Noah shrugged and kept robotically plugging parts into his latest creation. Matt frowned. Something was definitely off. But if it wasn’t yesterday’s fall, then what?
Ari moved gracefully to her feet. “I’ll get your dad some coffee, okay, Noah? We’ll be right back.” She gave Matt a penetrating stare and gestured for him to join her.
By the time he met her in the kitchen, Matt had finally guessed the problem. “Irene was here, wasn’t she?” He recognized the signs, and they tore him up inside, knowing exactly what Noah was feeling.
Ari pursed her lips. “Yes. I didn’t want to talk about it in front of Noah.”
He swore under his breath. “Tell me what happened.” Every beat of his heart felt like a nail driving deeper.
Closing her eyes briefly, she shook her head. It was the kind of gesture everyone made after Irene descended on them like an atomic bomb. “She brought him Legos, firecrackers, and a trampoline.”
“Firecrackers?” Even for Irene, that was crazy.
“The trampoline is outside. I wouldn’t let him use it, and he’s upset. It’s not child-size, and there’s no net.” She sighed. “But we were getting over that. Until Noah’s mother got a call inviting her to Paris for a fashion show right after they’d made plans to go to the zoo together this afternoon. She had to leave right away to catch her plane, so no zoo.”
Between Noah’s accident yesterday and the huge mistake he’d made with Ari, Matt had already been on edge. If Irene had been standing in front of him, he would have yelled until she was reduced to tears, no matter how many times he swore he’d never do that. She flitted in, created an uproar, then flitted out again, leaving him to pick up the pieces.
Leaving was the only thing about her that he could count on.
And Noah was like Humpty-Dumpty, who couldn’t be put back together again.
“I’m sorry,” Ari said. “I didn’t realize how upset he’d be. Poor guy cried himself to sleep. He thinks she doesn’t love him.”
Jesus, it killed him that he couldn’t figure out how to protect Noah from his own mother. Matt had never wanted his child to feel unloved or unwanted the way he had. But Irene never stuck around to see the aftermath of what she’d done, and when he told her, she simply rolled her eyes and said Noah seemed perfectly happy.
“Don’t apologize,” he told Ari, his voice gruff as he worked to contain his fury at his ex. “It’s not your fault. I should have warned you about Irene.” But he barely wanted to admit his terrible choice in girlfriends to himself, let alone tell his new nanny. Especially when he’d been lusting after Ari despite knowing better.
Yet she had clearly handled the whole situation well, calming Noah down enough to play with his Legos. Sometimes it took days for what he’d dubbed The Irene Effect to wear off.
“Actually, that’s not all.” He braced himself as she said, “She told Noah the reason she couldn’t take him to Paris was because you wouldn’t let him go with her.”
Damn Irene. “I need to mend fences with Noah.” He ran his hand through his hair. Because while he needed to deal with the mess Irene had left, that didn’t mean he could use it as an excuse to avoid Ari. She deserved better than that. “We need to talk about Irene after Noah’s in bed. About last night too.” He paused, trying to read her expression, but couldn’t get a better handle on what she was feeling than he had that morning. “Is that okay?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “I’ll leave you two alone for now.”
The last time he’d talked with her after Noah had gone to bed, he’d lost control. Ari was pure temptation. But tonight he vowed not to touch her. He wouldn’t beg to kiss her. He wouldn’t remember the softness of her skin or how sweet she tasted.
No matter what.
Not even if he lost his mind trying.
Thankfully, Noah settled down by dinner, and at story time Ari was hugely relieved to see him reading with his father as though nothing had ever happened. She marveled at how quickly—and deeply—the little boy had burrowed into her heart. His happiness mattered to her big-time.
It was unimaginable that Irene had chosen to give up Matt and her beautiful son for the freedom to hop private planes and attend fashion shows in Paris. Ari would have done anything to have a family like them.
Once Noah had fallen asleep, Matt and Ari headed downstairs together to talk. In the living room, he gestured to the sofa while he went to the sideboard. “Would you like something to drink? A glass of wine?” he asked as he poured himself a finger of scotch.