with this school year."

"I can't wait 'til next year. Cheerleading
is going to be so much fun!" Lucia reached a hand out and held
Helena's. "So will math club."

They snuggled on the couch once everyone's
nails dried, and watched a chick flick. By the end, they were all
wiping tears from their cheeks. Nothing like crying over a romantic
ending to bring women together.

All in all, Victoria thought the night was a
success. Everyone's stress had disappeared. Nails were painted,
skin glowing, laughter flowing. It was exactly what everyone
needed.

§§

On Monday morning Victoria met Nick at the
office. The relaxation from Friday was long gone, Helena's nasty
attitude surfacing Saturday when she'd woken up. Nick waited at the
front with a crew of men. She self-consciously excused her way to
the door and unlocked it. Nick stood behind her, and even in the
humid-soaring morning she felt his body heat.

"Morning." His breath tickled the back of
her neck and goose bumps popped up on her skin. He followed her in,
carrying a clipboard and the blue prints. His crew unloaded stuff
from their trucks and carried it inside. She noticed him watching
her intently but Victoria kept her focus on the process. "It will
take a day or so to rip out cabinets, floors, walls, whatever needs
to be done. Demo's the fun part of the job."

Victoria nodded, tried to understand the fun
of that, to let loose and demolish something. Had to be a guy
thing. She glanced down, wished she'd worn something other than
flip flops. A strange urge to demolish something began to unfurl in
her, but her choice of footwear held her back.

Nick grinned at the disappointment in her
eyes. "I have an extra pair of boots and coveralls in my truck. You
can put them on…demolish that counter you hate so much."

"Really?" Victoria tried to hold back her
smile but it was nearly impossible. "You would be okay with
that?"

"Sure," Nick smiled. "I'll be right
back."

Victoria grinned the entire time he went to
get the coveralls and boots, even as she changed, and then waited
for the crew to finish setting up. The men moved around her,
placing tools along a wall and talking about a baseball game that
played last night. Two big guys carried a blue tarp by her.

Nick sauntered over, muscles tightening in
his arms when he held up a sledgehammer. "Did your dad ever let you
handle one of these?"

"No, but I watched him. Besides, all I have
to do is hit the counter, right?" What if she messed this up
somehow? Would he laugh at her? What if she missed and hit
someone?

"It's simple." Nick's crooked smile erased
her nervousness. For some reason, he believed she could do this. He
wasn't criticizing her for wanting to do something new, and she had
a feeling he wouldn't say anything about how she swung the hammer
either.

With a deep breath she took the sledgehammer
from him, arms dropping from the weight. She hefted it up and Nick
moved back a few steps. She closed her eyes and imagined Roger's
face, his voice when he callously stood their daughters up. It took
nothing to let the hammer fall and it smashed into the surface.
Debris scattered through the air and when Victoria opened her eyes
she saw that she'd made a softball size hole in the center. The men
behind her cheered and it goaded her into hitting the counter
again.

Tension eased from her shoulders, which she
knew would be sore tomorrow. She hit again and again, releasing the
bitterness from every fiber of her body. In all her life it was the
most violent thing she'd ever done but it helped. When she
finished, most of the middle had caved in. Sweat poured down her
back and soaked the front of her shirt. She'd probably have to run
home and shower.

Nick winked at her. "Feel better?"

"Definitely. Tomorrow my arms and back
won't, but for now I feel great." Victoria set the sledgehammer
down, stick up, and sighed. "Thanks, I'll get out of your way now.
I need to do some work so I can finish paying you."

"Yeah, okay." Nick nodded to the back. "Just
leave my coveralls and boots in there and I'll get them later."

Victoria listened to him giving his crew
directions. He spoke low and calm, and every few words she heard
the sound of a smile in his tone. He laughed with his crew when
they said something, and her mind stuttered. She could get used to
that laugh. She sighed, decided to ignore that crazy thought, and
carefully laid his coveralls over a metal chair and set the boots
beside it.

She waved to the men and Nick, skillfully
darting out the door so that she wouldn't have to talk to him.
She'd never been known for a poker face and didn't want him to see
the interest she was sure was written all over it.

Nick couldn't
shake the thought of Victoria from his mind all day. No matter what
he did, working, eating, glancing at the now-demolished
receptionist counter, her face popped into his mind. She was an
enigma to him, a new species of woman that he never really dealt
with. An independent, confident woman who looked cute as hell in
his overalls and work boots. She'd beamed the entire time she'd
used the sledgehammer and he'd barely thought straight since.

The guys were beginning to notice his
distraction. A few of them shot him knowing looks, like they knew
something he didn't. Instead of snapping at them like he wanted, he
focused on physical work. He hauled the debris out to the dumpster
he'd had delivered to the parking lot, stomped back in, and hauled
more out. He wasn't even sure why he wanted to punch something.
Nothing had happened between the two of them, it wasn't like she
was trying to lock him into a relationship. So why did he feel
threatened?

That his crew noticed him reacting this way
irritated him more. He grumbled and cussed under his breath and
they kept out of his way. When the day was over, Nick headed to
Luke's gym. He'd rarely gone in the past month, busy with work, but
he really needed to release his frustration. Normally he would've
called Ivy over and they'd work it out a different way, but that
didn't appeal to him right now.

Luke held a punching bag still for a young
teen in sweats. The lanky boy hardly had any muscle, but Nick knew
Luke would change that. Luke believed in building up the body and
the confidence of his protégés.

"Hey." Luke called out. "What are you doing
here?"

Several customers used the weight machines
and cardio equipment he had set up off to the right of the ring. In
the middle, a large square ring was surrounded punching bags that
hung every few feet. They waved or called out a greeting to Nick as
he walked toward his brother.

Luke arched a brow at the look on Nick's
face. "Bad day? Why don't you call Ivy?"

Nick flipped him off, ignored the curious
look from the young boy, and headed to the lockers in the back. He
grabbed his gym clothes and changed quickly. The gym reminded him
of the one he and Luke had frequented as kids. It wasn't the same
one, but the sweat, the rubber, the testosterone filling the air
made it feel like home. They'd made some damn hard decisions during
their MMA training as teenagers. Some he regretted, some he
didn't.

He taped his hands, watching the people
working out, sparring, or cross fit training. Luke had instructed
the kid to lift weights with another trainer and crossed the floor
to Nick.