Fearless In Love

“It was an accident,” she tried to protest.

“An accident?” Chi scrunched her forehead. “Like you were both naked and just happened to trip into each other’s arms?”

“No.” Ari would have laughed, but her stomach was twisted up. “Noah had an accident by the pool.”

When both women looked over at Noah, who was playing cheerfully, she said, “He’s okay, thank God. But after we took him to the emergency room, Matt was really upset. I just wanted to comfort him.”

“So you’re saying it was a simple hug for comfort that went off course?” Rosie looked at her over the rims of her sunglasses.

“Yes. No.” She buried her face in her hands. “Stop giving me a bad time,” she begged.

Chi put her hand on Ari’s arm. “We don’t want to give you a bad time. But we’re worried about you. You know what happens to girls who sleep with the boss.”

Ari dropped her hands. “I know.” She breathed deeply and let it out in a long sigh. “But I honestly don’t think he’s going to fire me. Even though…”

“Even though?” Rosie prompted.

“I kissed him again the other night,” Ari whispered. “In the pantry.”

Chi shook her head. “Girl, I’m not being mean. But that’s two strikes already. Not only is he your boss, he’s a totally over-the-top rich guy who probably goes through women like tissue paper.”

Chi was just trying to help, but Ari had to argue, “He’s not like that. He doesn’t take his money for granted. And I haven’t seen any other women coming around. In fact, I don’t think he’s gone on a date since I’ve been there.”

Before Chi could do more than roll her eyes at Ari’s protests, Rosie asked, “How do you feel about everything that’s happened?”

“I don’t know.” Liar. She didn’t wait for one of the girls to say that. “All right, I admit I’ve got hopes.”

“Oh. My. God.” Chi was always the more dramatic of her two BFFs.

“Not just because of how amazing it was to be with him,” Ari protested. “But because he’s offered to find my brother. Why would he do that if he didn’t have feelings for me?”

“Maybe because he feels guilty for taking advantage of his nanny and wants to make it up to her?” Chi suggested.

Rosie sent Chi a dirty look before folding her hand over Ari’s. “I’m sure his motives for finding your brother are nothing but kind. Who wouldn’t want to help you? But be careful. We don’t want you to get hurt.”

Rosie had met Jorge’s daddy when she was nineteen. She’d fallen hopelessly. When the bastard found out she was pregnant, he ran. Rosie had just finished her AA degree in bookkeeping when Jorge was born, and with Chi’s and Ari’s help, she’d eked out enough time to find a really great accounting job she’d held for the last five years. It made sense that she’d worry about Ari getting hurt after she’d been hurt so badly herself.

Chi had never dated—had never even seen a good relationship up close, only the bad ones. No wonder she was so quick to assume that Matt’s motives weren’t pure.

Ari understood her friends’ caution. She’d seen her fair share of bad relationships too, but she still couldn’t help hoping the fairy tale would actually come true. Hope was the one thing she’d always vowed to hold on to.

“I don’t want to be careful,” she admitted, looking out at Noah playing blissfully. She didn’t only want to build tunnels and roads and castles in the sand with him—she also wanted to build dreams that came true.

Before she’d met Matt and Noah, she’d always told herself dreams were better than reality because you couldn’t be disappointed. But if you were never disappointed, maybe that meant you never risked anything.

And Matt—and Noah—were worth risking it all.

“Even if I think you’re acting crazy, we’ll be here no matter how it works out,” Chi said, and Rosie nodded her agreement.

“I love you guys.” Ari blinked through the emotion flooding her eyes.

She could dream all she wanted, but the one thing she could count on was that her friends would be there for her if she bounced herself right off love’s trampoline and landed hard enough to break her heart.

* * *

After an inspection of his Florida plant on Friday, Matt’s pilot had orders to get him home by six that night. He missed his kid like crazy.

And missed Noah’s nanny like crazy too.

Working around the clock should have driven thoughts of her out of his mind. Instead, he pretty much lived for her nine p.m. check-in calls, when she ran him through the day’s activities and he let her know about any new lead his investigator was following regarding her brother. And every time they hung up the phone, he’d needed to stand beneath a freezing shower spray for ten minutes to give himself some semblance of control.

His foster mother had always helped him get his head on straight. Taking advantage of the long flight, he called her from the quiet of the luxurious lounge on his private plane.

“I know she drives you crazy, honey,” Susan said after he finished telling her what had happened with Noah during, and after, Irene’s latest visit.

“You could have a kegger on that trampoline. And of course, she just dumped it and ran.”

It shouldn’t still make him angry, but during last night’s phone call, Noah had once again asked if Mommy was coming back soon to teach him how to jump on the trampoline. It could be months before Irene showed up. Matt hated being helpless in the face of his son’s pain.

“Why don’t you get a safety net?” Susan asked, echoing Ari’s suggestion.

“Because then Irene would win.”

“Matt,” Susan said, her tone clearly indicating she wasn’t impressed with his behavior. “The trampoline shouldn’t be a battlefield.”

He knew it shouldn’t be a contest for Noah’s love. All that mattered was Noah’s happiness and keeping him safe. Yes, he could protect Noah by forbidding Irene access to him. But that would only intensify the little boy’s feelings of abandonment.

Which left Matt feeling like he was all out of options.

“I know I’m being an asshole about the whole thing.” Frustration rode his every word. “I just have no idea how to deal with her flitting in, then leaving him behind like a forgotten toy.”