Somebody to Love(92)

James looked at Nicky. “Yes.”

“Can I use it?”

“No,” she and Ethan said at the same time.

“They’re the bosses,” James said. “Okay, I’ll get to work.” With that, he went out the back door, and a few seconds later, the screeching sound of wood being pried up could be heard.

“I wanna help. I wanna use the nail gun,” Nicky declared.

“No, Nicky. It’s not for kids,” Ethan said. “Why don’t you work on teaching Beauty a trick? Maybe in your room, so you can surprise us?”

“Okay.” Nicky scrambled off Ethan’s lap and ran down the hall. “Come on, Beauty!” he bellowed, and Beauty trotted obediently after him. “Come see Apollo. Do you love Apollo? Mom, can I let Apollo out of his case?”

“No,” Parker said. “It’s locked, and it’s gonna stay that way.”

“He wants to come out,” Nicky argued.

“He’s not coming out,” she said. Nicky grumbled but dropped it. Seemed as if he’d gotten a little more willful than she remembered.

“So,” Ethan said.

“So.” She took a bite of toast. Didn’t look at Ethan.

Right from the birth of their son, Parker and Ethan had agreed to share information that might affect Nick. Dating was one of those topics; when Ethan and Lucy had taken up with each other, he’d come to her and made sure she was okay with it. Things like vacations and work schedules, family events, any kind of change that might impact Nick had always been discussed.

The subject of Parker having a boyfriend had never come up. She sensed it was about to.

“Are you and James seeing each other?” he asked quietly.

Bingo.

“Not really,” she whispered. She was actually more afraid that James would hear; Nick was chanting the word Jump over and over in his room. “We, um…we had…” Jump. Jump. “He was staying here.” Jump. Jump. Jump, Beauty, jump. “It made more sense, with all the work we had to do. We hung out a little bit. But it’s done now.” Ouch. Saying the words out loud…it hurt. She cleared her throat. “I didn’t want Nicky to be overloaded.”

Ethan sighed, then looked at the ceiling and scratched his chin. He was quiet for a minute. “James always struck me as a decent guy.”

“Yeah, no, he is. Very decent.” She paused. “I didn’t always think so, but I do now.” Jump. Jump. Jump, Beauty.

“So?”

“So nothing. We had a little summer fling, at the recommendation of your wife, I might add, and it was fun. It’s also finished.”

“Why wouldn’t you want it to be more than a fling?”

She took a sharp breath, an unexpected flare of anger arrowing through her. “Well, Ethan, I guess because Nicky’s got a lot on his plate right now. Grandpa in prison, new house, new school, new stepmother, new sibling on the way. His mother having a boyfriend doesn’t seem fair.”

Ethan didn’t say anything for a minute. “You have a point. It’s a lot. But I’d hate for you to think that your job was to just serve Nicky. If you were in a relationship, he’d adjust, and happily, if it was the right person. I mean, do you think he’s less happy because Lucy and I are married?”

“No. He’s probably happier. He adores her. But that’s different. He’s known her his whole life.”

“He’s known James his whole life, too.”

Heck. That was true. And she was tremendously hung up on James; that was also true.

But a real relationship? She had no idea what James had planned for the future. She could ask, of course. Or wait and see, maybe. That seemed safer.

Ethan cleared his plate. “Well, it’s obviously up to you. Just don’t martyr yourself on the altar of motherhood.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Ethan Mirabelli! Bite me.” She flipped him the bird.

He grinned. “I’d rather hug you. I should hit the road, anyway.”

“Good, because you’re a pain in the ass. Get out of here.” She hugged him, then smacked him on the side of the head. “Tell your parents I miss them and I’ll be home in a couple weeks.”

“Tell them yourself.”

“You’re a cruel man.”

He grinned, then went down the hall to say goodbye to their boy.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

JAMES WAS BEING watched. For the second day in a row, Nicky Mirabelli was staring him down, sitting at the top of the hill that led down to the dock, idly digging a hole with a gardening spade. Parker was planting flowers, and Nick was allegedly helping. More than that, he was staring at James. Occasionally, he’d announce a fact: I can swim a mile. I can eat five pancakes. I’m stronger than you.

It was making James nervous. He’d never felt comfortable around kids, not that he got much chance. The natural, automatic affection that flowed effortlessly from both Parker and Ethan toward their kid…he couldn’t imagine that. Maybe it happened when it was your kid. Maybe he wasn’t the kid type. That seemed more likely.

“I can use the nail gun,” Nicky said now. “My mother said so.”

“Really?” James said. “Well, if she tells me that herself, I’ll show you how.”