“You got an owie.” I glanced over from where I was setting the last of our dinner on the breakfast bar and watched as Noble patted Solo’s cheek and lifted her tiny fingers to touch the ugly bruise around his eye. The swelling had gone down, and most of the blue and purple had lightened. Now there was a yellowish tinge to the injury which almost got lost as it blended with his naturally bronze complexion.
I was so glad he didn’t wear his hat. When Noble used his broad shoulders for leverage so she could touch her lips to the slightly discolored area, Solo’s dark eyes melted like sweet chocolate candy. It did something to my insides watching such a big, strong guy go soft over the innocent, childish affection. Clearly Solo hadn’t let enough people in his life take care of his owies for him. Suddenly, I found myself blinking back tears and clearing my throat which was clogged with a rush of emotion.
“We can eat if you’re ready.” I waved a hand at the food on the breakfast bar. “We’ll have to sit on the couch and eat on the coffee table.” I didn’t trust the shaky, dining room table that came with the apartment. I’d already picked up dinner off the floor once tonight.
Wordlessly Solo climbed to his feet, Noble hanging from around his neck like a little monkey. She squealed and demanded I look how high off the ground she was. I smiled, a real one. The first genuine one that’d crossed my face in a very long time. I’d almost forgotten how it felt to relax enough to enjoy such a simple moment.
I handed out plates and helped Noble find a place where she was least likely to make a mess. She blinked those big baby blues of hers at me and asked if she finished all her dinner if I would reconsider dessert. I told her we would see after she was done eating. Solo jumped in and told her their race would be called off if she didn’t take my rules seriously.
Noble nodded solemnly and then launched into a story about how Riley and a couple of the other kids Erica watched during the day were trying to teach her how to play soccer. It was the babbling, rambling nonsense of an almost-four-year-old, but it was lovely compared to the threats from the landlord and the arguments from the apartment on the other side of the wall.
Thinking about the thin walls, I cocked my head and looked at Solo through narrowed eyes. “You heard me drop everything in the kitchen earlier? Do we bother you coming and going?” Noble wasn’t exactly quiet, and when I had enough money to buy the cowboy boots she coveted, she was going to be even louder.
Solo shook his head as he slurped at a saucy noodle. “Naw. No way you guys could be as loud as the couple on the other side of me. For a long time, I wondered if anyone had actually moved in when I heard this apartment was rented. I’m so busy, when I crash, I tend to be dead to the world.” Something flashed in his gaze and I realized it was an apology. He still wasn’t over the fact that he’d shown up after that creepy landlord had me cornered.
I tried to indicate none of it had been his fault with my eyes. That wasn’t a conversation we were going to have in front of my kid. I changed the subject after taking a bite of the buttery garlic bread.
“So, you’ve lived in the city your entire life? You’ve never wanted to go anywhere else?” The sauce on the pasta had just the right amount of bite, and the little chunks of meatball were juicy and savory in all the best ways. Not bad for what started out as an utter disaster.
Solo’s jet-black eyebrows arched as he lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “My mom is here. My job is here. My friends are here.”
I lifted an eyebrow in return. “So, your future is here?”
He sighed and looked away. “When I was younger, I always imagined I’d leave. I had those dreams, the ones where I left and magically went off and found fame and fortune somewhere else. I was going to buy my mom a mansion on a hill somewhere far away from the city and make sure she never had to work another day of her life. Things didn’t really work out that way, but do they ever? When you grow up, you get different dreams, make different goals for yourself, and so far, I’ve been able to do everything I set out to do, even if it’s in a place I always thought I would leave behind.”
“You no longer want to buy your mom a mansion on a hill?” I thought I was being funny, but I saw his expression change, shutters came down in his eyes, and the way his big body stiffened gave me pause. Clearly, I’d unwittingly walked into a very touchy subject for him.
“My mother was shot in the head during a carjacking when I was a teenager. She was at her weekend job, one she picked up for some extra cash. She always had at least two, if not three jobs when I was growing up. She made sure I never went without and I didn’t realize how much she sacrificed for me until it was my turn to take care of her.”
I gasped and looked over at Noble. The conversation had taken a turn not exactly appropriate for a child, and luckily, she was focused on her food and humming a song under her breath.
I cleared my throat and lowered my voice so only Solo could hear me. “I’m so sorry. That’s all horrible and I hate you went through it when you were just a child. That must have been so hard.”
He shrugged. “She survived. I still have my mom, and that’s all that matters. After therapy and rehab she was able to leave the hospital. I brought her here for the first year, but realized pretty quickly she needed more care than I could provide. The bullet damaged her brain, so she has violent mood swings, and often forgets where she is and who the people around her are. She tried to set the apartment on fire once while I was at work, and she came after me with a knife one night when I was late getting home from a date. It was better for her to be in a facility that could monitor and take care of her needs twenty-four hours a day. I visit her as often as I can.”
I pushed the end of my ponytail over my shoulder and looked at him from under my lashes. It made my heart soften when I realized he was a caretaker through and through. “So now you work a lot of jobs and push yourself to the limit so you can take care of her the way she always took care of you. That’s very sweet, and honestly, admirable. You’re a good man, Solo.” I was an idiot for thinking he wasn’t my type because he looked so different from the polished, boring men I was used to. His loyalty and dedication to the woman who gave him all she had was commendable and explained why he was so good at looking out for everyone else, even when he claimed he was no hero.
“I’ll take care of you, Mommy. Don’t be sad.” Both Solo and I jerked our attention back to our smallest dinner companion. I hated myself a little for almost forgetting Noble was there. Solo’s presence was too distracting. Once again, I realized how quickly I could get in over my head with this man.
“Thank you, baby. I appreciate that. But let’s hope you don’t have to worry about taking care of anyone for a very long time.” I pointed at the last few bites of food on her plate and told her to finish up.
Solo cocked his head to the side and asked, “What about you? How did you end up here? That’s bound to be an interesting story. They always are.”
He had no idea. I was opening my mouth to give him the short, sanitized version when Noble piped up with the last thing I wanted him to know. “We ran away from home. It’s a secret ‘cause Grandpa’s not nice.”
I jumped to my feet, taking the empty plates in front of everyone with me. I told Noble to hold on a second and I would get her a small scoop of chocolate ice cream for dessert. Solo shook his head and gave me a questioning look when I asked him if he wanted any. Once my daughter was settled with her treat in front of my laptop watching Adventure Time, I walked Solo to the door. I wasn’t kicking him out exactly, but I was definitely trying to get him gone before he could ask any questions I couldn’t—or wouldn’t—answer.
Once he was in the hallway, he reached up above my head and put his hands on the top of the door frame. The move stretched his tall body and made all his muscles flex and ripple enticingly. He was so much bigger than me, but for some reason, I wasn’t afraid of him in the least. I wanted to reach out and touch him. He was far too tempting for my peace of mind.
“I figured you were on the run from something. Figured it was your baby daddy. I’m right next door if you want to talk about it, Orley.”
I shook my head and nervously tugged on my lower lip. “The less you know, the better. No one is going to come looking for us here, and that’s all that matters. Thanks for being so great with Noble. She adores you and there haven’t been very many examples of good men in her life to warrant her affection. Another thing I owe you I’ll never be able to repay.”
Something dangerous flashed in his dark eyes and his head lowered a fraction closer to mine. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.”
“About what?” I could feel the heat coming off of him and smell the spicy, fresh scent of his skin.
“A way for you to repay me. You have something I want.”
I snorted and tilted my head back so I could meet the darkness swirling in his unreadable gaze. “My recipe for spaghetti and meat sauce?”
His lips quirked and his head shook slightly. “No. I want a kiss, just a taste. I know it’s stupid and I’ve been trying to talk myself out of it for weeks. I can’t shake the curiosity. I keep wondering if kissing you is going to feel forbidden because you don’t belong in my world, or if it’s going to feel like coming home. Something about you and that kid of yours always manages to get terrifyingly close to my heart, Orley. I’m still trying to figure out how you worked your way in so easily.”
I walked right through the door he opened the minute he saved me from the scary drug dealer. He protected me and Noble when no one else in our lives had ever bothered. I couldn’t see any of the bright red warning signs after that. I was choosing to ignore the ones lit up in front of me right now, as well.
Putting a hand on his shoulder, I lifted up on my toes just a little so my mouth was level with his. I liked the way his strength and bulk seemed to completely surround me. It was like standing behind an intricately decorated shield of protection, except this line of defense came with a heartbeat and a soul.