Page 50 of Mateo & Nicole

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Nikki

He lied.

Mateoactuallylied to her.

Nikki’s whole body buzzed with frustration and an ache that she’d unsuccessfully attempted to bury. She’d seen him with Caroline. Why would he lie about it?

She wanted to believe thatifhe’d told her the truth right up front, she wouldn’t have been hurt, but that would have been a lie. She knew it down to her toes that simply seeing them meet up had done something to her. It had shaken her so badly that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to come back from it.

The irony of the whole situation was that she’d never been cheated on, but Mateo had. He should have known better than to keep something from her. They were together.

Unless they weren’t.

Nikki looked up to the sky, the burning in her eyes refusing to remain caged behind her lids. She couldn’t cry right now. That wouldn’t work—not when she was with Paxton. All he had to do was mention that she was sad to Mateo, and he’d come ask her what was wrong.

Then what?

She couldn’t tell him that she knew he’d lied. If she did, he would think she was spying on him.

Technically, she had been. She’d stood there and watched them from the window without confronting them in the moment. Perhaps that had been her major mistake. Nikki should have marched into that coffee shop and demanded to know what was happening. Then, at least she wouldn’t be walking along this trail while her son had the time of his life collecting leaves and interesting stones.

Never had she thought she could feel so down and alone before this moment. All she wanted to do was give up—tell Mateo to go after the girl he clearly liked.

Because that was the only thing that made sense.

She had to believe that Mateo wasn’t trying to be deceptive to hurt her. He wasn’t the type to get a thrill out of destroying others. No, this whole situation had to run deeper. On some level, Mateo likely still cared for Caroline. And why wouldn’t he? They had been engaged. He’d proposed to her once. If she was throwing herself at him again, it wasn’t a stretch to believe that he’d give her another chance.

A whimper slipped past her defenses, but thankfully her son didn’t hear it. His boots crunched against the dirt and rocks that lined their path. Every few feet, he’d stoop to pick something up and place it in a small satchel he had at his waist. Paxton was completely oblivious to her pain and sorrow, and that was how it had to be.

As Nikki watched him, her heart sank even deeper into despair. Paxton had started to really care for Mateo. He’d opened up to the man after staying more reserved around Dennis. It had to have taken a lot of courage for him to let Mateo into his life.

Her steps slowed as the reality of it all settled on her. If Mateo left them for Caroline, he’d be hurting Paxton, too.

Her legs went weak. She’d sworn to herself that she wouldn’t let Paxton become a casualty in her future relationships. Dennis hadn’t wanted anything to do with him. He’d tolerated him, and they’d had some fun together, but he didn’t want to adopt him or claim him as his own.

Nikki had been a fool to believe that Mateo had wanted something more with Paxton. And now her son would pay the price.

She was going to be sick. What had she done? She’d let her heart rule that logical side of her for too long. This wasn’t just about her feelings. Mateo was messing with Paxton’s too.

Her hands curled tightly into fists at her sides. She wasn’t going to let that happen. If Mateo wanted to spend his time in the company of a woman who had destroyed him, that was his decision.

If he was going to keep it from her, then he could live with the repercussions that came from that dishonesty.

But in no way would she allow him to spend time with her son, getting closer to him and making him feel like there was a future with the three of them together.

Maybe it was time she found somewhere else to live.

Her stomach knotted so tightly she fought the instinct to gasp. Just the thought of trying to find something with the salary she had sounded like an impossible feat.

But as her gaze followed her son, she had to accept that was where they were at. It hadn’t been smart to live under the same roof as Mateo in the first place. She brought her fingers up to her temples and rubbed them. Something told her that there would be a fight when she told Mateo her plans. He might not be firmly rooted in whatever relationship he had with her, but he was definitely stubborn.

“Are you okay, Mom?” Paxton’s voice tore her to the present, and she opened her eyes to find him frowning up at her, a stone in his outstretched hand, apparently forgotten.

She pushed a smile to the surface and nodded. “I just have a headache. It’ll go away after I get some rest.”

Her son tilted his head, peering up at her with that gaze that could rip right past her defenses. “Do you want to go home?”

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