Suddenly she wasn’t hungry at all. “Sure. Is it okay to leave them alone?”
Hawk frowned, then glanced toward the great room. She could practically hear the debate going on inside his head. Which side would win? The responsible father or the guy interested in a little time with his sex kitten?
“Damn,” he muttered.
She picked up her fork. “Fatherhood wins.”
“This sucks.”
“Tell me about it.”
But she wasn’t all that upset. Yes, it was frustrating to be so close to Hawk and not in a position to have her way with him. But the good news was he’d shown a side of himself that she really liked and respected. After the disaster that was Drew, she could appreciate the thrill of a good man. Of course, this being her life, the good man was only pretending to be involved with her.
CHAPTER TEN
NICOLE GRABBED frosted cupcakes and set them into a large, pink box. The special order had come in early that morning from a desperate-sounding mother whose husband had dropped the ball when it came to ordering for their three-year-old’s birthday party.
Now she carefully arranged chocolate cupcakes with neon-pink frosting and sparkly sprinkles. In a few minutes the harried mother would show up for them and be relieved that at least one part of her day went right. Okay, so it wasn’t rocket science. But she could still make someone feel better, at least in the moment.
She carefully taped the box shut and took it up front, then peeled off her plastic gloves and tossed them in the trash. Maggie pushed one of the swinging doors leading to the back open.
“Someone to see you,” she said, not quite meeting Nicole’s gaze.
“Someone I want to see?” Nicole asked, her stomach already knotting. There weren’t that many people who would come in the back way.
“Probably not.”
Nicole braced herself for yet another fight with Jesse. Her sister was determined to get her half of the money out of the bakery. Nicole wasn’t interested in gutting the business just so Jesse could throw her future away. Legally she didn’t have to do anything until Jesse was twenty-five and she planned to keep resisting until the exact day her sister came of age.
Jesse stood just inside her office. Nicole stared at her for a second, feeling anger and sadness, along with regret and resignation. Despite what Jesse thought, Nicole had always loved her and wanted the best for her. They were only six years apart in age. They should have been closer.
Nicole knew she was probably to blame for a lot of what had gone wrong. She’d been too young to be left in charge of raising Jesse, but that’s what had happened.
Jesse turned and saw her. “It’s not what you think,” she began. “I’m not here about the bakery.”
“Okay. Do you need money?”
Jesse rolled her eyes. “No. I don’t need anything. That piece of information should keep you quiet for at least thirty seconds.”
Nicole opened her mouth, then closed it. She was so tired of fighting and being hurt.
“I’m leaving,” Jesse said before Nicole could ask why she was there. “I can’t change anything here. I can’t make it right. I don’t want to be the bad guy anymore, so I’m going away.”
“Running away,” Nicole snapped, furious that Jesse would be willing to leave. “Ignoring your responsibilities.”
“What responsibilities?” Jesse asked, her voice sharp. “You don’t want me in your house and you sure as hell never wanted me here.”
“That’s not true. I do want you here. We should be partners.”
“Your definition of partners means me doing everything exactly the way you say. I don’t want to spend my life putting sprinkles on doughnuts.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
Jesse turned away. “I don’t know.”
Perfect. Just perfect. “Let me guess. You’re running away to find yourself. Well, guess what? Your problems are going to tag along with you. They’ll slide into your suitcase and make themselves at home when you unpack. You can’t escape the consequences, Jesse. You might as well stay and figure it out here.”
“No. It’s time for me to leave. You always complain that I’ll never grow up. Maybe this will force me into doing that. I’ll make it on my own or I’ll fail on my own.”
Nicole wanted to scream. “You can’t go. You’re pregnant. How will you support yourself?”
“That’s not your problem.”
Talk about frustrating. Did Jesse really think she could find a decent job, get medical insurance, have a baby and raise it on her own? She’d never been responsible in her life. She was awful with money, a slacker when it came to work and totally unwilling to even admit she’d been wrong for sleeping with Drew. It was a total recipe for disaster.
“It’s going to be my problem when you come back, and we both know you will.”
Jesse looked at her for a long time. “You think you know everything about me. You think you know who I am, but you’re wrong. You don’t know anything. I’m done fighting with you, Nicole. I can’t disappoint you anymore. It hurts too much. You won’t believe that, but it’s true. I never wanted things to be like this. Please don’t try to find me.”
With that, she turned and walked out.
Nicole watched her go. Part of her wanted to run after Jesse and insist that she stay. Another part of her wondered if maybe being on her own for a few months would help Jesse grow up. She didn’t doubt that her sister would come back-no doubt scared, desperate and broke. Not to mention pregnant. And Nicole would take her in because that’s what family did. But between now and then, maybe Jesse could learn a few lessons.
So she let her go and told herself it was the right thing to do, even as she fought against feeling sick to her stomach.
AFTER THE FOOTBALL GAME, Nicole headed to the parking lot with the rest of the crowd. She felt better than she had earlier, but she couldn’t seem to shake the black cloud that had surrounded her all day.
She stood by her car, knowing Hawk would send over a few kids for her to drive to the pizza place. While she was standing there, wondering if stuffing herself with Hawaiian pizza would make her feel better or worse, a tall, curvy, beautiful woman walked over.
“Excuse me,” the woman said, her face perfect enough to be on a magazine. “Are you Nicole?”
“Yes.”
“Really? One of the other mothers pointed you out to me.”
The surprise in the woman’s voice put Nicole on edge. There was only one reason anyone would be talking about her.
“You’re dating Hawk?”
Nicole was so not in the mood for this. “Yes, I am.”
“Really?”
There was that tone again. The one that expressed more than surprise. It was as if a law of the universe had been violated.
“I just thought Hawk had a different type,” the woman murmured, more to herself than Nicole.
Nicole’s temper sprang to life. She glanced at the woman’s left hand and saw enough diamonds to fund the retirement of every resident in Idaho.
“You mean someone like yourself?” Nicole asked. “Sorry. He doesn’t do married women. Which I have to tell you is pretty fabulous for me. I’m single. And yes, we’re dating. For what it’s worth, because I know this is really what you want to know, the sex is amazing. Seriously. He’s practically a god. We do things that are illegal in six states. I don’t just see stars, I practically fall through a black hole and land on the planet of satisfaction. It’s another plane of pleasure.”
