Crossing the Line Part One (A Novella) (9 page)

Then he leaned back, held out his finger,
red cocktail sauce on the tip. "You had something there." The humor
in his eyes lit up as he smiled at her, wiped the sauce on his
pants. "See you soon." He stepped back.

She drew in air, tried to make it
inconspicuous as her body flushed with a different kind of heat.
Dear God, she'd almost melted into him and all he'd done was wipe
her face. Had he figured out how he affected her? He'd probably
pounce if he did, and she didn't want that.

Did she?

She stared after him for a minute as he
walked to his truck, trying to get her bearings. Before he turned
around and saw her watching him like a brainless idiot, she got in
her car and drove home.

§ §

Helena's attitude got nastier over the next
two weeks, so Victoria was happy when Roger showed up at her door
to pick them up for the weekend.

"Aren't you going to let me in?" Roger stood
on the doorstep in a pair of gray dress pants and a white button up
shirt. His reddish brown hair glinted in the waning sunlight and
his green eyes too innocent. When he brushed past her after she
didn't answer, the smell of his cologne surrounded her. She hated
the scent, and he knew it. She followed him into the living room,
watched him survey the changes she'd made. She hoped it irritated
the hell out of him. He'd never let her have the freedom to
decorate the way she liked.

"I wouldn't have chosen these…" Roger waved
a hand delicately in the air, "things."

Score one, Victoria thought. He gave her
another reason to want her business to thrive. She could prove to
him that all of the
things
he disapproved of could make her
successful. He continued nosing around, noticing the changes, while
she stood silently, arms crossed.

"Where are the girls?" He flashed a grin,
one he'd told her could get any girl in his bed--and damned if she
hadn't fallen for it--and walked closer to her.

Victoria refused to back down, even though
his closeness made her skin crawl. He didn't control her anymore.
She stepped around him to the middle of the living room, giving
herself space. "They're upstairs packing their bags. They'll be
done in a minute."

"Good. I'm taking them to the restaurant to
have dinner."

Of course he did. He couldn’t wait to show
off how he was such a good father to his twin daughters. Victoria
pitied him and hated him in the same breath. He had no idea what he
missed out on in the girls.

Helena flew down the stairs, beaming at
Roger. Score ten to him, she thought. She tried to ignore the pain
it caused her to know that she couldn't make Helena smile like
that.

"Daddy!" Helena jumped into his arms, her
bag forgotten at their feet. "I'm so glad you came."

Roger patted her back absently before
stepping away from her. "Yes. Me, too."

Helena didn't see her dad's disinterest and
Victoria sighed. When she eventually noticed, it would break her
heart.

"Hi, Dad." Lucia offered Roger a smile,
nothing more, then hugged Victoria. "See you Sunday, Mom. I love
you."

Victoria held Lucia probably longer than
necessary, it was so tough to watch them leave. Helena ignored her,
not even giving her a smile as they walked out the door. She shut
it behind them and leaned against it. This was literally only the
third weekend she'd ever spent without them. What was she going to
do with herself? Should she call her sisters?

No, Halle had a nursing conference in Long
Island and all Addie had talked about this week was her date
tonight. Knowing Addie, she'd end up with the guy all weekend, if
he didn't bore her to death. At the thought of that kind of
freedom, Victoria smiled and shook her head. She hadn't been on a
date in years, a decade really. She'd have no idea what to do.

The house creaked in the silence around her.
The TV wasn't on, blaring reality shows, and her girls weren't
arguing over something or giggling over something else. The
quietness settled around her and she sighed. All her life, she'd
been surrounded by people. First her family, then her dorm mate,
and then Roger and her girls. Being alone like this struck her as
unnatural. Maybe she should get a dog.

Her cell phone pinged a message tone from
the arm of the couch and she picked it up.

Nick: Hey, you busy?

Victoria laughed at the screen. She was so
far from busy and she couldn't deny that maybe, a little, she
wished he'd ask her out. After seeing Roger, remembering the years
of blandness, of settling, she might just want a hint of the
passion Nick had to offer.

No, what's up?

She'd expected him to text, so when her cell
rang she jumped. She answered the phone, her belly fluttering. "Is
something wrong with the office?"

"No, it's nothing like that." His voice
carried over, sending goose bumps over her body. Even though, he
sounded nervous.

"Oh? Is everything okay?" She paced, like
she always did when she talked on the phone.

"Yeah, yeah." He paused. "Um, I need a big
favor. I have this friend, one I used to fight with on the circuit,
and he's getting married tomorrow night. With work, I forgot about
it."

The butterflies multiplied. "Okay?" She
really couldn't think of anything else to say. She sank onto the
turquoise, pillow top ottoman.

"I need a date. I know he's invited this
girl, one I used to…hang out with…and I really don't want to go by
myself."

Victoria pressed her lips together. Those
butterflies shriveled up and settled heavy in her stomach. He
didn't really want to go with her, he only wanted a buffer. "Why
don't you ask one of your many, many one night stands? Maybe find
someone who's available?"

Nick's was silent, then he sighed. "That
came out wrong."

"I bet it did. Look, I wasted enough time on
a man who didn't really want me, who wanted to use me to further
his image to get higher in his career. I don't need to be used
again. So, good-bye, Nick." Victoria ended the call. She stared at
the screen for a minute, then decided she was an idiot. Why did she
let herself become even the tiniest bit attracted to him? Was it
because she wanted to feel reckless for once? To experience true
passion in her life?

She knew she couldn't focus on work now, and
pulled up Netflix. Since she wanted to take her mind off of
everything, she chose a suspenseful movie that would do so. A
little while later, when she heard the knock on the door, she
paused the movie. Her sisters had already left for their stuff, and
her parents were out on a date night. If Roger was bringing the
girls back, she'd punch him in the throat. Unfortunately he was the
only one who could make Helena happy right now, so he better step
up.

She slung the door open, prepared to go off
on Roger. No sound came from her open mouth. Nick stood on the
porch, looking delicious in jeans and a dark green t-shirt. She
became acutely aware that she wore a pair of cotton shorts and a
sleeveless work out shirt. No make-up, glasses on.

"Hey." Nick ran a hand through his hair.
"Got your address from your dad."

Victoria blinked. She finally shut her mouth
and stepped back from the doorway.

Nick came inside and she shut the door
behind him.

"I came to apologize." He sighed. "What I
said…it came out wrong."

"I'm not sure that it did." She crossed her
arms, aware that earlier she'd been in the same room with Roger. It
was surreal. Nick glanced to her chest and heat flushed up her
neck.

He snapped his attention back up to her
face, his eyes darkening. He stepped closer and she stepped back.
"I want you to come because I want to spend time with you."

She arched a brow. "You have a funny way of
telling me that." His body heat lit her nerves on fire. Jesus, she
wanted him to push her up against the wall and kiss her. "Besides,
why don't you take that girl from the flea market?"

"Are you jealous?" His brows rose.

"No." She lied. She glared at him.

"Look, this is new to me." He took a deep
breath. She stared at the tattoo that swirled up his left
collarbone. "I'm not the dating type." She snorted and he shot her
a look. "But I do know that there is something between us. I know
you feel it. I want to explore that."

Victoria's breath hitched. It wasn't the
sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her, and he didn't state
that he wanted to date her, but the desperate look in his eyes, the
way he almost pleaded at her to understand, reached her like
nothing else. "Oh?"

"I know what you've heard about me. I know
that I have the worst reputation. But, it's one night. Come to the
wedding with me. If you think that I'm still a lost cause, or that
I'm not worth your time, tell me. I'll forget about this craziness
in my mind, and finish out the job without bothering you." He
observed her expression, waiting on her answer.

She ignored the sinking in her stomach at
the thought of him leaving her alone. "Is this wedding formal?"

The grin that spread across his face almost
made her rip her clothes off, right there. It softened the edges of
his face, made him seem more carefree. "Semi-formal, you got
something to wear?"

"I might." She smiled back at him.

"Great. I'll pick you up tomorrow at three.
The wedding's at six, and it's a two hour drive. It's supposed to
be cool tomorrow night, so have a jacket, or whatever wrap thing
you women wear."

"Smooth." Victoria laughed. "Real
smooth."

"I try." Nick nodded at her. "Okay. Good.
I'll see you tomorrow."

She let him out, then locked the door and
leaned against it. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest and her skin
flushed. This was bad. Real bad. She wanted him, wanted to tempt
that passion in him, have him lose control with her. It surprised
her, since she was usually more timid about this kind of thing. She
just couldn’t help herself.

Victoria
hadn't been this nervous in forever. She'd picked out the perfect
dress, a navy blue and beige chevron print; with nude heels and a
navy, three quarter sleeve fitted blazer. She added a delicate
heart necklace the girls gave her for Mother's Day last year and
curled her hair, letting it frame her face.

She knew she looked amazing, she just prayed
Nick agreed. She'd never wanted to blow a man's mind before, not
with this reckless abandon. It was like her hormones had completely
taken over. She knew it was crazy to get involved with him. He had
a history of moving from one woman to another, never having a girl
"over" for more than a few nights. Last night she'd thought about
this for a while, and decided that she'd take those few nights.

Passion was missing in her life, in her
past, and she didn't want to settle for boring again. If Nick could
only give her that for a small amount of time, she'd take it, and
be happy.

With one last look in the mirror, she
grabbed her clutch and took a deep, steadying breath. It was only
one night, like his others. It didn't help to start analyzing
everything.

She opened the door right when he knocked
and dear God, she almost drooled. He wore a dark gray, three piece
suit that molded to his body. His thin black tie was askew and it
took everything she had not to pull him inside by it and forget
about the wedding.

"Wow." Nick's stare roamed from her feet, up
her legs, slowly taking everything in. The heat in his eyes left a
caress everywhere he looked. The slow, lazy grin weakened her
resolve. "I'm going to have my hands full tonight."

Her heart skipped until she realized he
probably meant the way she looked, not that he literally wanted to
have his hands full of something. Like, maybe, her. He'd told her
the night was going to be cool, but she already wanted to strip off
her jacket. Maybe her dress, too.

"Ready?" He held out his hand. "We need to
leave before I forget we're supposed to go somewhere."

She placed her hand in his and felt his
calloused palm against hers. She wanted to feel those hands on her,
trailing over her skin. She let him lead her to the truck because
she knew she couldn't form a coherent thought. He opened the door
for her, and made sure her feet were inside before shutting it.

He entertained her on the drive with funny
stories about his job, some of it from her own remodeling. She
laughed in his truck more than she had in the past year, and every
time she did his eyes lit up. While he drove, she took the
opportunity to watch him. He seemed so comfortable in his own skin.
She didn't feel like she had to fake her laughter or smiles. He
talked about the happy couple, telling her things about the MMA
circuit she'd never wondered about.

Violence was so foreign to her. Her father
had never raised a hand against another person. The most violent
thing he watched was football. She couldn't wrap her head around
someone wanting to hurt someone else, getting paid to do it, or
winning trophies. How did that testosterone filled adrenaline not
bleed over into their regular lives?

She snuck a glance at Nick. He didn't seem
to have a temper, didn't seem to be violent. She couldn't mix the
thought of him being a fighter with the genuine way he treated
people. His hands held the steering wheel in a sure grip. It didn’t
seem like he'd lose himself to that violence.

He pulled off the interstate and it only
took a minute to reach the church. Once he parked, he opened the
door for her. When he grabbed her hand and interlocked their
fingers, her breath quickened.

His friends' marriage ceremony was being
held in a beautiful, brick church that had a Southern style
wrap-around porch with white columns. The dark wooden doors were
propped open and an usher stood on each side, passing out programs
to guests. Inside, people sat on either side of the aisle in white
wooden chairs.