Jace was still grinning. Saige did not look happy with me. Maybe I would have to apologize to her. “This lasagna is really good,” I said in an attempt to change the subject.
“Glad you like it,” she snapped. “I’ll make sure to give you the garbage—I mean the box—to take home.”
I laughed. “Thank you. I’d love your garbage.”
“How was school today?” Saige asked Jace without looking at me. She wanted to avoid the topic. I was probably going to have to apologize for that. It was just too good not to use. I liked seeing her squirm.
“It was fine,” Jace said. He immediately shut down. That happiness I saw in him just a minute ago vanished. The poor kid was really struggling. I didn’t know how Saige did it. How did she not go crazy with worry or anger? I didn’t even know the kid and I felt like ripping heads off.
“I bet you get really good grades,” I said.
He shrugged. “I’m okay.”
“He’s a straight-A student,” Saige said proudly.
“Good for you.”
“The kids say I’m a nerd,” he said again.
“You know, I’m a nerd,” I said. “When I was in school, I got really good grades. Kids used to make fun of me. But you know what?”
He shook his head. “What?”
“I’m rich. I’m rich enough to buy anything I want, and do you know why?”
He shook his head. “Why?”
I looked at Saige. She was smiling and gave me a little nod. She was encouraging me to tell him the rest of the story. “Because I’m smart and I paid attention in math class. I got really good grades and I used everything I learned to make myself successful. My success made me rich.”
“You’re rich?” he asked.
I laughed. I guessed I just assumed he knew. I didn’t want to sound like an arrogant prick. Then again, everyone assumed I was an arrogant prick. “Yes. I am.”
Jace looked very surprised. He looked to Saige. “Mom, did you know he was rich?”
She smiled. “Jace, it isn’t polite to talk about money.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s rude,” she replied. “People’s money is their business. We don’t ask about that kind of stuff, okay?”
“It’s okay,” I said. She shot me a dirty look. I realized in this instance she was probably right. “You can talk to me about money because you know me, but your mom is right. People don’t like to talk about money. It can sound like bragging and make other people jealous.”
“Why?” Jace asked.
I was out of answers. I wasn’t used to being questioned. I looked to Saige for help. “If you get an A on your test, do you run around telling everyone?” she asked Jace.
He snorted. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’ll just make fun of me,” he said.
“They make fun of you because they are jealous,” I told him. “I don’t tell people about my money because it might make them jealous or even angry.” I looked to Saige. “Can I use the word resent?”
I was out of my depth. I didn’t remember what I knew or didn’t know when I was his age. She shook her head. “It makes them sad,” she summed up. “No matter how mean people are, we don’t want to make them sad.”
He shrugged and apparently accepted her explanation. “Okay. But we can talk about Nash’s money.” He turned to look at me. “Do you live in a mansion?”
“No.”
“Do you have sports car?”
I laughed. “I do. I have a few.”
His eyes lit up. “Can I see them?”
“Sure. Your mom and I will figure out a good time.”
“You have a boat, right?”
I nodded and took another bite. “Good memory.”
Saige looked amused. “Who wants chocolate pie?” she asked.
“Did you make it?” I teased.
“I took it out of the freezer. Does that count?” she said.
“It does. I want pie. I love pie.”
“Chocolate is my favorite,” Jace announced.
“Mine too. Have you had the turtle pie?”
“Turtle pie?” he asked with horror.
“It’s just chocolate and caramel with a fun name,” I explained. “It is amazing. There is a restaurant that makes the best turtle pie. We’ll have to go one of these days. I just bet you’ll like it.”
Saige practically jumped up from the table. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to talk about future outings. I wasn’t sure where the boundaries were. She returned a few minutes later with the pie. We ate and talked about summer break coming up.
“Thank you for dinner,” I said when it was time to go. “It was very good.”
“Can we go see your cars?” Jace asked.
He looked up at me with wide eyes. I noticed his eyes were a very similar shade of brown as mine. “We’ll have to see what our schedules look like,” I answered.
I knew that was probably way too adult-like, but she would figure out how to answer it. “Thanks for coming,” she said. “I guess I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll call.”
She smiled and nodded. I walked away and headed for home. That was one of the strangest nights I ever had. Not strange but surreal. I never imagined myself sitting down to dinner in a quaint house with a woman and child. That was not my style. When I got home, I felt the emptiness. I looked around my living space and couldn’t help but compare it to hers.
Her place was clean and comfortable. It was homey. It was warm and inviting while mine was sterile. It had all the gadgets and top of the line furniture, but it was just furniture. I could be walking into a showroom.
I shook it off. I didn’t want homey. That wasn’t for me.
Chapter 57
Saige
I closed out of the file I’d been working on. I felt more confident than I’d been in a long time. We were still running a little light on staff, but I wasn’t worried. We could make it another few months before it was time to ramp up and get ready for yet another season.
“Shit,” I said aloud. I was planning like I was going to be here in a few months. I wasn’t. I didn’t think I was. If I was being honest with myself, I could admit I had done very little to get started on my own business. I wanted to do it, but it wasn’t the most important thing in my life. I didn’t feel that same sense of urgency to get away from Nash.
My office line rang. “This is Saige,” I answered.
“It’s me,” Nash said.
I found myself sitting up a little straighter. “Hi.”
“I wanted to check in with you,” he said. “I know I’ve been gone all week. I meant to call earlier but things have been crazy.”
“It’s fine.”
“How is everything going there?”
“Good,” I said. “No problems.”
“We are working on getting more CPAs in there. I want to make sure we hire the right people. I’m having my HR go through every applicant and give them a thorough onceover. I don’t want any mistakes.”