Falling For Nick by Joleen James Read Free Book Online Page B

know my son."
    "Why now?" Clea pressed her hand against her stomach to quiet the nerves jumping there. "You've been out of prison for three months."
    "I should have come back right away. I made a mistake," Nick said, frowning. "It's hard being on the outside. Harder than I imagined. I couldn't come right back. I had to adjust, to figure things out. This world is completely different from the world I knew ten years ago. I know you can't possibly understand what I'm talking about. Transitioning is tough."
    The wounded look in his eyes seared her soul. What had he endured in prison? She'd lain awake nights, imagining the atrocities he must have lived through. How had he survived?
    "It's too late now," she said, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice. "I have a different life. I had to move forward. I'm getting married."
    "I've missed ten years, Princess," Nick said. "Give me a chance to catch up. That's all I'm asking."
    "No." Clea backed away from him. "I can't."
    He stepped toward her. "I want the chance to know John, but I want what's best for him. Does he know I'm here?"
    "Not yet," she admitted. "He knows you're his father, but you're an abstract father, one he knows about, yet doesn't know at all." She wanted to add how mixed-up she felt, too, but bit back the words. Nick closed his eyes for a moment, and she could see the pain on his face, feel it. "I didn't tell him you were released from prison. I didn't want him to get his hopes up. I'm not sure what he feels for you."
    "I'm sorry for all of this, and even sorry for what I'm about to say." He glanced away from her, then back. "I can't let you marry Boomer."
    Any sympathy she felt for Nick dissolved in a poof, anger taking its place. Without thinking, she slapped him.
    Nick's head jerked to the side. Their eyes locked together in battle.
    "Is that what this visit is about?" Her voice rose to meet her temper. Nothing had changed. Nick still had no interest in his son, but he had every interest in controlling her. Her first instincts had been right. Her guilt over the No Contact Order had turned her into a fool. She should have left him in the jail.
    "I guess I deserved that."
    "I've waited to do that for ten years." Her hand stung, but she didn't care. It felt good. "John isn't an inconvenience, or a mistake. He's a boy. He's your son whether you like it or not. If you don't want to be a part of his life, that's fine with me; in fact, it's what I want. Leave us alone. Get out of Port Bliss." She stepped forward and rammed her index finger into his chest. "Don't ever tell me who I can and can't marry. It's none of your business."
    His hand closed firmly around hers, holding her fingers prisoner against his chest. His heart beat under her palm.
    "It is my business when the guy is Boomer Bloomfield." Nick rubbed his chin with his free hand. "You're right. I've made a mess out of things. I never wanted it to be this way between us. I'm not saying things right." Confusion filled his eyes.
    Clea jerked her hand free, refusing to give him one ounce of compassion. "Well, it's too late. Things are messy between us, Nick."
    "Why'd you drop the No Contact Order, Clea? I can understand why you served me with the papers, but I can't understand why you dropped the charges."
    He watched her intently. Suddenly uncomfortable, she looked away from him. "It seemed like the right thing to do. I never wanted to do it in the first place, but you scared me. You've been away a long time. I didn't know what to think. My instincts tell me to protect John. I don't want to see him hurt."
    "I'd never hurt him," Nick said softly. "And I'm sorry I hurt you."
    For ten years she'd waited for his apology, but it didn't ease the ache in her heart the way she'd hoped. Old hurts throbbed within her and a single apology couldn't make them disappear. "Are you sorry, Nick?" She couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice.
    "You'll never know how much."
    Clea looked into his eyes, eyes filled with pain. In