Chapter Six
Fifty-dollar bottle of merlot in hand, Trevor marched up the steps outside Natalie’s house at six o’clock sharp. The gesture was probably overkill, and frankly, he’d rather have brought a stout single malt, but Bonnie would have leapt out of her grave and rained fire and damnation on him if he showed without something in hand. Even more surprising was the fact that he’d wanted to make a good impression. The last time he’d had an honest-to-God date with parents even remotely involved, he’d been seventeen and had barely done more than a grab and carry bundle of flowers at the local grocery store. For Natalie, he’d spent the better part of forty-five minutes wandering the aisles of a high-priced liquor store and still wasn’t sure going the moderate route was the right pick.
It was just dinner. A chance to perk up her kid and give him some fodder to use with his old man. Nothing else. Though, that didn’t mean his mind had failed to offer up a ton of wicked other ideas. Especially after she’d blushed clear to her hairline after his totally inappropriate, but hot as fuck, innuendo.
He knocked on the door and tried to blank his dirty thoughts. Going there was definitely dangerous territory.
Levi’s excited little boy voice rang behind the thick door. “I’ll get it!”
“Levi.” The terse reprimand was all he caught of Natalie’s voice before it dropped to little more than muffled words.
A second later, the door swung open and Natalie stood in front of him, cheeks pink and eyes bright. “Hi!”
Maybe it was just him, but the simple phrase came out with a Marilyn Monroe huskiness that turned the crisp October night July-sultry. The way her soft pink sweater and jeans clung to her tits and hips only made it worse. He cleared his throat and wished like hell Levi and Maureen weren’t rooted less than ten feet away and watching his every move.
Then again, he had an image to portray. No man worth his salt would let a prime opportunity like this one slide. He stepped through the entry, slid his hand around the back of her neck and pulled Natalie tight against him. The top of her head barely reached his collarbone, but her face was tipped up to hold his gaze, her full, raspberry-pink lips parted on a near-silent gasp. Fuck if he wasn’t tempted to see if they tasted as good as they looked.
“Hey, darlin’.” He kissed her forehead instead, letting his fingers tangle in her hair just above her nape. The strands were as soft as they looked, the easy waves that made her look like she’d spent her day at the beach tickling his knuckles. He closed his eyes and let his mouth linger a second longer than he should have, soaking up her wildflower scent. Only when her palms gently pressed against his pecs did he ease back. He kept his hold on her nape. “Know you’re not a big drinker, but figured if you’re cooking, the least I could do is bring wine.”
“That’s lovely.” Maureen pressed her hands together above her heart and hustled forward. With the gleam in her eye, Trevor wasn’t sure if she was talking about the wine, or the way he’d barely avoided locking lips with her little girl. She took the bottle Trevor offered and hurried to the kitchen. “It’s been forever since I had a good wine. It’s so nice of you to make the gesture.”
“Happy to do it, ma’am,” he said as she disappeared around the corner.
Against his chest, Natalie’s hands fluttered as though she couldn’t quite figure out what to do with them. He had a few ideas he was tempted to share, but none of them fell into the appropriate-for-company category. She settled for loosely fisting one above his sternum and burying the other in her back pocket. “Levi, can you finish setting the table, please?”
“Sure!” He spun, stopped and looked back. “I mean, yes, ma’am.” And then he was off again, scooping up the big stack of utensils laid out on the table with both hands and working his way around the place settings.
Natalie twisted, cocked one eyebrow and lowered her voice. “Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”
He tried to stave off a grin, but she was just too damned cute to hold it all back. “When a woman asks a man to do a job, the least he can do is aim to knock it out of the park.”
Behind them, Levi fumbled a fork that clattered against the wood dinette. Not surprising since he was having a heck of a time doing his job and ogling Trevor and his mom at the same time.
“How about I go help your boy, and you make sure your mom’s not ordering our wedding invitations on the sly?” he said.
“You caught the enthusiasm, huh?”
“I can spot an eager momma at twenty paces.” He slid his hand down her spine, more than a little tempted to palm her pert ass. “I don’t mind. Havin’ you next to me is worth whatever ideas she comes up with. Plus, she’s sweet. I like knowin’ you’ve got someone looking out for you.”
Natalie bit her lip, her dark brown eyes filling with so much gratitude he decided then and there, Maureen Dubois wouldn’t be the only one looking out for her going forward. “Thank you.”
“We covered the need for thanks already.” This time he gave in and playfully swatted her butt, wishing like hell he could follow it up with a good squeeze. “Now go help your mom. Levi’s only got one place setting done, and I’m hungry.”
From there the dinner prep went from comical to off-the-charts cute, mostly because Levi chattered Trevor’s ear off. In the space of five minutes, the kid had covered every event of consequence at school for the last two days and what he and his buddy had planned for the week ahead.
Just as Natalie and Maureen made for the table with both hands full of platters and bowls, Levi placed the last of the napkins and slid into his chair. “Bobby’s mom wanted us to go trick-or-treating at the mall on Monday ’cause she said it was safer and we’d get more candy, but Mr. Randolph said anything but door-to-door was just wrong. So, he’s gonna drop us off at one of the big neighborhoods and follow us in his truck.”
Trevor stayed standing beside his own chair while the women loaded up the table with food. “Hey, bud.” He dipped his chin toward where Levi was sitting. “How about you hop up and wait till the ladies are done with their table before you settle in?”
Maureen and Natalie both froze for a second, their mouths open and eyes wide.
Levi’s gaze darted back and forth between the women and Trevor. “How come?”
“‘Cause they made you a nice dinner and you can show ’em how much you appreciate it by not sitting down before they do.”
Maureen folded her lips inward as though fighting back a chuckle, and that awestruck gratitude Natalie had given him at the front door blasted back to life.
Levi scrambled to his feet faster than a girl with a June bug stuck in her shorts. “Sorry, Mom. Want me to get anything else?”
“No, Levi. You’re good.”
“So nice having a man set a good example for Levi,” Maureen crooned. “What can I get you to drink, Trevor? Wine, water, or tea?”
“If it’s sweet, I’ll take tea. Otherwise, water’s fine.”
“Tea it is then.” She bustled back to the kitchen counter and the two glass tumblers filled to the rim with ice. “In our family, there’s no such thing as tea without sugar.”
“Anything without sugar is wrong in Mom’s book,” Natalie added. “The first thing she taught me to make were cookies.” She motioned Trevor and Levi into their seats and eased into her own.
Following Trevor’s lead, Levi slid back into his chair. “Mom made chocolate and peanut butter cookies for dessert. They’re my favorite.”
“You only get them if you eat your meatloaf and all of your veggies,” Natalie said.
Levi wrinkled his nose and lowered his voice just for Trevor. “The meatloaf’s awesome, but I have to hold my nose for the Brussels sprouts. They’re gross.”
Well, he wasn’t gonna fight the kid on that one. He’d probably have to do the same, but if it helped Nat get decent food down her kid’s gullet, he’d suck it up.
Maureen took her seat and handed Trevor a heaping bowl of mashed potatoes. From there, everything settled into an easy rhythm. Not at all the awkward yet polite conversation he’d expected, but a light, welcome banter more on par with his meals at Haven. What’s more, Natalie and her mom could cook. Outside of Bonnie’s kitchen, he didn’t know many people who could do meatloaf justice, but these two women knew how to do it up right, complete with some kind of sauce that packed a serious kick.
“Levi,” Natalie said, “Mr. Raines owns the pub I work at, but he flies airplanes for a living, too.”
“Nuh-uh.” Levi stuffed a whole sprout in his mouth and talked around it. “That’s so cool! Like little planes or great big ones?”
Trevor wiped his mouth and set his napkin back in his lap. “Depends on where I’m going and who I’m taking. But if it’s got wings, I’ll fly it.”
“And they’re yours?”
“Yep. My dad took me flying when I was eighteen, and I started learning to fly right after. First one I flew solo in was a single-prop Cessna 152. Now I’ve got four turboprops, two Citations, a Falcon, and two Gulfstreams.”
“I have no idea what that means, but it sounds impressive.” Maureen slid her plate back an inch or two and reached for her tea. “Are they for cargo? Or do you charter for people?”
“What’s charter mean?” Levi asked.
“It means he flies people where they need to go,” Natalie answered before Trevor could.
Levi’s head whipped to Trevor. “So you’re like a commercial pilot.”
“Just like that,” Trevor said. “Only I don’t have to wear a stuffy outfit, and I’m my own boss.”
Levi crossed his arms on the table, his sole focus on Trevor. “Where do you take ‘em?”
“Anywhere they want to go.”
“New York?”
“Yep.”
“France?”
“There too, in one of my bigger jets.”
“India?”
“Levi,” Natalie cut in. “When he said anywhere, that means any place you can think of.” She stood, taking her plate with her. “Everybody stay put. I’m just going to get us some more tea. Levi, why don’t you get the cookies?”
“Cool!” He spun and darted to the far end of the kitchen where a foil-covered plate sat on the plain gray countertop.
“You’re a very busy man, Trevor,” Maureen said. “Two businesses can’t leave you much time to relax.”
Trevor shrugged. Since he’d met Axel and Jace and got his head screwed back on right, it’d seemed he had more than enough time to tackle whatever he wanted and still had some left over. Only in the last six months had he really itched for something different. “Hard to call either of my jobs work. I love flying, and The Den made for challenge and diversity. Plus, Ivan’s nearly trained up to handle the bar solo.”
Natalie sidled up beside him with a pitcher of tea. “Mom’s right though. Don’t you ever want to just unwind?”
“Says the mom who works two jobs.” Trevor splayed his hand on the small of her back, only realizing what he’d done when Natalie gasped and damned near missed his glass mid-pour.
“Sorry.” Actually, he wasn’t. Although it was weird as shit he’d taken the action without thinking on it first. Somewhere between the front door and now, touching her had shifted from purposeful to reflex. Which was some seriously scary shit considering their combined pasts. After her history with Wyatt, Natalie deserved a guy who could give her long-term and stable. Not a man born into an abusive family. Eager to dodge any deeper analysis, he focused on Maureen. “When I’m not working, I’m at my ranch.”
“I knew it!” Levi hurried up beside him and dropped the now foil-free plate on the table. “Bobby said your boots were probably for show, but I knew better. I bet you’ve got lots of horses.”
Trevor chuckled. Hard not to when the kid got all riled up and animated. Especially when the topic was something that got him fired up, too. “Only five. It’s not a working ranch. More like a retirement home for geldings who’ve put in a hard life. They get a reward for the job they’ve done, and I get a place where I can ride and relax when I want.”
“But you know how to take care of them?”
“‘’’Course I do. I grew up on a working ranch about an hour north of Houston. I’ve got a guy who helps me out and makes sure they’re taken care of when I’m not there.”
Natalie handed out small dessert plates and snatched two cookies off the top of the pile before she strolled to her seat. “How big is your ranch?”
“About seven hundred acres.” Trevor took a cookie for himself and handed the plate to Maureen.
She gaped at him for at least three seconds before she shook herself out of her stupor and took the cookies. “That’s pretty big for a man who’s already busy. How do you take care of it?”
“It’s not that big. Not really. My parents’ place was five times that. And remember, I’ve got a crew to take care of things when I need it.” He bit into the cookie, the chocolate and peanut butter goodness guaranteeing he’d give Levi a run for his money on scarfing back dessert. “You ever ride a horse, Levi?”
“Nope. I only got to pet one at the fair last year. It was huuuge.”
“I’ll take you out to my place someday and let you ride one of mine.”
Natalie perked up in her chair, her eyes wide with one of those oh-no-you-didn’t looks. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”
“Sure it is,” Trevor said, a whole new round of tempting ideas taking root. Long-term might not be his strong suit, but short-term he could handle just fine. “Every kid should get to ride a horse. You can come, too.”
“Oh no.” She shook her head and wiped her fingertips on her napkin. “I do good with dogs and goldfish. Horses are out of my league.”
“You’d be great.” To his mind, his horses didn’t get near enough attention. And Deuce was a complete sucker when it came to women. He subtly inclined his head Levi’s direction. “It couldn’t hurt.”
Yeah it was a shit tactic, but the more he thought about it, the less he cared. If even half the reality Natalie had shared was true, Levi was due for goodness. Not to mention, he’d give a lot for some time away from work with Natalie.
“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” Maureen added before Natalie could argue. “Trevor’s right. You’ve been working so hard to save up for your classes, you could use a break.”
“What classes?” Trevor said.
“Mom’s saving to get her nursing license again,” Levi said around a mouthful of cookie. “She used to work with kids all the time, but then she had me and she couldn’t. Now she’s gonna do it again.”
“I didn’t give up my job because of you, Levi. I gave it up because your father asked me to.”
“I thought you processed health insurance claims during the day.” Sure, Knox had already uncovered the history she left off her application, but background checks seldom offered the nuances of innocent conversation.
“That’s a temporary arrangement.” Nat’s lips pressed together for a second, a tiny flare of the stubborn determination she’d shown so many times at work moving across her face before she banked it and took another bite of her cookie. “I’m not sure I could stomach it for the long run, but my experience at the hospital helped me land it.”
“What hospital did you work at?” he asked.
“At Baylor. I was in pediatrics for about a year.”
“You ever hear of Zeke Dugan?”
“The trauma doc? Yeah, I’ve heard of him. He’s got a great reputation.” Her mouth quirked to one side. “Particularly with the nurses.”
“Yeah, well his popularity’s probably not as high these days. He’s engaged to a pretty little mechanic from Rockwall.”
“A mechanic?”
“Yep. A damned good one, too. Sweet.” He sipped his tea. “So the classes are for your license?”
“As soon as I get the money saved up, yes. I’ve got a long way to go, though. Continuing ed. Refresher courses. State exams and licensing fees. It’s a lot.”
Maureen leaned in and squeezed her daughter’s shoulder. “You did it once. You’ll do it again.”
Of that, Trevor was 100 percent certain. He’d sensed an underlying strength in Natalie the first day he’d met her, but rebooting her life with next to no support from a vengeful ex and a kid and mom to feed took grit most men didn’t have.
Levi dusted his hands off over his plate. “Are you gonna stay and watch X-Men with us? It’s on cable so we’ll have icky commercials, but the movie’s still awesome.”
“Levi, I told you earlier,” Natalie said. “Trevor has to work tonight.”
“Your mom’s right, bud.” Though he had to agree about the movie. X-Men was the shit even with commercials. “I gotta relieve my guy at the club so he can go spend tonight with his little girl.”
Scrunching up his face with the same determination Natalie favored, Levi cocked his head to one side. “You really gonna let me ride a horse?”
“Soon as I talk your momma into it.” He held out his hand. “Deal?”
That got Levi’s smile back in place, a blinding one full of teeth. He shook Trevor’s hand. “Deal!”
“All right then.” Trevor stood and nodded to Maureen. “I appreciate you taking the effort with the food, ma’am.”
“No effort at all.” She stood and picked up the plate of cookies. “Levi, why don’t you help me finish cleaning while your mom walks Mr. Raines out?”
“Walks him where?”
Natalie chuckled and handed Levi two fistfuls of dirty napkins and silverware. “To the parking lot, silly.”
Levi tracked Trevor rounding the table, locked eyes with him and grinned huge. “What she means is, she’s gonna walk you outside so you can kiss her.”
Natalie cleared her throat and tried to downplay the blush setting her cheeks on fire. So much for a low-key, no-pressure end to the night. “Levi, remember how we talked about thinking before you speak?”
Trevor’s hand curled around one of Natalie’s shoulders a split second before he stepped in behind her, his big, deliciously firm torso tight against her back as he grinned down at Levi. “Kisses aren’t a given, bud. Ever. You gotta earn ’em first.”
“Well, I think you earned one,” Levi said. “You helped set the table and everything.”
Good grief, could this moment get any more awkward? “Levi, maybe you should mind your business and leave the grown-up things to us.”
Her mother abandoned the dishwasher and the plates still stacked on the counter and wiped her hands on a dishtowel. “Change of plans. I’ll help Natalie with the dishes later and get Levi ready for bed now so the two of you can actually talk.”
Thank God.
Her body must have echoed her internal relief, because Trevor’s body shook with barely retained laughter.
She faced him and crossed her arms, the loss of his heat against her back a downright shame. “I’d apologize, but I love the things that come out of his mouth. Even when they embarrass the heck out of me.”
“He says what he thinks, and he’s cute as hell. I’d be tickled to have a kid like that.”
An entirely different warmth unfurled beneath her sternum, ideas she’d be foolish to let take root painting happily ever afters in her head. Levi deserved someone like Trevor in his life. Someone solid who saw the good in him instead of cataloging every annoyance that came with parenthood.
But Trevor was her boss. A boss that definitely didn’t qualify as the happily ever after type. No one had come right out and said it, but every one of the waitresses had commented on his lack of steady relationships. She smiled to cover her melancholy thoughts, uncoiled her arms and headed toward the door. “Come on. I doubt a big guy like you needs an escort to the parking lot, but I can at least see you to the stairs.”
“And here I thought you were a date who’d give me the full treatment. I’m a little wounded.”
Giggling low, she shut the door behind them and ambled slowly beside him. Even in an awkward moment he made things easy. Like the world moved at a different pace in his presence, unhurried and light. “Thank you for doing this. I know this couldn’t have been the most enjoyable way for a man like to you to spend a Saturday night.”
He stopped and faced her. Cocking his head, he leaned against the balcony rail, propped his elbows along the top and crossed his ankles. “Kinda curious what a man like me means in your book.”
She shrugged and stuffed her hands in her back pockets. “I don’t know. Someone with an exciting social life, I guess. Definitely not sitting around a tiny kitchen table in a dingy apartment eating meatloaf.”
“I ate meatloaf damn near once a week for eleven years of my life. Seein’ as how tonight brought back good memories, I’m not complaining.” He waggled his fingers between them. “Keep ’em coming. What other preconceived ideas have you got up in that hamster-wheel head of yours?”
She grinned, all too easily sliding into the playful moment. “Probably out flying your fancy planes and meeting important people. Oh, wait!” She held up one hand. “It’s Saturday night, so according to the girls at work, you’d be out with some leggy blonde.”
“Ah, employee gossip.” He ran the back of his hand against his chin and hung his head, one of those classic poses her son used when he knew he was busted, but was having a hard time not laughing in her face. When he looked up, the mischief in his eyes nearly knocked her back a step. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “At the risk of spoiling my apparent reputation, I really don’t date that much.”
No. Way. A man with Trevor’s swagger and good looks never went without female company for long. “Why not?”
He shrugged and crossed his arms. His answer came out light, but his gaze didn’t quite meet hers. “Just not convinced I’m the best kind of man to settle down.”
Metal clinked against the window behind them.
Natalie twisted just in time to watch the blinds Levi had pried open with both hands snap shut.
“I think your boy’s chomping to see his momma get kissed,” Trevor said. It was a lighthearted comment. A simple yet fond acknowledgement of her son’s eager and wide-eyed approach to life. But the tenor of it vibrated through her, low and rumbling like an approaching storm.
She sighed and faced him. “I’m really sorry. He doesn’t mean anything by it.”
“You got a habit of apologizing for things that don’t need it.” He pushed away from the rail and prowled the few steps between them. “Been a good night. Great food, good conversation, and killer cookies.” He coiled his fingers around her wrist and tugged.
Caught off guard, she lost her balance and splayed both hands against his rock-solid chest. God, he felt good. Warm, strong, and all man, his woodsy scent wrapping her up tight. She swallowed and smoothed her fingers against his button-down, the starched cotton doing little to disguise the muscles underneath. “What are you doing?”
Banding his arms around her, he anchored one hand at her nape and the other low on her back, the heat from his palms seeping clear to her bones. “A man like me gets a chance to round out a night like this with a kiss, he takes it.”
Her heart kicked and her stomach did that funny dipidy-doo reserved for roller coasters and teenage heartthrobs. “You don’t have to do this,” she whispered.
His gaze lingered on her lips then lifted to her eyes. “You gonna stop me?”
She should. He was her boss. A man who could lure any woman into swan diving off a break-neck cliff with a single look. But it wasn’t just any woman right now. It was her. And after eight years of nothing but cold and empty and another year beyond that of nothing at all, she couldn’t have stepped away from him if she’d tried. “No.”
“Good.” He cupped the side of her face and lowered his head. His voice vibrated through her, gruff and thick. “‘Cause I enjoyed your cookies, but I want a taste of your mouth more.”
He claimed it, swallowing her gasp and scattering what was left of her fragile logic in one heart-stealing swoop. Holy smokes, Trevor Raines didn’t just kiss. He devoured. Commanded. Possessed and plundered.
And she liked it. The taste of him and the way he demanded her response. The slick, wet glide of his tongue against hers and his effortless control. She rolled up on her toes and wound her arms around his neck.
He groaned into her mouth and palmed the back of her head, holding her in place as he feasted from her lips.
The blinds behind them rattled and Levi’s happy squeal echoed behind the glass.
Jolting inside Trevor’s arms, Natalie pushed against his shoulders and wiggled free, her heart clamoring as if desperate to escape her torso. God, she was an idiot. Tonight was supposed to be about giving Levi enough to cover if his dad asked more questions, not set him up for long-term disappointment. Heck, in another minute or two she’d have clawed her way up Trevor’s torso and wrapped her legs around his waist. She pressed her fingers to her still-tingling lips, too flustered for eye contact. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.”
She lifted her head and her lungs hitched. On the surface, the words might have sounded flippant, but something deep and uncertain moved behind his gaze. Like a man who’d just stumbled onto something unexpected and wasn’t quite sure how to process it.
Although, more likely, she was reading too much into the moment. Hard not to with her body still humming from a single kiss. A single, very delicious and heated kiss. “I should head back in.”
“You probably should.”
Probably should because the awkward factor had gone off-the-charts high? Or probably should because he wouldn’t be held accountable for what came next? Logic assured it was the former, but the way he kept his body angled toward her made her wonder if maybe he hadn’t minded locking lips with a single, sex-starved mother.
Before her mind could add any more fuel to the concept, his gaze slid to the window and his mouth quirked in an almost smile. “Do me a favor and tell your mom and Levi goodnight for me.” With that, he tipped his head and turned for the stairs.
She should let him go. Just go inside and not say another blessed word. God knew the next time she saw him at work was going to be weird enough.
“Trevor,” she said instead.
He stalled at the top of the stairs with one hand on the iron rail beside him and cocked an eyebrow.
“Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
The smile he gave her was pure trouble and promise all rolled up into one. “Darlin’, that was entirely my pleasure.”