What's Life Without the Sprinkles? (22 page)

Zoe saved her from her own thoughts by banging in at the back door and throwing herself lengthwise on the couch. Now here was something Claudia could do and not feel useless. Because as much as it appeared Nate wanted her, it was going to have to wait.

But Zoe’s problems she could do. She’d put her cake fantasies aside for the moment and sort things out in her sister’s life. Maybe then she’d feel like she was worth something.

“That bad, huh?” Claudia said, stroking Zoe’s hair as she sat next to her on the couch.

Zoe groaned.

“Hey, here’s something that ought to make you giggle. Apparently we’re going to be hearing the term ‘bastard’ around here a lot over the next few days. It might even replace ‘sperm donor.’”

Zoe popped her head out of the cushions. “Bastard?”

“Yep, your nephew heard from some idiotic kids that he’s a bastard, and the boy has decided to take the term to heart and embrace himself.”

Zoe snickered. “Sorry. But bastard?”

“Uh-huh. And he may even have convinced himself that we should call him Bastard Justin for the next little while. He likes it and thinks that because it’s technically true he should be allowed to use it.” Claudia smoothed Zoe’s hair from her forehead. “You can laugh all you want. I was barely able to keep it in when he was talking. Although things got a little nasty at the end. Oh, and Peter is going to be taking our dear Bastard Justin to the father-son dinner. I actually had to call and ask him—and deflect his dinner invitation. So if you think you have it bad, maybe that will help you feel a little bit better.”

“Nice.”

“I thought you might like that.” She ran a hand down Zoe’s arm.

“Why are men such bast...well, I guess ‘jerk’ is probably the better word at this point.”

Now it was Claudia’s turn to snicker. “I have no idea. Maybe just to make us insane? I can’t even seem to get some time to myself for Nate, either. And now he’ll be gone until Saturday. My cake is not happening.”

Zoe sighed. “I think I might just go on a sweets-free diet.”

“I guess it really was bad.”

“You have no idea. But at least you have Nate to look forward to. Say goodnight to the bastard for me.”

“Will do.” Claudia took a glass of wine out onto the deck and just sat for a little while, daydreaming in the dark to keep herself from dwelling too much on all that could go wrong tomorrow night at the dinner for Justin’s school.

****

Nate fidgeted in his car the whole way home on Friday. He’d wrapped up things as early as he could, working through the whole night Thursday to get on the road early enough to try and make the father-son dinner. He’d brought a suit with him for meetings and had it cleaned this afternoon when the meetings were over, then dressed in it so he could go straight to the elementary school’s gymnasium and hopefully surprise Justin and let Claudia off the hook as the boy’s date for another year.

It had killed him to tell the kid he couldn’t make it to the dinner. But he hadn’t wanted to make promises, in case things didn’t go as planned and he didn’t make it back in time. Nate was huge on keeping his promises.

Plus, this way he got to see Claudia in a dress. God, he hoped she was wearing a pair of her killer heels. Nothing was like seeing her long calves pumped up by a pair of spike heels.

And there he went again, fantasizing about her. It was as if, ever since she’d kissed him, some kind of floodgate had opened and he could view everything about her over the years through a new set of eyes.

He wasn’t dumb. He’d always known she was a female. But he’d just never seen her as a woman until she’d laid her lips on his and damn near made his toes curl.

He wanted to get back to her as much as he wanted to get to Justin, but in a different way, obviously. He was really hoping, though, that he could finish up the dinner with Justin and then finish out the evening with Claudia, fulfilling those promises she’d made with her eyes and her lips and her hands.

He pressed down on the accelerator a little harder, drove a little faster, to get to her and to Justin. Whipping into the school’s parking lot, he snagged a lucky parking spot near the front. Damn traffic had made him over an hour late. He’d only get to eat dessert with his guy now. But at least it was something.

He straightened his tie and patted down his hair while hustling to the side doors of the gym. He’d have one more hour with Justin, and then he could go home to Claudia and see if they could find a little time together. He was ready and raring for that time together.

The rumble of a hundred men and boys greeted him when he yanked the door open. He stepped in and let it all wash over him. He’d never been invited to this event before, and it had meant the world to him that Justin had made the invitation. And now he was going to try to fulfill it for his guy the best he could.

Everyone was seated except for a few people picking at what food was left at the buffet. He looked around, trying to spot the one woman in the crowd. He was baffled to not find her sitting at one of the round tables. Maybe they hadn’t come at all. That made him feel even worse.

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and was ready to dial Claudia to find out what had happened when he spotted Justin sitting next to an older gentleman. Nate had no idea who the man was, or why he would have brought Justin. But then he looked to the left and couldn’t believe his eyes. For there sat Peter, large as life, in the seat that should have been Nate’s.

It took a second to reconcile the picture with his brain. Where the hell was Claudia? And why on earth was Peter sitting there in a suit and tie—and talking to the guy next to him instead of to Justin? It just didn’t compute.

But then it did. Maybe Peter was trying to take a bigger part in his son’s life—because, even though Nate had never really thought of Peter as Justin’s father, in actuality he was. They had the same blood running through their veins, even if Peter had barely acknowledged it in over ten years. But this couldn’t be a bad thing, for Justin and Peter to bond a little.

If Nate felt any kind of jealousy rising, he soon squashed it. The kid knew who he wanted to hang out with, and Nate hadn’t been able to make the dinner. Maybe Claudia had been busy, too, since she’d thought she’d have a night to herself. That left Peter, who just happened to be in town. Made sense to him.

With that thought in mind, then, he didn’t want to ruin what could be the beginning of a new relationship. He started creeping backward, hoping no one would notice him as he made a discreet exit.

He’d almost made it to the double doors when Justin’s head jerked up like a wolf scenting prey. His eyes zeroed in on Nate, and the slight frown on his young face turned into a full-fledged smile of relief. That couldn’t be good.

The boy was up and out of his chair before Nate could blink. Peter spared him a quick glance before returning to his conversation with the man next to him. That didn’t look good, either.

And then Nate’s arms were filled with boy. His heart was just filled, period.

“Oh, Nate, thanks so much for coming. You don’t know how terrible it’s been.” When Justin stepped back from burying his face in Nate’s chest, he looked close to tears. That was saying something for his guy.

“What’s up?”

Justin blew out a sigh that ruffled Nate’s tie. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” He turned pleading eyes on Nate, the ones Nate had never learned to resist. “Can you please, please, get me out of here?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Nate put a hand under Justin’s chin and looked into his troubled face. “What’s this about getting out of here? Don’t you still have an hour left before the dinner thing is done?”

“I can’t stay here. Please take me home.”

“But what about Peter?” Nate put his arm around Justin, but he wasn’t budging until he figured out what was going on.

“Peter is a jackass.” Justin flushed and bit his lip.

“I’m not going to call you on the language, but I’m going to need more than that, if you think I’m going to break you out of this joint.”

Justin slipped his hand into Nate’s and gave him a squeeze. “He doesn’t have the faintest clue.”

“That might be true, but what are we supposed to tell him and your mom about you leaving with me?”

Justin clasped his hands in front of his chest. “Please!”

“It’s that important?” Nate didn’t feel good about stepping in where he wasn’t wanted, but he could clearly remember what an ass Peter had been when they were in high school. From what he’d seen, the guy hadn’t changed much. This must have been torture for Justin.

“It’s really that important.” The sincerity in Justin’s voice was no joke.

“Wait here. I’ll go see what I can do.” He left Justin standing at the double doors and tried to figure out what the hell he was going to say to Peter. What if the man didn’t realize Justin was having a horrible time?

But he didn’t have to worry so much. As soon as he approached Peter and the other man looked up, the relief in Peter’s eyes was crystal clear. “Please, man, tell me you’ve come to save me. I don’t have the faintest damn idea what I’m doing here. All these fathers know their kids’ batting average.”

Nate knew Justin’s. It was .178.

“They know his favorite color and what his favorite food is.”

Green. And Tastykakes, when he could get away with it, via Nate. Claudia wouldn’t let him near that over-processed treat. But Nate didn’t say any of these things, because Peter did truly look bewildered. Nate knew how tough this must have been for both the kid and the man. He wouldn’t say “father,” since all these things would be common knowledge for anyone interested in a child’s life. But Peter had never even met Justin until this week. Had no contact with him at all other than one birthday card when he was three.

“Justin was thinking I could drive him home, since I’m here,” Nate said, looking down at the carpet and giving the guy the chance to gracefully bow out of the whole thing.

Peter took it. “That would be great, man. If you don’t mind, I’ll head back to May’s. I have some packing to do. I think Justin was done here, anyway. I’ll just say goodbye on my way out.” He clapped Nate on the shoulder as he walked toward the double doors.

It was that easy. Nate hung back for a second to let father and son say goodbye to each other. The body language was all wrong. Justin leaned away from Peter when the man put an arm over his shoulders. Peter seemed to take the hint and offered his hand for a more manly shake. Then he was out the door.

Taking his time, Nate strolled over to Justin and offered him the one thing he probably needed the most. “Ice cream?”

The kid’s whole face creased into a smile. “Yeah.”

****

Peter slammed a hand into his steering wheel as he tore out of the elementary school parking lot. The Mustang rumbled under him and classic Depeche Mode shot from the speakers, drowning out the voices mocking him in his head.

He’d failed tonight, there were no two ways about it. He didn’t know the first thing about the strange alien person who carried his blood. While other fathers were whipping out baseball trading cards of their kids and talking about all the activities and sports they participated in, he was hard pressed to remember what Justin’s middle name was. He had no idea if Justin played sports at all. He couldn’t even come up with whether he liked chicken or beef at dinner.

The whole night had been a disaster, beginning with the moment he’d picked the boy up and seen how stunning Claudia looked in a pair of sweats with thick, brightly striped socks on her feet.

He didn’t know what the hell he was doing here, or why he had come back, other than to help his father. He wasn’t being much help there, either. He and Roger had never really gotten along. His father liked to brag about the business Peter did and the deals he made, but they never talked like May and Roger talked.

This visit was no exception. Normally, his family came to him. May had tried for a while, once she came back home, to get him to take an interest in Justin. She’d sent kindergarten pictures and drawings the boy had done. But Peter had had no interest. He had more deals to put together, his own life to lead. When he’d left Claudia three months pregnant and pursued his dreams, he’d never meant to come back.

And he’d been right to do so. There was nothing here for him. He should just go home now.

He went back to May’s, told her his decision, listened to her bitch about it, and then went to bed to get some sleep before his start out of town the next morning. He’d made his decision, and he would not be swayed.

He only had one more thing to do on his way out of town.

****

Claudia’s cell phone rang in her Decadence apron pocket a half hour before a bride was scheduled to come in for a cake taste-test. She did not have time for this, but she had been expecting a call from the principal at Justin’s school to discuss thoughts on how to get him to stop asking the other children to call him Bastard Justin. Normally the principal didn’t make calls outside of school hours, but Claudia had made the man and his wife their anniversary cake six months ago, and he now professed to be in love with her, or at least with her baking skills. Maybe she could use some of her baking points to get the principal to go easy on Justin about the language and the punishment for it.

She answered, though she did not recognize the number, and then she wanted to hang up immediately. She did not have the time or the inclination to deal with Peter today, of all days. She and Nate were finally going to test a little cake and icing of their own tonight, with Justin at her mom’s and Zoe out of town for the evening. He would not ruin that for her.

“What can I do for you?” she asked after he had said hello but then nothing else. The silence hung in the space between them uncomfortably as she braced herself for nearly anything.

He cleared his throat, and her stomach heaved a little. Clearing his throat had always meant he was about to tell her something she would not like.