What a Rich Woman Wants (16 page)

“The thing is,” Lesley continued, her voice squeaky, “Maybe Ricky isn't my ex-husband's castoff that I agreed to take care of.”

“Maybe he's your nephew.”

Lesley dabbed at her eyes and nose again. “He's part of my family. He always has been. But I've been holding him at arm's length because I couldn't—I couldn't…”

Niko's arm tightened around her and he pressed his lips to her temple.

“I should have been a mother to him. Or at least a—a doting aunt. Instead, I've been…” Lesley tilted her head back against the sofa cushions. Tears leaked from her eyes and slid into her hair. “So cold. Efficient. I made sure he had everything he needed. Except someone who loved him.”

Niko refused to offer a false argument in an attempt to make Lesley feel better. Most of what she said was true. Ricky had been a lonely little boy who instinctively knew he didn't exactly belong. “From what I've seen, you've changed that.”

Lesley looked at him. “I've been trying. But I can't undo the way I've behaved toward him since the day he was born.”

“No one gets to change the past. You just go forward and try to do better and be better every day.”

Lesley smiled. “You remind me of that all the time. I saw the way you were with Ricky from the first time you met him. He didn't even know you and he felt more comfortable around you than he did around me. Seeing what you had together is what pushed me to confront myself about what I was doing.”

Niko cleared his throat, wondering how this conversation got to be about him. “I was just being me. I like kids.”

“I know.” Lesley offered another glimmer of a smile.

“Just keep doing what you're doing every day from now on. You and Ricky will be fine.”

“I hope so, but I'm not sure… I'm not really sure of anything at the moment.”

“You're a smart woman,” Niko said with a smile. “You'll figure it out.”

“I might need to consult with someone with more experience.”

“I'm available,” Niko said. “But my fees are pretty high.”

“That's okay,” Lesley replied, moving in for a kiss. “Money's no object.”

Chapter Eighteen

A few days later, after tormenting himself with whether or not to do it, Niko picked up the phone and called Lesley. He got right to the point.

“I'm going to Sarasota this weekend to see some friends who are staying there. They have a boy about Ricky's age. Maybe the two of you would like to go with me?”

Niko gripped his phone, prepared for Lesley's rejection. He was nervous about visiting Hayley and Ray and Fletcher. Ever since they adopted his son, Hayley had kept Niko up-to-date on the boy's progress. She sent him pictures and wrote notes about how Fletcher was doing. But Niko hadn't seen them in four years. Fletcher was eight now. Niko desperately wanted to see his son. He wanted to be certain he'd done the right thing in encouraging Hayley to adopt him. More than anything he wanted his son's childhood to be better than his. Which is why he'd bowed out of Fletcher's life early on.

“Sarasota!” Lesley exclaimed. “I haven't been there in ages.”

“They're staying in a condo on Long Boat Key—”

“It's gorgeous there,” Lesley interrupted.

“Is it? I've never been.”

“When were you thinking of going?”

“Does that mean you'll go?” Niko wasn't sure where he stood with Lesley or what the parameters of their relationship were. But after the night on the lanai, he'd thought they were moving into a new phase. Lesley had turned to him when she'd found out about her father's possible connection to Maria, hadn't she? She'd cried on his shoulder, poured out her heart to him. That had to mean something, didn't it?

He heard Lesley shuffling papers, perhaps checking the calendar on her desk. “I wouldn't mind getting away for a day and I don't see anything scheduled for the weekend. I can't think of any reason why we couldn't join you.”

“Great. I'll pick you up Saturday morning around nine. Bring a swimsuit.”

“Tell me about your friends,” Lesley said once they were on their way. Ricky was installed in the backseat, engrossed in a movie, the buds of his iPad in his ears. Niko hadn't put up any objection when she'd suggested taking her Lexus. Further proof, he chided himself, that he was under her spell. “How did you meet?”

Niko thought for a moment about how to explain his relationship with Hayley and Ray Braddock. “I knew Hayley when I lived in Jacksonville.” That was the truth. “She met Ray when she relocated. They adopted a little boy. His name is Fletcher.”

“You and Hayley…dated?”

He almost laughed out loud at Lesley's question. “No.” When he first met her, Hayley was Trey Christopher's wife. Even if she hadn't been married, she was as far out of Niko's league as Lesley was.

But Lesley's here
, his subconscious reminded him,
with you
.

“I knew Hayley through her stepsister, Stephanie.”

“You and Stephanie dated, then?”

Niko glanced at Lesley briefly. “Why do you assume every woman I mention is someone I dated?”

“I don't know. It's unusual for an unattached, heterosexual man to be just friends with women, isn't it?”

“Maybe. Probably.”

“So?”

“So what?”

“You and Stephanie dated?”

Niko realized he should have thought up an explanation to cover Lesley's inquiries before now. What could he tell her? That he'd never dated Stephanie, but he'd loved her? That he'd done his best to protect her from Carlos even though she was Carlos's woman? How could he explain to Lesley how close he'd been to Stephanie, close enough to have a child with her, a child who was now being raised by Steffie's sister? Would Lesley understand how Steffie's death had affected him? He'd never been able to claim Fletcher. Testifying against Carlos guaranteed Fletcher would have a future. Niko's relationship with Steffie had changed the course of his life, but he'd never actually dated her.

“It's kind of complicated,” he said, hoping to offset Lesley's curiosity. “I'll tell you about it sometime.”

“I'd like that.”

No, you won't. It's a grim, ugly story from my past and it will probably send you running
. Maybe that's why he'd shied away from anything serious with a woman since he'd left Jacksonville. He didn't want to share things better left in the past. But women always wanted to know everything about a guy's history.

If he told ice-cream-cool and perfect Lesley his sordid story, it would tarnish her somehow. She'd probably never seen or heard anything like it in her life.

There was a reason women like her were out of his league. He didn't want to bring her down to his level. Yet he was powerless to deny his attraction to her. For the rest of the drive, he second-guessed his decision to invite her and Ricky along today.

But when they arrived, Niko was glad he'd invited them because everyone else in Hayley's gathering was either part of a couple or a child. Her brother-in-law Rick was there with his wife Kaylee, their daughter Molly and four-year-old son Tyler. Her in-laws and ex-in-laws were there along with her ex-husband Trey and his wife Baylee. It was one big, happy family gathering, and Niko wondered how they pulled it off.

They'd rented condos in an enclave with a swimming pool surrounded by umbrella tables and chairs along with a barbeque grill.

The younger children were supervised by twelve-year-old Molly, who shuttled them from the pool to the beach and back, never venturing far from the adults.

Ricky and Fletcher teamed up immediately, trying to outdo each other skimboarding. Lesley wowed Niko when she changed into a shimmering aquamarine one-piece that complemented her skin tone and figure.

As lunchtime approached, the women gathered at one of the umbrella tables with cold drinks while the men convened near the barbeque grill. Ray tended racks of ribs for the adults and hot dogs for the kids.

Niko nursed a can of soda from a cooler filled with them and chose a position where he could see both the beach and the pool. That way he could watch Fletcher while keeping track of the men's conversation and pretending to be part of the group.

A few times he glanced Lesley's way to find her gaze on him. Each time she smiled or inclined her head at him or gave him a little wave, which he acknowledged.

The conversation flowed around him when they sat down to eat. Niko found he didn't have to contribute much. He was an outsider here, not related to anyone. Except Fletcher. The kids gathered at a table of their own, the two boys laughing and cutting up. He'd never seen Ricky as relaxed as he was in Fletcher's company.

He smiled at their antics before he tore his gaze from them, only to have it clash with Lesley's. She smiled at him as if she understood before turning her attention back to her meal.

Everyone helped clean up and carry leftovers to the kitchen. Niko lingered, hoping to have a private word with Hayley. The opportunity presented itself when she suggested he had to see the view from the second-floor deck. He followed her up the stairs and through a set of French doors overlooking the beach. The warm wind blew stronger at this height, and they could see Fletcher and Ricky once again on the skimboards.

“He's doing fine,” Hayley said as they leaned against the railing, watching the boys.

“I can see that.”

“Hey, Dad, watch this,” Fletcher called. Below them Ray appeared on the beach along with his brother. Fletcher ran toward his skimboard, splashing through the water along the shore, stepping on it and skimming along for several feet before it skidded to a halt.

“Impressive,” Ray called to him. “You're getting pretty good.”

Fletcher grinned and retrieved his board to set up for another round.

“Ray adores him,” Hayley said.

“Looks like it's mutual.”

“You should be proud.”

“Of what?” Niko asked. “I didn't do anything.”

Hayley slanted a look up at him from behind her sunglasses. “You persuaded Carlos to let him go. You made sure Carlos couldn't hurt him.”

“I didn't have a choice.”

“I know you think you didn't. But not every man would have made the choices you did.”

“You were the best choice for him. You and Ray.”

“That doesn't mean it was easy for you.”

Niko continued to watch the boys on the beach. Hayley's compassion made it hard for him to speak. She must have sensed that because she went on. “I see glimpses of you in him, you know. The same kind of protective instincts. His sense of right and wrong. I never have to wonder if Fletcher will do what's right.”

That was good to know, Niko decided, refusing to allow the lump in his throat to get the better of him.

“When he's older…” Hayley hesitated a moment before she went on in that same thoughtful tone, “I want him to know who you are, okay?”

He managed to get “okay” out without losing it.

He could feel her gaze on him before it moved past him to follow his.

Rick and Ray had started a game of Frisbee and the two boys had joined them. Ricky was horrible at it, but no one seemed to mind. He happily ran after the neon-green disc each time he missed a catch.

After a few minutes Niko straightened away from the railing and faced Hayley. “Thank you for inviting us today. I'm glad I got to see him, see how he's doing.”

“I am too.”

When they got back outside, Lesley suggested a short stroll on the beach before they left. Once they were out of earshot of the others, she said, “He's yours, isn't he? Fletcher?”

Niko kept walking, realizing he didn't give Lesley enough credit. She didn't miss anything. “Biologically, yes,” he said quietly. “How did you know?”

“You were so interested in him, the way you watched him. At first I thought it was Ricky you were keeping an eye on, but then I realized it was Fletcher. So I started watching him too, and it clicked.”

“You're too smart for your own good, you know that? Too observant, too.”

“I learned to be,” Lesley said cryptically. They walked in silence for a little way before she said, “Plus, there's a physical resemblance. He's got your smile, for one thing.”

“Does he?”

“And there's something about the way he carries himself. Full of confidence.”

Niko laughed.

“Plus he's got this cocky glint in his eye. Just like you.”

“Now you're making stuff up,” Niko insisted.

“Oh, no.” Lesley glanced up at him, her expression full of amusement. “There's definitely a glint.”

On the way home Ricky fell asleep in the backseat before they reached the interstate. Lesley lowered the radio volume so it was mere background noise and angled herself toward Niko. “That's why you want to start the community center, why it's so important to you, isn't it? Because of Fletcher.”

“There are a lot of reasons.”

“But not getting to raise your own son…that has to be one of them,” Lesley said almost as if she was speaking to herself. Louder she said, “Does Fletcher know? About you?”

“I don't think so, but he will someday, when he's older. He knows he's adopted. He knows his mother died. Steffie was Hayley's stepsister. Hayley took custody of Fletcher when Steffie died. She didn't think she was up to the challenge of raising someone else's child either.” His gaze flickered to Lesley's.

“What changed her mind?”

“You'd have to ask her.”

Lesley turned in her seat to check on Ricky. From the rearview mirror, Niko could see Ricky was out like a light, his hair mussed, his cheeks slightly sunburned even though Lesley had coated him with sunscreen.

“Maybe she loved him. Maybe that's why she decided to keep him.”

“That's as good a reason as any, isn't it?” His gaze flickered to her again.

“Yes,” she said. “I think it is.”