It Had to Be Fate (An It Had to Be Novel Book 3) (5 page)

After he walked away, she let her head thunk against the wall behind her. Maybe it’d knock some sense into her. Hadn’t she just decided to give up men not ten minutes earlier? Zane Steele
was
forbidden fruit. Probably yummy forbidden fruit, but she couldn’t let her hormones rule her brain. He most likely had a girl in every city. Men like him didn’t have real relationships. They had one-night stands and then disappeared forever. He was just bored and needed someone to pass his time with until he could leave.

Nope. She was going to stay strong and just ignore her traitorous body—while she ate dinner and then chocolate cake with the man, dammit. What had her boys been thinking? Inviting a guest to their spaghetti night? She couldn’t have that talk with them about Zane Steele a minute too soon.

C
asey slipped down the hall to the owner’s wing of the hotel and closed her front door behind her. She leaned back against the wood and closed her eyes.

Just as they’d started in on their dinner earlier, she’d been called away. One of the real estate tycoon’s kids had thought it’d be funny to stuff his sister’s dolls down the toilet. It had caused a flood that required the family to change rooms. And it also meant she’d had to call Beau Bailey to come fix it.

Awkward.

It took all she had to keep a smile plastered on her face as she helped her guests move while Beau tossed tools around in anger at her for breaking things off between them. He’d said he wanted to talk to her, but last she checked he was still working on the pipes, so she’d quietly slipped away hoping he’d give up and go on home when he finished.

They’d agreed theirs would just be a fun summer fling while her boys were away, nothing more. That he’d cheated just gave her the excuse she needed to end things with him a few weeks earlier than expected, before the boys had gotten home—that was what she’d told her stinging pride, anyway. To get cheated on again hurt.

If she could just avoid him tonight, he’d be headed up north again for another three weeks to finish up a job.

When her stomach growled, she glanced at her watch. Nine thirty. No wonder she was starving. But first she needed to get her boys to bed. Their clocks needed to be reset from their lax summer schedule in anticipation of school starting Monday.

She walked into the living room and found it empty but surprisingly tidy. They’d better not have slipped back outside against her specific instructions. She peeked her head into the kitchen, finding it deserted and cleaned up as well, so she headed down the hallway toward Ty’s bedroom. She cracked the door open and found him sprawled out spread-eagle on top of the sheets, sound asleep.

She crossed the room and tucked his limbs under the covers before laying a kiss on his forehead.

One eye fluttered open and he muttered, “Night, Momma.”

She loved that he was too tired to realize he’d called her momma, something he’d rather die from than have anyone hear him say now that he was the ripe old age of eight. “Night, baby. Love you. Sweet dreams.”

Ty was sound asleep again before she could close the door behind her. The kid slept like the dead. Something she used to be able to do until she’d become a mother who ran a hotel that managed to have problems at all hours of the night. If it wasn’t a sick kid, it was a spoiled celebrity thinking of unreasonable demands to be dealt with.

Next to see what Caleb was up to. Her oldest was ten going on eighteen. Always working the angles and, at times, a real handful for her without Tomas around to help enforce the rules. Not that Tomas had been all that big on rules, but at least she hadn’t felt like the only bad guy when discipline had to be doled out.

She’d have to thank Caleb for making sure his little brother was in bed on time and for picking up the living room that earlier had been scattered with game cartridges, headsets, controllers, and all the other electronic paraphernalia Tomas had given the boys to buy their love this summer.

That Caleb had cleaned up without being told to either meant he was going to ask for something or he was finally growing up a bit.

Maneuvering for something was more likely.

Chuckling at the thought, she headed farther down the hall to Caleb’s room. Familiar, out-of-tune guitar strumming signaled he was still awake. He’d been trying to teach himself to play and was failing dismally.

She walked through Caleb’s open door and pulled up short. Zane sat next to Caleb at the foot of his bed with an open laptop between them. Zane pointed to the screen. “You did great until you got to the ‘G.’ That guitar is just a little too big—your fingers can’t hold the strings down hard enough on the other side of the neck.”

Caleb hunched his shoulders. “My dad gave me this. I wanted to show him I could play the next time I see him.”

Zane nodded. “That guitar will be great when you’re bigger. I think my mom kept my first one. It’s probably in a storage unit somewhere. I’ll have my assistant find it and send it out along with the other equipment I’ll need while I’m here. With the right guitar, I bet you’ll be playing like a pro before the next time you see your dad.”

“Awesome. Thanks, Zane.”

“You’re welcome.”

Zane?
Since when did Caleb call their guests by their first names? He knew better than that. “That’s Mr. Steele to you, Caleb.”

They both swiveled their heads over their shoulders. Zane with a cute smile on his face and Caleb with a sheepish one. “Oh, hi, Mom. Didn’t hear you come in.”

“Hi. Time to call it a night, please.”

Caleb frowned as he laid his guitar in the case on the floor. “But I’m not even tired. Dad lets us—”

“Stop.” Casey held up her hand. If she heard one more word about her ex’s lack of rules with the boys, she’d scream. “If you’re not tired, then read a book. But do it in bed. Thank Mr. Steele for the help and then get going.”

Caleb smiled at Zane. “Thank you,
Mr. Steele
.”

“Anytime. Goodnight,
Caleb
.” As Zane passed by her on his way out, he ran a hand lightly down her arm. His touch sent a quick frisson of heat up her spine that she didn’t want to feel, so she ignored it.

While Caleb disappeared into the hall bathroom, she threw his covers back and turned on his bedside lamp. When he reappeared a few moments later and crawled under the covers, she withheld the urge to tuck him in like she used to. He continually reminded her that he wasn’t a baby anymore.

She said, “Thank you for putting your brother to bed and for cleaning up.”

“Welcome.” After he’d settled in, he said, “But it wasn’t my idea.
Mr. Steele
had a single mom too and he said it was our job to make things easier for you.”

Zane was the absolute opposite of the man she’d seen on television. He totally confused her. “Well, no matter whose idea it was, I appreciate it. So much so, you’re off dock-scraping duty until Monday. I’ll ask Toby to clean the dock so you can enjoy your last weekend of freedom before school starts.”

“Awesome! Night, Mom.”

“Goodnight. Love you.”

Casey switched off the overhead light and had just started to close the door when Caleb mumbled, “Love you too, but he
told us
to call him Zane.”

Maybe that was one battle where she should just admit defeat. “Fine. He’s going to be here for two months, so I guess we can make a one-time exception. But don’t forget the town celebrity rules—you can’t tell your father Zane helped you with the guitar. Sleep tight.”

She tugged the door closed behind her and headed toward her bedroom as she hopped on one foot and then the other, removing the shoes from her aching feet. After tossing them into her closet, she ripped off her work clothes and changed into her rattiest, most comfortable pair of sweats. A big smile formed as she headed back down the hall again. Death by Chocolate cake called to her from the kitchen like a siren calling to the ancient sailors at sea. Bless Dax for dropping it off earlier.

When she rounded the bend, looking forward to a big glass of wine to go with her cake, she nearly ran into Zane. Too exhausted to care that she was dressed in something she’d never leave her house wearing, she said, “Oh, hi. I thought you’d gone up to your room.”

“I got hungry again.” He stuffed his mouth with cake from the plate he held. “I think that thing about the mountain air is really true.”

“Yeah, but if that was the last piece, you’re a dead man.”

“Nope. Your kids warned me about my personal safety if I got between you and your Death by Chocolate cake.” He grinned and then leaned against the counter. Making himself right at home.

“I’ve trained them well,” she replied as she grabbed the biggest wineglass she owned. After selecting a good bottle of red from the rack, she found the opener in the drawer and then laid them both on the countertop. She’d wanted a few minutes alone, to put up her tired feet and enjoy her cake and wine in peace, but after Zane had been nice enough to ask the kids to clean up she didn’t have the heart to shoo him away.

She reached for a second glass. “Would you like some wine?”

“Nope.” He lifted his glass of milk from the counter behind him. “This is my preferred pairing with cake.”

“Suit yourself.” She cut herself a humongous piece of yumminess, justifying every single calorie because of her missed dinner. When she reached for the wine opener, Zane’s calloused fingers covered hers.

“I’ll do it.” He made quick work of the cork and then poured the wine into her oversize glass. “Say when.”

She let the wine pouring go on so long that it wasn’t until he reached the top and had to stop that she said, “When.”

He chuckled. “That bad a day, huh? Was it the plumbing problem, the guy who came to fix it, or having me here?”

She sipped her wine as she debated just how honest to be with him. “Why would you think I have a problem with the guy who came to fix the plumbing?”

Zane finished off his cake and then rinsed his plate and loaded it into the dishwasher. “Because Beau stopped by here looking for you while we were still eating. He pulled me aside and made sure I knew you belonged to
him
.”

Casey sputtered in her wine. “First off, I don’t
belong
to anyone, especially not a cheater like him. And second—”

Her phone rang, cutting her off. When she glanced at the screen she nearly lost it. What else could go wrong in a single day? “Excuse me. It’s the boys’ father. I have to take this.” She grabbed her wine for fortitude and then said into the phone, “Hang on a second, Tomas. I need to step outside.”

She made sure the French doors closed tightly behind her in case Caleb was still awake. The cool, soft grass felt good on her tired feet as she walked down the hill to their private dock. She took a long drink for courage as she settled on the end, reminding herself that no matter what, she needed to remain calm. Her ex was a charming master manipulator. She couldn’t let on that he’d rattled her with that letter from his lawyer.

With her bare feet dangling over the water, she took one more slug of wine for good measure and then said, “It’s late. So I know it’s me you want to talk to, not the boys. But I seriously can’t think of a single thing we need to discuss.”

Using the thick French accent that used to charm her clothes right off, he said, “Maybe I just miss hearing your deep, sexy voice,
ma chérie
. It still makes me want you every time I hear it.”

Now his attempts to use his foreign charm—all fake, because Tomas was capable of speaking perfect English after having dual citizenship in the United States and France for twenty years—just grated on her last nerve.

Thank God she’d brought her wine outside with her. Too bad she hadn’t thought to grab the bottle too.

Zane wasn’t sure if he should stay or go. Casey had been interrupted midsentence by the call, but she seemed to want to make a point. And he wanted to know the deal with her and Beau.

So he opened his laptop at the kitchen table and answered all the e-mails that needed his attention. Next he Googled his name to see what the media was saying about his current situation. Kip had called earlier and said they were trying to get the bar owner and the guy Nick punched to drop their charges, but if they agreed, it’d cost a boatload of cash. After they’d posted bail, his lawyers promised the judge they’d send Nick to rehab while they figured everything out. It’d be nice to come out of this mess without any formal charges, but he could only hope for the best at this point.

When there wasn’t any new information about the case, Zane closed his laptop and then wandered to the glass doors that overlooked the lake. Casey was at the end of a small dock, pacing back and forth as she talked to her ex.

He should probably go.

Just as he turned to leave, Caleb appeared. “Dad told me he was going to call Mom tonight. Now that I’m ten and might have a say, my dad wants me to tell the judge that I’d like to live with him instead. Dad said maybe it’d make our mom move from this tiny Podunk town to France so we could see both of them more often. But I’m not sure what to do.”