It Had to Be Fate (An It Had to Be Novel Book 3) (18 page)

A chime sounded as he yanked the store’s heavy front door open. When Fred spotted him, he waved and then went back to ringing up Pam’s groceries. While he waited, Zane wandered over to the pharmacy section for more condoms. There weren’t many to choose from. If he had it his way, they’d need a case.

Just as his hand reached out, Pam slipped beside him. “I’m partial to the Maxims, but not all guys can fill them out properly. If you know what I mean?”

“Ah . . .” Casey had asked him to keep their relationship a secret, so his hand quickly changed course and he grabbed the first tall box his fingers landed on.

“Well, that’s fun too.” Pam’s smirk grew wider.

He glanced at the box in his hand. K-Y Warming Jelly?

Crap!

“This isn’t . . . I mean, it’s not for what you think.” His mind scrambled to come up with another use. It was a lubricant. Used to ease friction. “See, I’m buying some bikes, and this works great . . . on the new chains.”

She chuckled. “No kidding?”

Pam apparently didn’t believe a word he’d said. Luckily Fred came up and saved him from making an even bigger fool of himself.

Fred said, “Ready to get the bikes, Zane?”

Pam’s head whipped toward Fred. “He really
is
getting new bikes?”

“Uh-huh. Zane asked me to save two for Casey’s boys.”

Zane thrust the box into Fred’s hand. “And this too. For the chains.”

Fred frowned as he stroked his long white beard and studied the box.

Zane would’ve rather been just about anywhere else in the world at the moment.

Fred slowly nodded. “I suppose this could work. I’ll getcha a bag, seeing as it isn’t something you’d probably want to go walking down Main Street with, right?” Fred poked his elbow into Zane’s tender ribs. “Then I’ll meet you round back at the loading dock.”

“Sounds good.” Fred didn’t believe him either.

Pam grabbed a box of Maxims. “Add these on my tab too, will you, Fred? I’ve got to run.”

“Betcha.” Fred turned and lumbered to the register to get a bag for Zane’s sex lubricant.

“Here. Take them.” Pam held out the box of condoms. “Dax told me about the Sweetheart Picnic lunch he made for you and Casey today, so I’m sure you’ll need them.”

He’d gone through all of that for nothing? Jeez. No wonder the selection was so small. People must buy that stuff online, or everyone would know who was having sex. “Casey would rather we keep it on the down low for now.”

“Yeah. I heard Tomas was being a pain. As usual.” She pointed to the box in his hand and asked, “XL the right size?” As if it were a pair of shoes, not condoms.

What the heck? Might as well go all-in. “I’m more of an XXL kinda guy, but I can make these work in a pinch.”

Pam threw her head back and laughed. “Then Casey is a lucky woman.”

“Nope. I’m the lucky one.” He stuffed the box into his back pocket. “Thanks. See you around, Pam.”

“Welcome.” Pam slid her cloth grocery bags over her wrist and then with the usual sway of her hips, sauntered out the front door.

He headed for the rear, eager to see the boys’ faces when they saw the bikes that needed to be replaced anyway. Why not with fun ones? Hopefully Casey would see the logic in his purchase and refrain from killing him.

Casey answered the most urgent e-mails and then shut her computer down. The boys would be home soon. She wanted to hear all about their first day of school.

She passed through the lobby to see if Jeannie was actually working for a change. Tomas stood at the front desk flirting with the twenty-five-year-old.

Before Tomas talked her into more than just flirting, Casey needed to break that up. He was the king of seducing women . . . especially cute young ones. It wouldn’t stop him that Jeannie was her relative.

“So what’s in the bags, Tomas? More presents for the boys?”

Tomas slowly turned and then beamed one of his you-know-you-want-me smiles. “No,
chérie
. It’s the makings for our dinner tonight. The boys are imprisoned here, but we’ll still eat well.”

Imprisoned? Brother. She wasn’t going to take the bait. “Dax feeds us very well. And he might have already started our dinner, so check with him first, please.” Loud squealing outside made her turn her head to investigate.

Tomas said, “But I have all your favorites here, Casey.”

“That’s very nice of you, but I’m not falling for whatever it is you think I’ll fall for, Tomas. And let Jeannie get back to work, please. Excuse me.”

She walked to the back door and pushed it open, then turned toward the screams of joy that were coming from her sons. When she spotted the boys on brand-new bikes, she about lost it. Zane stood there grinning from ear to ear until he spotted her. Then his face pokered up good and fast.

“What’s going on, Zane?”

The boys zipped up the driveway, smart enough not to go any farther, because they knew she’d double their restriction if they left the property.

“I wanted to replace the bikes the hotel lost today.” When he smiled at her that sweetly it was hard to stay mad. But she’d told him not to give the boys new bikes.

“With the ones they’ve had their eyes on?”

“Yeah.” Zane shrugged a shoulder. “I could have bought any old bikes, but why not get good ones? I told the boys the bikes belong to the hotel, not them.”

She crossed her arms and opened her mouth to protest, but her argument died on her lips when the boys both zoomed up and skidded to a halt in front of her.

“Mom, see how cool these are?”

“Those
are
pretty great.” She looked back and forth between her two happy kids and sighed. “But let’s put them back where they belong now because your dad is here to see you guys. He’s probably in the kitchen with Dax.” She really should’ve made Zane take the bikes back, but it seemed his heart was in the right place. And they needed a few new smaller bikes so whole families could ride around the lake. She’d ask Fred to order a couple of larger ones for her.

Caleb and Ty put the bikes back on the side porch, scooped up their backpacks, and then ran inside.

She glanced up at Zane. “You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you? That was actually a reasonable excuse to get the boys those bikes.”

He slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her close. “The looks on their faces just now will be worth any punishment you’d like to dole out. Maybe you should come back to the guesthouse with me and we’ll figure something out?” He leaned down and kissed her. Slow, soft, and so sweet her heart sighed. “And after we could run into each other at the diner.”

“Better not. Tomas is up to something. I’m afraid to leave him alone with the boys for too long.” Damn her ex. She would have loved to have dinner with Zane.

“Okay, I should probably write tonight anyway. I haven’t gotten this many good tracks laid down in a long time. Maybe you’re my missing muse.”

She smiled at that. “Well, if so, I’m glad you found me.”

“Me too. Tell Caleb I want to do that duet we’ve been working on at the Labor Day picnic, so keep practicing.”

She’d completely forgotten to tell him he was uninvited. Luckily her dad had called a while ago and said to invite him to sing again now that Babygate had blown over. Probably best not to tell him at all. “Will do. Bye.”

“Bye.” He laid a soft kiss on her lips then headed toward the shore back to the guesthouse.

She steeled herself for whatever Tomas had up his tricky chef’s-coat sleeve.

C
asey opened her front door and blinked at the utter chaos that was once her tidy living room. The boys and their father had managed to trash the place in less than fifteen minutes. It tempted her to turn right around and take Zane up on his offer of dinner, but Caleb saw her first.

“Hey, Mom. Dad said about an hour until we eat.” Then he went back to his video battle with Ty, destroying the monsters on the television screen.

She picked her way through socks, tennis shoes, backpacks, and dirty glasses. It reminded her of how the house looked almost every time she’d come home while married to Tomas. “Shut it down and clean up, guys. Since when do you dump your backpacks on the living room floor?”

Ty, his eyes still glued to the screen, said, “Since Dad got us this awesome new game.”

Of course. Because buying them school clothes with that money would be responsible and boring. “Now, Tyler!”

Her son let out a monumental sigh before he tossed the controller aside. “Dad’s right. You
are
a killjoy.”

She closed her eyes and counted to ten. “Would you like to rephrase that last statement, or shall I show you just how big a
killjoy
I can be and add another week to your restriction?”

Caleb swatted Ty’s arm. “Apologize, dweeb.”

“Sorry, Mom.” Tyler’s shoulders slumped. “We were just having fun.”

“That’s great. But you know the rules. No video games until your homework is done. Now pick up your junk and put it where it belongs.”

They both slowly stood and gathered up their things. When they’d left, the sight of Tomas’s big shoes on the floor and an empty wineglass on the coffee table threatened to shred the last of her control. She scooped the glass up, wishing she could throw it at Tomas. But then, she wouldn’t want to break up her pretty set of crystal.

She walked into her messy kitchen and spotted an expensive bottle of wine on the countertop next to Tomas’s elbow. She’d been saving the case of it for a toast at Meg’s wedding.

She gently laid the glass in the sink. “I see you’re making yourself right at home. Is my wine to your liking, Tomas?”

He turned from the stove and smiled. “Yes. You have good taste.” He lifted a full glass in a mock toast. Probably he’d been too lazy to walk all the way to the living room to reuse his dirty glass.

“Good taste for a
killjoy
, you mean?” She crossed her arms.

“You are . . . sometimes.” He quickly went back to his pan of bacon on the stove that was spitting grease onto her cooktop.

She leaned close and growled through gritted teeth. “I thought we’d agreed to speak kindly of each other in front of the kids!”

He slowly shook his head. “Temper, temper,
chérie
.”

“You know what? I don’t have to take that mocking tone from you anymore. I’d like you to pack all of this up and—”

Ty ran into the kitchen and circled his arms around her waist. “Thanks for letting Dad stay. It’ll be fun to eat dinner together. Like a family again.”

Like a family again?

Knife straight to her heart.

Ty had always wished she and Tomas would get back together one day. She didn’t want him to get his hopes up, but it wasn’t the time to talk about it. She’d do it later. “Yeah, that’ll be great. I’ll be in my room until dinner is ready.”

She forced herself to slowly walk to her bedroom and then gently closed the door behind her. Tomas could get under her skin like no one else, but to call her a killjoy in front of the kids crossed the line.

As soon as dinner was over, she’d take Tomas outside and tell him to go back to France where he belonged. She’d tried to be reasonable by letting him see the boys, but his total disregard for their schedule and the rules she tried so hard to enforce wasn’t doing the boys any good.

After she’d changed into sweats, she pulled her hair up in a ponytail and washed her face. As she patted her skin dry with a towel, she studied herself in the mirror. Had Tomas noticed Zane’s beard burn on her neck? Is that why he’d resorted to calling her names? Was Zane right? Could Tomas be jealous?

No, that wasn’t it. He was just being the same controlling jerk he’d turned into a few months after they’d been married. Once the honeymoon phase wore off, he couldn’t handle settling into a marriage and all it entailed. Would a guy like Zane become bored with a simple life like Tomas had?

She shook her head and slapped off the light. After crawling onto her bed, she closed her eyes and tried to calm down enough to have a civil meal with Tomas and the boys.

After an hour of stewing in her own juices, her phone dinged with a text. She lifted her cell off her nightstand and smiled. It was from Zane.

Don’t tell Ty, but I just overnighted myself a copy of Mortal Crush. I need to practice before the next time we play. It’s embarrassing to get beat by a one-handed kid.

She tapped back,
Online shopping? Are u bored?

Yes. I miss my muse :0)

A quiet knock on her door sounded before Caleb stuck his head inside. “Dinner’s ready, Mom.”

“Thanks. Be right there.” What should she type back to Zane? She probably shouldn’t tell him how much she could use a hug from him at the moment. Or that every time she thought of him she smiled. But then, maybe it was a good time to see how committed he really was to having a “normal” relationship he claimed to never have had before.

I miss you too. But what will you do without a muse when you go back on the road?

She needed to join the others, so she slipped her cell into her pocket. When she arrived at her usual seat at the table and sat down, she couldn’t look Tomas in the eyes, she was still so angry with him.

Her cell vibrated against her thigh, so she moved her phone to her lap and surreptitiously glanced at the screen.

I’ll miss you guys until I come back.

That he included the boys made her heart go gooey. Seemed he was thinking long term too.

We’ll miss you too. Gotta eat now. Talk later?

Yes! Enjoy dinner.

Tomas passed her a bowl of twice-baked mashed potatoes. “Marie and I have a ‘no cell phone at the table’ rule in our house.”

“And I absolutely agree with that rule. I was just finishing up my conversation with Zane. Thank you so much for pointing that out, Tomas.” She put her phone away.

Tomas sent her a scowl.

Was it for her sarcasm or because she was texting Zane?

Casey slipped a beautifully cooked piece of filet mignon onto her plate. Too bad she couldn’t enjoy it because of the bitter taste Tomas had put in her mouth.

Tomas said, “Isn’t this nice, guys? To all be together like this? If your mom moved to France, we could do this all the time.”

So that was Tomas’s plan. Her sneaky ex knew she’d never fight with him in front of the kids so he was taking full advantage of that. “But I’m never moving to France, so it’s a moot point.” she said.

Caleb shifted in his chair. “About moving to France, Dad . . .”

Ty blurted out, “I’m staying with Mom.”

Tomas narrowed his eyes. “We talked about this, Caleb. You said you wanted to see me more often. To live with me full time.”

Caleb didn’t want to live with her anymore? She’d thought it had been Tomas’s idea, not Caleb’s. That was the second knife to her heart for the day.

Caleb’s gaze quickly locked with hers. “I just wish we could spend more time with Dad is all.”

Casey nodded. “I understand.”

Tomas sent her a smug, victorious grin. Then he asked, “What are your plans for Labor Day, boys?”

As Caleb told Tomas what he had planned, she couldn’t even taste the food in her mouth she was so upset that Caleb would rather live with Tomas. What if the courts decided in Tomas’s favor? It was bad enough their father wasn’t consistent or reliable, but worse, she’d lose her sons to be raised in a boarding school by strangers. They’d be miserable.

She pushed her plate forward. She’d lost her appetite.

Ty said, “I’ve signed up for the sundae-eating contest and the three-legged race with Eric.”

Tomas just nodded as he chewed his steak, not really listening to the kids as usual.

Talk of the picnic reminded her of something. “Caleb, Zane said to tell you to keep practicing, because he’d like you to play onstage with him on Monday.”

Caleb’s eyes grew wide. “Really? That’s awesome.”

Tomas said, “That’s not happening, Caleb.”

“Zane says I’m a good player, Dad. Let me show you after dinner before you say no.”

Tomas pointed his fork at Caleb. “I don’t want you boys anywhere near Zane Steele. Is that understood?”

Ty’s forehead scrunched into a frown. “But Zane is our friend. He bought new bikes for the hotel that we can ride, signed my cast, and lets us mix music. And he saved my life.”

Tomas shook his head. “Zane jumped in after you because he wanted to jump your mothe—”

“Tomas! Stop!” She couldn’t believe he’d almost said Zane wanted to jump her bones in front of the boys. “Zane isn’t the same man the press makes him out to be.”

Caleb added, “Yeah. Mandy told us there are people who say bad things about Zane because they’re just jealous of him. He’s a great guy, Dad.”

“A great guy?” Tomas’s jaw clenched. “He’s a spoiled celebrity who gets into bar fights and is probably addicted to drugs by the way he behaves. I had my lawyer file a temporary restraining order yesterday. He won’t be able to be anywhere near you as soon as the judge approves it.”

Casey’s stomach dropped. “Based on what? He’s been nothing but kind to us, Tomas.”

“Clearly he’s been kind to you,
chérie
.” He reached over and ran a finger down her neck. “Looks like it’ll be your turn to choose between your boys and a lover, as I had to do.”

“No judge will grant you a restraining order based on thin rumors, Tomas.”

He shrugged. “My lawyer thinks otherwise. We’ll know in a day or two.” He turned to the boys. “But in the meantime, I don’t want you anywhere near him. Is that clear?”

Tears formed in the corners of Ty’s eyes. “But that’s not fair, Dad. Why are you being so mean?”

“I’m not being mean, Tyler. I’m protecting you from your mother’s poor choices.”

That did it. She stood and said, “You guys finish up. I’m going to talk to your father outside for a minute.”

Tomas threw his napkin down and after he slowly put his shoes back on, followed her outside to the lake.

She said, “What was that nasty comment about? What poor choices have I made?”

“You need to calm down or I’m not even going to speak to you.”

He knew it infuriated her when he said that, so she ignored him. “Answer the question, please.”

“Do you think it’s setting a good example for your boys to see their mother being bullied by her father, catering to spoiled rich people, and dating handymen and rock stars?”

“It’s a lot better than the example you set for the boys when you cheated on your wife multiple times and then left without saying goodbye to her and your kids. Tyler was so upset by that he still worries I’ll leave him too one day. Stones and glass houses, Tomas.”

He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her against him. “Those other men don’t deserve you, Casey. Move to France with the boys. I’ve missed you.”

He closed his eyes as his mouth slowly lowered toward hers.

Seriously? She’d rather kiss a dead fish than let him put his lying lips on hers ever again.

“Nope. Not happening.” She placed both hands on his chest and pushed him away. “So that’s what this is really about? You don’t want me, but no one else can have me either?”

“I’ll always want you, Casey. You’re the beautiful mother of my children. But it’s not fair that I can only see my boys in the summer. If you moved to France we could all be together. Even you and me now and then.”

He’d lost his mind! And she still couldn’t figure out what the man really wanted. There had to be more to the story. Tomas would never be a Father of the Year candidate, and yet he’d come after the boys with guns blazing.

“Let’s be perfectly clear, Tomas. You and I will never sleep together again. And until you get that bogus restraining order, you need to back off. Zane is a guest of the hotel and, therefore, he has every right to be on the grounds along with the boys. Now go back in there and fix this. You saw how much they both care about Zane!”

“Care about him? Don’t you get it? It’s a classic move to buy kids bikes and crap to get into a single mommy’s pants. Every guy knows that game.”

“That’s a game you’d play. Not Zane.”

“Zane’s a man. He’ll do whatever it takes to get laid. I’m leaving.” Tomas turned toward the parking lot and called out, “And the worst choice you made so far was to turn Tyler into a crybaby who only wants to be with his mommy!”

Tyler just has a heart. Unlike you.

Refusing to even acknowledge Tomas’s nasty remark, Casey stomped up the hill to the house, slammed the French door closed behind her, and then laid her head back against it.