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“Yup, yup, yup!”
He rushes back to the patch and proceeds to find the prettiest red wildflower for me. Sometimes, I feel like I don’t deserve such good kids. I would’ve loved to be able to raise them in a place like this. To actually spend entire summers and winters here on holiday. I would’ve loved to be able to afford overseas trips and the occasional drive south to Disneyland. For the time being, I’m thankful we’ve got food and a roof over our heads. Bella’s birthday is coming up in January. I’ll need to save up and buy her something nice for all of her help. She’s a remarkable girl, about to be nineteen and working hard to put herself through night classes at the local college.
I’m so deep in my thoughts, astonished by the tranquility I’ve been carrying myself with, that I barely notice Beau walking toward us from across the garden. The winter sun dances in his black hair, making his subtly oiled curls shine. The darkness of his eyes seems to absorb the light as he looks at me and smiles. All I can do is mirror his expression and straighten my back when he reaches us.
“Bonjour, Stella. How are you and the children on this fine afternoon?”
“We’re wonderful, thank you. How’s your day going, Beau?”
We engage in such polite pleasantries on a daily basis now, but the tension between us has thickened, the air sizzling with the slightest of movements. I think we both know we’re just throwing words around so we don’t tear the clothes off each other. Maybe there’s something in the water here that gives me these decadent, indecent thoughts.
Beau looks particularly good today. His dark green pants are tailored to perfectly hug his muscular thighs, matched with a leather belt around his narrow waist. The white shirt is tucked in, the fabric stretching over his broad shoulders and rippling pectorals, and the gold wristwatch captures specks of sunlight whenever he moves his hand. The woolen coat he’s wearing on top is a darker shade of emerald with gold-brushed buttons. He smells of citrus notes and smoked oak—a fragrance that causes my senses to scream in the back of my head. The presence of my children adequately restrains me as I muster a warm smile.
“Better now that I’m able to get out here in the garden,” he says, then nods at the bench I’m sitting on. “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.”
He takes a seat and gradually shifts closer to me. As soon as Lucas comes back with a small red flower, Beau lights up, completely enthralled with my boy. “Hello, young man! I see you have some flowers for your mother, huh?”
“Hello,” Lucas mumbles shyly, then gives me the flower and runs back to his patch, frequently stealing glances at us while I try not to laugh too hard.
“You’ll have to forgive him. He’s like that around people he doesn’t know,” I tell Beau. “He’ll warm up to you, though, and then you’ll have a hard time shaking him off.”
“Don’t worry about it. This is all new to Lucas; he needs time to adjust. Speaking of, how are you coming along with everything?” he asks.
“Oh, it’s all good. We have a good home here, the work is fantastic, the pay is more than generous. I’m just so grateful, Beau.”
“Please, don’t worry about it. If you’re happy, we’re happy. But I wanted to know how you’re getting along on a more personal level,” he says, his voice softening slightly as he leans closer. “How are you doing, Stella? Is there anything I can do to help?”
I shake my head slowly. “I’m okay, I promise.”
“Listen, I’m not a single mother of two, so I can’t even begin to imagine what it must’ve been like for you to have to move here in order to survive, but I want you to know that you and Lucas and Ava will always have a home at the Elizabeth.”
I quickly blink the tears away. “Thank you, Beau. It means a lot. I’m doing my professional best, and if there’s anything you guys need from me, please, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I will. Eventually.” He pauses and briefly glances at Ava bundled warmly in her stroller, who’s far away in dreamland, her tiny hands balled into little fists over her ears. “My God, she is perfect, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she is. And she’s so gentle and sweet. I got lucky, Beau, I swear. The only time my kids get fussy is when they’re hungry, but they’ll eat anything you give them, no questions asked.”
He laughs lightly. “You definitely got lucky. I put my mother through hell growing up.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I was very active. A miniature devil, to be honest. I ate a lot. I think I ate more than my father, but then high school came around, I fell in love for the first time, I dropped a few pounds. Nearly gave my parents a heart attack. I got dumped.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “Who’d be dumb enough to dump you?”
“Oh, don’t think she didn’t regret her decision. Especially after I got drafted into Paris Saint Germain. I wasn’t that interesting as a lanky teen with acne and messy hair. I liked football too much. But then I became a world-famous player, and suddenly my parents’ landline wouldn’t stop ringing.”
“You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, huh?”
“Tale as old as time. Where’s the children’s father?” Beau asks, nearly out of the blue.
I stare at him in mild confusion before I can offer an answer. “I don’t really know. Last time I heard from him, he and his new chick had moved to Portland again.”
“He hasn’t paid child support, has he?”
I shake my head again, this time with a frown pulling my brows together. “No. He will, eventually. I think he’s between jobs or something. I already know I cannot and should not rely on him.”
