Trent moved closed and before I could gauge his intention, he leaned down and palmed my cheeks, dropping a quick to my lips. I sighed, having missed his touch. When he stood back, he dropped to his haunches. “I’m hoping you’ll stay even if it’s just for tonight—” he hesitated. “And if it freaks you out having to stay with the kids being here, Jenson can stick around, in case you need a getaway car.” He winked and I dissolved into a fit of laughter.
“They’re just kids, how bad can they be?”
“Trust me. You haven’t met my son—my real son.” He got to his feet with a chuckle then turned and walked out.
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that and chose to ignore it. Pulling the plate Neha had decorated toward me, I dug in. I had no idea how long I sat there when I had an uncanny feeling of being watched. Twisting in my seat, I glanced around before my gaze fell to Trent’s son. He stood at the door, his face wearing an expression I couldn’t read.
“Hi.” I smiled. He didn’t say anything. “Would you like some pancakes?” I offered. Still, he said nothing, just stared and I was beginning to wonder if Trent’s teasing was a little more than that. “It’s okay, honey,” I tried one more time, keeping my voice low and friendly. “I won’t hurt you,” I coaxed. That seemed to work. He took a tentative step forward and another when I held out my hands. And before I could anticipate his next move. He flew into my arms, rested his head on my shoulder, and held me tight. Stunned, I said nothing and caressed his back. We stayed like that for another minute or so and just when I thought I heard a sob, Trent’s footsteps coming down the hallway had his son pulling away from me. Baffled, I touched his cheek, and in return, he fingered my hair. Then he turned and ran off, passing Trent on his way out.
“Did Nicky say anything?” I immediately picked up on the anxiety in Trent’s voice. I shook my head. Sighing, he dropped into a seat next to me.
I reached for his hand. “Why do I get the feeling, Nicky misses his mother?”
Trent stared at me, his blue gaze tender. He opened his mouth to say something, seemed to think twice, and leaned back in his seat. I’d only ever met the arrogant, cocky side of him but looking at the man sitting in front of me now, something in his expression told me he had a story to tell. I hoped I could perhaps be the shoulder he needed.
“You okay?” I gave his hand a light squeeze.
“I lost my wife to childbirth.”
I gasped. “Oh, God. That means the kids...”
“Never met their mother,” he finished for me. “Over the years Neha adapted but Nicky sort of acted out. He’d see his friends with their moms and often ask me questions about his. As much as I tried to give him the affection he needed, I think he longs for a mother.”
At his words, I now understood Nicky’s reaction to me yet couldn’t understand why he would call me mommy. Perhaps the idea of any friend of Trent’s being something more, appealed to Nicky and I wondered how many women Trent had introduced to his children. “Why have you never remarried?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t see the need. Women can be callous with stepchildren. As a Singleader founder, I’d seen my fair share of these cases. I couldn’t put my kids through that. You’re the first woman I’ve brought home—what I mean is, wanted to bring home to meet them.”
Even as I now understood Nicky’s reaction to me, warmth spread through me as Trent’s words sank in and I couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot.
“About the night at Incognito. Why?” He knew what I was asking.
“You needed closure.”
“Closure?”
“Zayne never touching you despite being married to you, hurt you more than him asking you to leave. You felt incomplete. I could see it. As a woman without memory, and him being your only family had double the impact on your emotions. I tried to help the only way I could, by giving you what you needed. Him.”
Emotions I couldn’t describe tightened my chest and I sucked in a deep breath. “You knew he would agree?”
Trent shook his head. “I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t exactly tell Zayne what I wanted to achieve, only that you were hurting, and he needed to fix it. He had to understand you both had feelings for each other.”
Wow. God, this man was heaven-sent. “So, what happened wasn’t planned?”
He nodded, not bothering to elaborate because he didn’t have to. What he’d done had almost sacrificed his love for me. It took guts. No. It took a man like Trent—the only copy that would be impossible to duplicate and he was all mine for the taking.
He leaned closer. “I’ll do anything for you, Ash. Don’t leave, please. I can’t lose you.” He gripped my hand on the table, squeezing. “Fuck, I’ll cut off my left testicle rather than give you up.”
“What about the right one?” I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
He frowned before throwing his head back in a belly laugh. “I’ll cut that one too,” he said after his body stopped quaking.
