Chapter 343: An Old Obsession

Nathan’s POV

We were finally alone.

Kayla and I.

After that entitled bastard and his wife stormed out, after I made it very clear that if they didn’t leave her alone, I’d use every legal weapon available to bury them, they left angry, humiliated, and promised with their faces that this wasn’t over.

Good.

I was counting on it.

Because when they came back…and people like that spineless asshole always came back…I’d be ready. To be the knight I’ve always wanted to be.

And this time, Kayla would see it for herself.

That I could protect her.

That she didn’t have to carry everything alone.

Holly had suddenly remembered some imaginary phone call and slipped away with a grin so obvious it should’ve been criminal. I owed that lady a trip to the mall.

I looked at Kayla properly now that the circus was gone.

Dark circles were under her eyes. Her shoulders looked tight like she needed a thorough massage.

Her mouth was set in that stubborn line she wore when she was exhausted but refusing help anyway.

She looked absurdly beautiful.

And tired enough to break something inside me.

It hurt knowing she was drowning and still wouldn’t reach for a hand…mine especially.

She had no idea that yesterday wasn’t the first time I’d seen her.

The mall incident? That was nothing.

I’d known Kayla long before she rammed into me with shopping bags and panic in her eyes.

The first time I saw her, she was in her car outside Riverside Elementary School.

Morning traffic was a mess. Parents honking, kids yelling, one crossing guard looking seconds away from retirement.

I was driving past in my patrol vehicle when a silver sedan tapped the bumper of a flashy red SUV.

Barely a kiss.

Nothing serious.

But the idiot who owned the SUV jumped out like she’d totaled a private jet.

“You blind?” he shouted.

Then Kayla stepped out.

Hair tied up badly like she’d done it one-handed. And an oversized sweater clinging to her body.

One little boy was in the backseat looking worried.

And her face…

God.

Even annoyed, even stressed, even ready to fight some clown before nine in the morning, she was the most striking woman I’d seen in years.

She apologized immediately, calm and polite but the man got louder.

Started pointing in her face. Started posturing and spitting unkind words like a total jerk.

I parked before I even realized I had.

By the time I crossed the street, she was already handling him herself.

“I said I’m sorry,” she snapped. “It was a tap, not a funeral.”

I almost laughed.

The guy noticed me then and suddenly remembered manners.

Funny how badges do that.

I handled it in two minutes.

No damage. No case. Everyone move on.

She thanked me quickly, got back in her car, and drove her son into school.

Her son.

That one detail ruined my entire morning that day.

Because I saw the child seat, lunchbox, tiny shoes on the floorboard and thought the obvious.

Married.

Taken.

Unavailable.

I told myself to forget her, to continue with my day and pretend that I didn’t see the most beautiful woman ever.

Instead, I followed her.

Not in a psycho way.

In a curious, professionally observant, mildly desperate way.

There was a difference.

She drove to a bakery… Sweet Crumbs Bakery

That was how I found out she owned it.

And from then on, I became the saddest man alive.

I’d stop by sometimes, park across the street, lean against my car with coffee, and watch her through the glass, wondering why her husband doesn’t show his face…wondering if she’s in an abusive marriage and needs my help.

There was always flour on her cheek. Sometimes she’s arguing with suppliers. Other times, she’s laughing with them and carrying trays like she ran the world.

I never went in though.

Not once.

Because in my head, she had a husband.

And I was not about to become the creep lusting after somebody’s wife.

Meanwhile, my mother kept arranging blind dates like it was a full-time job.

Doctors.

Lawyers.

One influencer who took forty-seven selfies before the appetizer came.

Another woman brought a ring in her purse.

A ring.

By dessert she slid it across the table and said, “You seem busy, so I thought I’d speed things up.”

I left twenty dollars for the waiter and escaped through the kitchen.

Every woman I met was polished, scripted, and completely wrong.

Because all I could think about was the woman in the bakery dusted in flour yelling at overbearing customers.

I hated myself for it. For wanting a married woman.

For obsessing over a married woman like some emotionally damaged raccoon.

So I stopped going to her bakery.

I had to.

The obsession was getting ridiculous.

Then came the mall yesterday when she crashed into me and I almost lost my mind.

Literally.

And somewhere between her apologizing, and talking nonstop about half her life in ten minutes, I learned the truth.

Single mother.

No husband.

No loving family unit.

Just a deadbeat asshole who abandoned her and now wanted to play daddy for convenience.

I nearly saw red.

Because if I had known all along that she was single… I’d have approached her months ago.

We’d probably be married by now.

Maybe arguing over paint colors in a nursery for baby number two.

Possibly three.

I’d been robbed by my own stupidity and cowardice.

Saw a child and assumed there was a husband somewhere.

Idiot.

Absolute idiot.

But that mistake was over now.

I wasn’t letting her go.

Whether she liked it or not, I was going to be in her life.

I was going to help raise her son.

And the other children we’d have together.

Preferably cute ones like her.

“Are you even listening?”

Her hand waved in front of my face.

I blinked and grinned, trying my best to relax my expression before she accused me of plotting crimes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

Her brows furrowed. “Tell you what? Have you been listening to anything I just said?”

“Umm… sorry.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I got lost in thought.”

“No kidding.”

I noticed then that she was doing something with her fingers.

Rubbing her thumb against the side of her hand.

Small hesitant movements.

The kind people made when they wanted to say something but were arguing with themselves first.

“What were you going to say?”

“Nothing. Just forget it,” she replied quickly.

“Kayla.”

She sighed and looked away. “I said never mind.”

I leaned closer. “Try again. I’m here and I’m listening.”

She swallowed. “Thank you… for stepping in today, Nathan.”

My chest tightened. What will she say next? That she loves me and wants to spend the rest of her life with me? I thought excitedly.

Then she ruined it.

“But you don’t need to worry about me anymore. I have it under control.”

Of course she did.

Of course the woman running on fumes and pride had it under control.

She started to stand but I caught her wrist gently and tugged.

She gasped when she landed…not back in the chair…but on my lap.

Her eyes went huge and her palms hit my shoulders. “Na—Nathan!”

I smiled slowly, totally unfazed by the new position. “I heard you the first time though.”

“What?”

“That part where you asked if you could use me for a short while to get that asshole off your back. I heard all of it. Just wanted to hear it for the second time.”

Her face flamed. “It’s not like I want to. But Holly started it…” she said.

“Mm-hmm. Then say it again. Ask me again, Kayla.”

She stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

I tightened an arm around her waist before she could jump off. I knew she wasn’t going to ask again.

And there’s no way I was losing this opportunity.

“I’m fine with it,” I said casually. “We can leave right now and get a marriage certificate.”

Her mouth fell open.

I nodded toward the door. “Come on. Their office closes in a few hours.”

She looked at me with wide, stunned eyes.