Page 96 of Kiss Me Like You Mean It

Nico

I’m not sure what I did in a past life to deserve this, but as I sit through this interminable dinner, forced to watch my mother flirt with the lawyer who has been sent to destroy my life, I’m guessing it was pretty bad. Like Vlad the Impaler bad.

‘Oh, Charlie,’ Claudia giggles, her hand lingering against his arm. ‘That is so fascinating.’

As Charles had been talking about the importance of good estate planning, I think fascinating is a stretch, but he only looks at my mother with a small, dazed smile on his face.

I have to hand it to her, the seduction plan is working a treat. I just don’t know if it’s going to help or if – more likely – she’s going to shatter his heart into a million pieces, leaving me worse off than ever.

The restaurant at the hotel where Ma and Charles are staying is all hushed piano music and crisp white table linens. After working late, I thought I was having a quiet mother-and-son dinner with Claudia, but she had other ideas, and now I’m on edge, trying to second guess what’s going on behind Charles Saunders’ professional mask.

‘I interviewed Magda today,’ Charles says, as he cuts his chicken, working neatly around his plate in a clockwise direction. ‘She’s very fond of you.’

I clear my throat. ‘I feel the same way about her. She’s done an incredible job raising Phoebe.’

‘I can see that,’ Charles concedes, and I feel some of the tension loosen its grip on my chest. ‘And you and Ophelia seem to have taken to parenting very well.’ He dabs at his mouth with his napkin. ‘The two of you were already married when you found out about Phoebe, is that right?’

The tension is back, time to try not to trip over myself in this web of lies. ‘That’s right,’ I say, attempting to sound casual. ‘About a month.’

‘Mmm.’ Charles takes a mouthful of wine. ‘And the wedding in Las Vegas, that was… a spontaneous decision?’

‘Goodness no,’ Claudia jumps in, leaning over to top up Charles’s glass and offer him a look down her dress at the same time.

God, I could do with a whisky.

‘Nico and Lee are a love story for the ages, Charlie! Written in the stars and decades in the making. You should have seen the way Lee followed Nico around when they were children. We called her his little shadow.’ Her eyes have gone misty.

‘The sweetest girl you’ve ever seen, but so shy. Like one of those nervous rescue animals that Nico works with,’ she says airily, and I wince because this keeps coming up – the whole town has made me out to be Dr Dolittle, and yesterday someone thrust a small (and extremely vicious) kitten into my arms just as Charles rounded a corner.

I suppose I should be glad it wasn’t the Gerbers’ teacup pig as originally planned. That little bastard has surprisingly sharp teeth and a real shitty attitude.

‘Lee knew straight away that my boy was special,’ she continues. ‘The most gentle soul. She felt safe with him, and I don’t think she felt safe very often in those days. Then again, it went both ways… Nico was at his best when Lee was around. They balance each other out, always have.’

I’m surprised by this insight, and I think about Lee standing in my kitchen, telling me I was her safe place while also allowing me to open up about something I’d been carrying alone. It does go both ways.

‘I’m just glad that Nico finally woke up and realised what he was missing.’ My mother treats me to a long look over her wine glass. ‘Only a real fool would let a woman like Lee get away.’

‘Yes,’ I say, mechanically. ‘A real fool.’

‘Good job you married her then,’ Charles arcs a brow, ‘otherwise I’d have to write that in my report.’

It’s another hour before I can prise myself away, and despite the fact that my mum has been pouring drinks into the man all night, I still can’t tell what Charles thinks about me.

He’s spent the last few days fading into the background, popping up just often enough to keep my blood pressure elevated. As well as interviewing Magda more formally (as both my employer and Phoebe’s other guardian), he’s spoken to Mei about Phoebe and her education.

He dropped by the inn to see me at work and I gave him a tour while he made nondescript humming sounds and wrote things in his notebook. He set up an interview with Lee and me for Saturday, which marks the halfway point of his two-week visit. It already feels like he’s been here for ever. I’m definitely not made for a life of deception.

It doesn’t help that outside of our encounters with Charles I’ve been trying to keep a bit of distance from Lee. Every morning without fail I’ve woken up pressed against her, wanting nothing more than to pick up where we left off on Sunday, and every morning I’ve forced myself out of bed and into a cold shower instead.

I had a plan, dammit, and it was one that didn’t end with Lee being hurt or confused so I’m sticking to it… even if my resolve is hanging on by a thread. At least tonight, with Phoebe at Magda’s, I can stay in her room and give myself a break from having to try and sleep next to the woman of my increasingly lustful dreams. I’m totally exhausted and running exclusively on caffeine at this point.

As I turn off the highway I realise there’s no point in going home. Lee’s gone out with the girls tonight and I offered to pick her up. It’s almost closing time at Darlene’s so I head towards town instead, and I’ve only just pulled into the car park when my phone rings.

‘Hello?’

‘Nico!’ Lee exclaims happily. ‘You answered!’

‘Of course I did.’ I can’t suppress a chuckle at how pleased she sounds. ‘I’m outside waiting for you.’