by Jessa York
“Yeah, he’s been out of my life for years. There’s no love lost between us,” I said, sloshing the amber liquid in my glass, causing the ice to clink.
“Since he kicked you out?” he asked, and I nodded. Ben remembered my story, no need to rehash. “Damn, sometimes I wish my dad would stay out of my business. Actually, make that my whole family,” he said and threw his arms up, the bar towel flapping in his fist. “They’re all a bunch of nosy bastards.” We laughed because it was true. Ben’s family poked their collective noses into his life whenever and wherever they pleased. Much to his dismay.
“They love you, man. It must be great to have such a big family,” I told him, envious of the craziness, noise, and love he was born into. Many times I’d joined his gatherings and get-togethers, and I’d never laughed so much in my life.
“Yeah, a great big pain in my ass.” He smirked, and I laughed again. “So, how are things going with that hot piece you picked up in here a while back?” he asked, eyebrows waggling. “Haven’t seen you in here much since then. I figured you were busy.”
“She’s Harper, and she’s not a piece. And yeah, things are going great,” I told him with a tone of warning in my voice.
The jerk grinned. “You lock that shit down yet, man?” he inquired as he leaned on his elbows over the bar.
I chuckled at his forwardness. “Haven’t known her that long yet, buddy.” I tossed back the rest of my drink. The burn as it flowed down my throat did nothing to abate my restlessness. Ben immediately poured another finger or two for me, not waiting to be asked. “Don’t want to scare her away too quickly. But, yeah, I’ve got her locked down as much as she’ll let me at the moment.”
“Damn!” He threw his towel onto the counter. “I fuckin’ knew it. I’ve never seen you so eager to impress a chick before. I’m happy for you, man,” he said and slapped me so hard on the arm my drink spilled. “You guys livin’ together?”
“Close. But not officially yet.” We spent every night together, but she hadn’t exactly asked me to move in. Not even offered me a drawer yet. My shit was just wherever I could fit it.
“I bet she likes the penthouse. Now that’s a babe magnet,” he said, laughing as he wiped up the few drops of spilled liquid. I tossed back what was left of my whiskey.
“She hates it.” The empty glass thumped on the bar. Ben motioned to fill it, but I stopped him. “We sleep at her place ninety-nine percent of the time.”
The look of surprise on his face was hilarious. “Her place is better than yours?”
“Nope. Tiny two-bedroom postage stamp. Original cupboards and countertops,” I told him and he stared at me, his head cocked to the side. “Original about forty years ago.”
He threw his head back and laughed so hard everyone around us turned to stare. “What the hell are you doing there?”
“A very hot, spunky blonde,” I replied with a devilish grin and eyebrows raised.
“Great fuckin’ point, mi hermano. Great fuckin’ point.”
I had no problem trading in my penthouse suite for a poorly aged, poorly lit, poorly furnished apartment. Truth was, I’d live in a cardboard box if it meant I woke up with Harper’s ass pressed up against my crotch every morning.
I pulled up to Harper’s place just after midnight. The lamp was on in the living room—the one she left on for me every night that she went to sleep before me, which unfortunately was nearly every night.
Throwing my clothes onto the floor, I walked as silently as I could to the bathroom to shower. There was no getting around it. If you spent as much time in a kitchen as I did, you had to wash that shit off before going to bed. Harper always rewarded me. She loved how I smelled fresh from the shower, so it was no sacrifice.
After a half-assed attempt at drying off, I padded into the bedroom and slid in beside my woman. Her e-reader had fallen on the bed beside her. I smiled and picked it up before pulling her to me.
Just like every night, she rolled over and asked, “How was work?” I brushed the soft hair away from her face.
“Shh, go back to sleep,” I whispered against her lips and kissed her chastely. My body wanted to do a whole lot more, but she was dead to the world. She’d been doing so much for my family and me, by bedtime it was lights-out immediately.
“Are you all right?” she muttered, half in this world and half in dreamland. She was still worried about me, even though she was the one doing the bigger share of work.
“I am now. Sleep,” I repeated, and she shifted to my chest, her golden locks covering me. She smelled good, but she felt fucking phenomenal. Her warm tits pressed up against me, her leg thrown over mine, and her soft hand on my abs were paradise.
Kissing her forehead was the last thing I remembered doing before drifting off to sleep. Well, that and thinking what a lucky bastard I was to trap this woman.
18
Harper
Could there be a more annoying person alive? Likely not. Perhaps a few politicians and my fourth grade teacher who accidentally scratched the chalkboard with her garish fingernails every day. Gah.
Brooke was at it again, and I bit my tongue like any good girlfriend would do for her boyfriend’s baby mama. I will not stab her in the eye with the princess crown Ava is wearing. I will not stab her in the eye with the princess crown Ava is wearing. I will not stab her in the eye with the princess crown Ava is wearing, I repeated over and over in my mind and prayed that repetition would make it true.
But a girl could dream.
Today’s lecture was full of helpful tidbits regarding proper playdate etiquette. “Is that what you’re going to wear? We need to make a good impression out there. Maybe I should go shopping with you to pick out some proper clothes. How you look affects Ava’s future social prospects, you know,” she said in the cattiest of voices. Ms. Holier-Than-Thou needed to drop the designer bag and skedaddle. I made the mistake of telling her that we were going to Crazy Tunnels for a playdate. My one saving grace was that I neglected to tell her we were meeting Audrey and the boys there. She still wasn’t their biggest fan.
“We’ll be fine, I’m sure. Ava, are you ready to go to Crazy Tunnels today?” I asked, and the little girl lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Yaaaaaaay,” she screamed, nearly deafening us both. Her arms grabbed Brooke’s leg, and she hugged her before she ran up the stairs.
“Think about what I said.” Brooke eyed me with her heavily made up face that probably took an hour to do. I normally just threw on mascara and eyeliner, and if I was feeling adventurous, eye shadow. “We need to put our best foot forward.” If the woman said we one more time, I was going to blow my top.
“Thanks for dropping Ava off. I’ll text you if we need anything,” I said, hoping like hell she’d take off.
She gave her trademark hmmpff and left.
An hour later had us moseying into Crazy Tunnels and, I swear to God, I nearly zipped right back out. The noise. Oh, help me, the noise. It was like a million kids yelling into the same large tin can. Their voices and screams could be heard for miles.
Ava was beyond excited. Her eyes danced around with gleeful anticipation while she held on to her prized possession, Bunny. Bunny had seen better days. I’d guess he was white at some point in time, but now the poor little guy was a shade of dingy.
We walked up to the counter that was manned by an acne-ridden teen who would clearly rather be anywhere than here. Join the club. “Hi, one adult and one three-year-old,” I told the defiant man-boy.
His eyes half-open, he ripped off two narrow strips from the stack of paper. “Here are your wrist bands. Keep them on at all times. Do not remove them for any reason,” he said in rote, then threw a bucket onto the counter. It thudded and came to a skidding halt in front of us.
“Um, thanks,” I said, lifting Ava up to get her band put on. Confused about what to do with the bucket, I asked, “Do we take this with us?”
He snorted and replied, “It’s for your shoes, ma’am.” Oh. Okay.
Weird. We took our shoes off and placed them in the scratched, marked-up container. Man-boy stared down at our bare feet. “You need socks. We don’t allow you in without socks.”
I flushed and thought about what on Earth to do. It took us twenty minutes to drive here. Audrey and the boys should be here any minute. Why didn’t I know we were supposed to bring stupid socks? It’s freaking hot outside. Who wore socks?
“I didn’t know that we needed socks,” I whispered down to Ava. Her jaw dropped open and started to quiver. Shit. We were mere moments away from meltdown territory. I set my hands down flat on the cool surface and grimaced at the stickiness I encountered. Trying my best to ignore the ick-factor, I leaned forward. “Is there anything we can do? It’ll take me a long time to drive all the way home and back.”
“We have socks for sale,” the little dipshit said with a smirk. Apparently, the highlight of his day was scaring people to death.
“Fine. We’ll take two pairs,” I said through gritted teeth and rummaged back in my purse for my wallet. This was turning into a costly adventure and we hadn’t even gotten past the gate yet.
As he was ringing us up, a loud, “Auntie Harper,” sounded from behind us. I swivelled around to see the boys and Audrey approaching.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, don’t pay money for those,” Audrey said with a dismissive wave. “It’s highway robbery what this place charges for a couple of socks so thin you can see through them. I always bring extra,” she said like an angel showing up to save the day. The boys crashed their bodies into me, each one trying to outdo the other and hug me the hardest.
Audrey paid their admittance and rushed us through the maze of benches and coat closets until we came to the main attraction, a giant hamster cage with tubes sticking out and curling in loops here and there and ending in slides. Good God. How in the world were you supposed to keep track of children in this chaos?
“I see a table over there. Follow me.” Audrey pointed, then dragged the twins beside her. Ava and I tromped along behind. She led us to possibly the most uncomfortable seats ever made. Bright primary colored picnic-style tables with attached benches. All metal.
“Anybody need to use the bathroom?” Audrey asked like a pro while I just stood there frightened. So many kids. So much noise.
The children shook their heads and ran off. I may have had a small panic attack watching Ava run away. My hand clutched my chest, willing air to fill my lungs. “Don’t worry. They don’t let the kids out of here unless the number on the adult’s bracelet matches the number on the kid’s bracelet,” she said, twisting the bright pink paper circle on her wrist. “Sometimes I fantasize about losing my bracelet and not being allowed to take the boys home with me.” She doubled over and slapped her thigh, barely able to breathe from laughing so hard.
I laughed, too, knowing that she was full of it. We both knew she was just kidding.
“It’s insane in here. I can’t believe it’s so loud. Are you sure the kids will be okay?” I asked, not feeling very secure about leaving Ava to fend for herself in such a Lord of the Flies environment. There was no doubt in my mind the boys would be able to make their ways successfully in the established hierarchy, but I had doubts about my sweet little girl.
“They have a blast here. Don’t worry about a thing. And we get to sit here and gossip for a couple of hours,” Audrey said, organizing portable water cups on the red table. “We’ve got some catching up to do, you and me, girl.” She gave me the eye.
Guilty as charged. With all that had been going on with Jack’s mom and dad, I had turned down multiple offers from both her and Vivienne to go out. I could have taken a night off to spend with them, but quite honestly, by the end of the day I was exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do was go out to a noisy bar and stay up late.
And if Jack was able to come home early, I loved spending that time with him.
I knew. I’d turned into that girl—the one who dumped her friends for a guy. A hot guy who could cook, but still.
“Spill, missy. What’s been going on?” she asked in her no-nonsense way, both elbows on the table and her head resting on her clasped hands. There was no getting around it, so I spilled all about the past couple of weeks. I told her about the fateful supper and Elaine leaving John.
What I didn’t tell her, or anyone else yet for that matter, was about John eating lunch with me every day this past week. Each day he brought me lunch from different places. And I hated to admit it, but I was starting to like the guy. He stopped being an ass and turned into this charming man.
The shift in his behavior was remarkable. At first, I questioned if he could pull it off, but so far, he seemed genuine. He talked about how he and Elaine first met, their first date, and how exciting those days were. I teared up when he spoke of how much he loved her right from first glance.
He asked if we could keep up our lunches. The curiosity and the desire to fix things with his family made me agree. His face had relaxed, and the look of relief tore at my heart. What was I doing? If Jack found out, he’d be more than pissed.
John promised to bring a photo album on Monday. Was it wrong for me to be incredibly excited at that prospect?
Yeah, probably.
Anyway, I tried not to think about my secret lunch rendezvous with my boyfriend’s estranged father and focused on Audrey instead. She was still processing what I’d told her.
“So, the woman left after thirty years of marriage?”
“Over thirty years, but yeah. She’s done with him,” I said, pangs of guilt wracked my stomach as I glossed over the fact that I was working for both sides.
“Well, I can’t blame her. Sounds like she shoulda left a long time ago. No way would I put up with that from Murray. Uh-uh. If that man ever disrespected my children or me, he better put on his running shoes.” I laughed at the mental image that created. “His brother and sister won’t help with the mom?” she asked and stretched her arms out and yawned the yawn of tired moms all over the world.
“Nope. They refuse to speak to either parent until they’ve ironed things out with Jack,” I told her, sighing and rubbing my arms.
“In the meantime, you get to deal with a woman who isn’t even your mother, and his kid?” Her head shook violently. “No way.” She waggled her index finger in my direction. “That is not fair to you. I mean, that daughter of his is the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen, but still. This is his mess to clean up, not yours.”
“I don’t mind, really. Elaine is fun to be around, and Ava is a joy.”
“Girlfriend,” she said and placed her hands on her hips, “I don’t care one bit how nice everyone is. You aren’t part of this family yet, but here you are busting your hump for everyone. The rest of them needs to pitch in and do their part,” she said and then thrust her fist up into the air.
“Jack is extra busy with the new restaurant, and I really don’t mind picking up the slack.” And truth be told, I didn’t. But man, was I tired. Going from only having to deal with me and my life, to Jack, his parents, and Ava was a huge change in a very short time.
“That man of yours. Does he ever take a break from work?” she asked.
“He does, but lately not much.” Meaning never.
Audrey caught someone’s eye, and she smiled and waved over my shoulder. “Oh, my friend Sarah is here. Look at that. Do you mind if I go over and say hi?” she asked, gently gripping my arm.
“Go. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the kids.” Without hesitation, she got up and practically ran from the table. I scanned the play area but couldn’t see the twins or Ava anywhere. My stomach twisted, but I took some deep breaths and attempted to calm myself. All the other adults here were kicking back and relaxing or having intense gossip sessions. A few were on their laptops, tapping away, oblivious to anything or anyone else. Why was I so concerned?
After a few more minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore and got up to go look. Next time we came here, I was going to bring some earplugs. How could
people stand all this noise?
“Guys, play nice, okay?” I said to a couple of older boys who should have known better. They were climbing the rope netting around the ball pit, then throwing themselves off, not caring who they landed on in the process. The little punks just glared at me and skulked away.
Still no sightings of the kids. Dammit.
Not one minute later, I heard hysterical crying near me. It sounded like Ava, but I couldn’t be sure because it mixed in with all the other screeching and screaming. Finally, zeroing in on where it was coming from, I saw a red-faced Ava bawling her eyes out.
“Oh no, what’s wrong?” I cooed and crouched down while she stumbled into my arms.
“B-b-bunny,” she choked out between sobs, her tiny body shaking and heaving.
“Where’s Bunny?” I pushed away a bit to see he wasn’t in her arms. Shit. Jack said not to lose that stuffed animal.
“Dunno,” she said, her big eyes looking at me with sorrow in them. Those long, dark eyelashes she got from her father were wet and blinked at me. This kid knew how to tug at your heartstrings.
“Could he be in the tunnels?” I asked with trepidation in my voice at the thought of having to go find the filthy beast. She shrugged her shoulders in response. Gah. Well, looked like I was going in. “How about I go in and look for him?”
Her beautiful face brightened, and she nodded. How was I going to search thirty miles of tunnels on my knees?
“Do you want to wait here on this bench or come with me?”
She pondered for a few seconds, then said, “Wait here,” and climbed onto the bright blue bench.
I left her there with my purse and bobbed and weaved through the mess of kids until I got to the entrance for the tunnels. Walking up the stairs, I gave myself a bit of a pep talk. I could do this. If a bunch of rowdy kids could zoom around up here, so could I. Right?
