CHASING TROUBLE

She mentally scolded herself. He was staying for their son… Not her. That should be something to celebrate, not something that made her chest feel like icy shards were penetrating it.

“It’s not like you to be clumsy,” he commented when they were left alone again, thoughtful eyes fixed on hers, forehead indented with the contemplative lines she recognised.

“It was an accident.” She tried to speak dismissively but there was a tremor in her voice. Her bones felt like they’d become jellified. His right eyebrow rose sardonically. She had a large drink of her juice and willed her heart to settle.

“So I take it you’re already settled in?” she asked, and was relieved that this time her voice had mostly returned to the casual tone she’d spent two weeks perfecting.

There was a slight narrowing of his light brown eyes before they glittered and a knowing smile played on his lips. “I sure am,” he replied, not taking his eyes from her beautiful face. “So what do you say to my request? Can Charlie come stay with me for a while?”

Caroline felt selfish and inconsiderate, knowing that Nicholas had every right to want more time with his son and he was asking very nicely, but the thought of having her son away from her for so long sounded dreadful to her. A host of emotions played on the face he could see straining not to give anything else away. “I… I… I don’t think Charlie can be away from me for that long,” she told him.

Nicholas watched her for a few seconds, and honestly Caroline expected him to get very upset, but he didn’t. But the truth was that he’d expected her to say no. Knowing Caroline, and having watched her with Charlie several times, he knew she’d never agree to be apart from him for so long. She was like a mama bear. So caring and very protective. Now was his chance to say what he really had in mind, so he leaned forward, “How about you come too then,” he said.

The color drained from her face and the fork in her hand dropped onto her plate. Her eyes widened and her shoulders hunched as she placed a hand to her chest. She cleared her throat. “You…You want me to come to your house?”

“With Charlie,” he clarified even though he knew it was unnecessary. “This way, you wouldn’t have to worry about being apart from him for too long,”

“Me?” The sudden dread that had clutched Caroline vanished under the surge of her racing pulse and she found herself arching towards him. “You want me to come too?”

His speculative stare held hers.” He’s still getting to know me and like you said, he’s too young to leave you yet.”

He was using her own words against her. The brief rush of adrenaline flatlined. She didn’t even know why she’d experienced it. This was the man who’d walked away from her without any thought or concern about her and, even if she could forgive that-not his reasons for leaving, but his complete dismissal of her in his planning and execution of it was something she never really understood. If he hadn’t found out about Charlie, he’d have been happy never seeing her again. She meant nothing to him. He didn’t want her. She was welcome in his home only as the mother of his son.

Well, she didn’t want him either. He was welcome in her home only as the father of her son. If he got down on his knees and begged for them to start over, she would laugh in his face. She just wished she didn’t wake every morning with panic in her heart because he was in her dreams and that every minute spent with him didn’t make her feel so jittery and flushed inside. It was there now, the heat that had lived in her the entire time they’d been together, the cells of her body straining towards him, her pulse never settling into a steady rhythm.

“Let our son visit my home, darling,” he said, dark eyes boring into her. “My father would love to visit too and spend time with his grandson too. My heritage is his heritage. He deserves to know about it, do you not agree? And one day, everything I have will be his.”

Her cheeks flamed at the endearment that had slipped off his tongue so smoothly she was sure he hadn’t noticed…Or maybe he had. You could never be too sure with Nicholas Connelly. “When you put it like that, how can I say no?” She couldn’t. She knew that. Not unless she wanted to be actively cruel.

It astounded her how quickly the bond between father and son had formed but it was there and it was real and it was a good thing. All children deserved to have the best relationship possible with both their parents and she would never deny her son that, no matter the personal cost to herself. And it was costing her a lot.

“So you’ll come?”

“For how long? Two weeks sounds like a long time, Nick?”

“Fine. How about we do one week first and see how it goes?”

He was being so reasonable and understanding, Caroline thought. She had to meet him halfway. She strained every muscle in her face to form a smile. “I guess we can do that,”

“So you’ll come?” he asked again.

“Sure. We’ll come.”

His face widened into a grin, eyes glittering. “Excellent. I will make the arrangements.”

—————-

Caroline held Charlie securely as she got out of the house and locked the door. A black car was parked a short distance from them and her already erratic heart ballooned painfully to see the long, lean figure standing against it.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Nicholas’ presence in her life these last seven days had been reduced to snatched, fleeting visits to see their son. His absence and even his presence had brought no relief. It shattered her that far from his distance giving her space to properly get her head around their situation, she still woke every morning having to assure herself that he was back in her life. She had to stop her hands grabbing her phone to call him just to hear his voice.