Page 10 of Mateo & Nicole

“I need to talk to you,” he said into the phone.

Paxton lifted his face so his eyes met Nikki’s, and she brushed at a tear before he was able to see it.

“Yeah,” Mateo barked, still talking on the phone. “I changed my mind. If that’s what you want, you can have it. For the life of me, I don’t get it, but something’s changed.”

He was giving her position away. That was the only thing that made sense.

Mateo hung up his phone and pointed to their room. “Pack your things.”

“Mateo—” she stammered. “Don’t do this?—”

He stopped suddenly, understanding suddenly filling his vision. “I’m not firing you,” he practically growled. “But you really should have told me about…” His eyes dipped to Paxton, and he heaved a sigh before he dropped to a crouch and flashed her son the biggest smile he had. “Do you like horses?”

Paxton’s concern immediately fled from him, and he nodded with a grin. “They’re my favorite animal. They’re so fast.”

“What do you say I take you out to meet a cowboy while your mother and I have a chat?”

Paxton frowned once more and looked from Mateo to his mother.

She nodded. What else could she do? She didn’t want Mateo to fire her in front of her son. Paxton would only blame himself.

Mateo rose, ruffling Paxton’s hair before he gave Nikki a firm look.

The second they were packed, Mateo handled the luggage and guided them out to the barn, where Daniel met them. He nodded to Paxton. “I want you to show the kid around. Let him meet the best horses.”

Daniel’s eyes dipped down to Paxton, and he grinned. Just before he disappeared into the barn, he tossed Nikki a worried look.

The world was falling out from under her. The ground shifted and rocked, threatening to make her stumble as Mateo led the way toward the main house. His office was located there. He was going to have privacy to reprimand her for lying about her son.

She should have just told him when she’d come asking for the job. Maybe she could plead her case better if her son wasn’t there watching everything fall apart.

Unfortunately, she didn’t feel she had a good shot at being successful.

Mateo continued walking, the suitcase in his hand, as they climbed a set of stairs and headed toward the end of a hallway. A door was ajar, and he pushed it open, revealing not an office space but a spacious bedroom with two twin beds.

“I…” Her throat closed up. “I don’t understand.”

Mateo put the suitcase just inside the room and leaned his back against the doorjamb, blocking her from escaping. His expression was cool, unreadable. Gone was the flirty, happy guy she’d been chatting with.

She got the distinct feeling that she’d hurt him by not telling him everything.

“You’ll stay here.”

She gasped, whirling around to face him after getting another good look at the bedroom. “I can’t.”

“You can, and you will. Honestly, I didn’t like the idea of you staying in a building full of men. I’d anticipated hiring a male cook, but…” He lifted a shoulder, and a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. “You made an offer that I couldn’t refuse.”

Heat flooded her body as she once again took in the bedroom. “I can’t,” she repeated. “This room—it must belong to one of your brothers. Or two of them.”

Mateo nodded, not leaving from where he relaxed in the doorway. “This is Marcus’s room. He’s my youngest brother. Sometimes, he shares the room with cousins who come to visit. Sometimes, he shares it with Roman when we have a guest who needs their own room.”

Nikki shook her head again. “But—I really don’t want to impose. Where will Marcus stay? He needs a space?—”

“He wanted to move into the wrangler’s cabin.” Mateo smirked. “Heaven knows why. I’m guessing he’s tired of sharing a house with our sisters. They can be… a bit much.”

“But you didn’t want him to.” That much was clear. Otherwise, Marcus would have already been moved out to the cabin.

Mateo pushed off the door and moved closer to her, making the room feel ten times smaller. “I wanted him to be with his family because there’s nothing more important.” His eyes burned into her with an intensity that made her shiver. “You should have told me you have a son, Nikki. I wouldn’t have turned you away. There’s nothing more beautiful than a mother who would be willing to do anything for her child.”

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