The offer was tempting, and in truth, had she been any other date, he probably would’ve taken her up on it, which led to more confusion. As much as he was glad he didn’t have to check on the kids to make sure they were okay, he enjoyed being part of their family, even if it was only a small part.
“I’ll drive you.”
“We came in my car. I can drive. I don’t want to take you from your family.”
“We came together, we’ll leave together. Plus, if I wait until the kids are in bed, I might get a kiss good night.”
“Are you sure?”
“About the kiss? Absolutely.” He put his arm around her shoulder.
Tess called the kids. Twenty minutes later, he began regretting the move to go with them. Andrew whined that he didn’t get to have enough fun. Zoe was surly, and Billy wouldn’t stop talking about the videogame cheats he’d learned. Once they were all buckled in the van, Miles thought for sure he could breathe easy, but he had no such luck.
It was like they’d all consumed energy drinks. They shouted over each other to get Tess’s attention. Somehow, she managed to follow each of the conversations. She was either a really good actress or she truly had mastered the ability to have multiple conversations at once. To him, it was headache inducing.
He drove to her house as fast as he could. By the time they arrived, the kids had settled down and guilt tugged at him for being irritable. He parked the car and helped unload everything from their day. The kids trudged up the stairs, and Miles recognized the exhaustion in their movements.
Tess was nothing short of pure efficiency. She hustled Andrew into the shower while Zoe and Billy made sure their bags were packed. Then she questioned what everyone wanted for lunch tomorrow. He felt completely in the way and unneeded, but he was also compelled to stay and watch. This was a side of Tess he’d known existed but hadn’t witnessed.
She’d amazed him this morning and he was in complete awe right now. She did this every day. Every week. Nonstop. No wonder she constantly told him she didn’t have free time. And why she’d told him early on she didn’t have room in her life for an overgrown kid.
It also made him understand how much she needed a break, whether she realized it or not. Going at this pace forever would eventually ruin her.
Andrew appeared in front of her, clean from his shower. “Peanut butter for lunch. Lucky Charms for breakfast. Harry Potter for bed.”
“Go upstairs and brush your teeth. Then we can read.”
“Already brushed. Hurry up.” Then he took off up the stairs.
“Can I read to him?” he asked before considering what he was doing.
Tess stared at him as if just remembering he was there. “You don’t have to do that, Miles. You’ve already done so much today. More than you ever signed on for.”
He pulled her into a hug. “I signed on to be with you. Besides, I’ve never read Harry Potter.”
She gasped, and put a hand over her heart. “You poor thing. You have no idea what you’ve missed out on.” She relaxed into a smile. “Thank you for offering. If he puts up a stink, holler, and I’ll come rescue you.”
“I won’t need a rescue.”
“Okay. I’ll open some wine and maybe we can hang out for a little bit.”
He lowered his voice again. “Can we make out?”
“Maybe.”
Chapter Thirteen
The week ran Tess ragged. She and Miles had barely connected for a quick cup of coffee. Their nighttime chats had been interrupted by a number of things ranging from ridiculous first week of school assignments and special requests for school supplies or, in Miles’s case, late meetings in the office.
When he called the following Monday and asked her to be his date for some event, she turned him down. She couldn’t imagine dressing up and smiling all night. Plus, she didn’t have anything to wear. She didn’t want to admit it to Miles. With her next paycheck, maybe she could squeeze some extra money to buy a new dress or two. She didn’t care if Miles said her dress didn’t matter, she knew better.
He’d sounded disappointed but didn’t pressure her to change her mind. All day at work on Wednesday, she’d caught snippets of rumors about budget cuts by the end of the year. It was one more stressor she didn’t need. The PICU was a small department that cost a lot of money. Caring for the smallest and most ill patients was expensive.
If her department lost money, she would probably have to look for a new job. She shook the thoughts off. No need to borrow trouble.
She’d already gotten a text from William saying he’d have the kids home right after dinner. Luckily, it had been a quiet day with patients, so she shouldn’t be late. Knowing William, he probably hadn’t asked the kids if they had homework, which meant it was a task still relegated to her to-do list.
She took a swig of her cold coffee and wrapped up the charting she had to do for her shift.
As she headed to the train, her phone vibrated with a text from Miles. Dinner?
On my way home now. Kids ate with William, and they’ll be home soon.
Dinner for two?
If you want to eat while listening to me argue about homework.
Can I hold your hand?
I think I’ll need my hand to eat. She leaned against the bench to wait for her train. But I’ll let you ogle me while I help do math worksheets and sign assignment notebooks.
Sexy. Make-out session after kids are asleep?
I don’t know if I’ll be awake much longer than they are.
Close enough to agreeing. See you soon.
She tucked her phone back in her purse and waited for the train. Her life was always so full of taking care of things that she rarely had time to step back and think. Miles had a way of making her think, but it wasn’t always good. They hadn’t revisited their conversation about where they were going and what he wanted. She felt like he was avoiding it because he’d come to the same conclusion she had. They couldn’t last. He would want to have his own family. He didn’t want to see it because they were enjoying what they had going.
But even she could recognize how one-sided it was. Sure, Miles received as many orgasms as he gave, but in every other aspect, their relationship revolved around her. As much as she enjoyed it, she knew how resentful a lopsided relationship could make a person feel. On the train ride home, she thought of ways to turn the tide and make things more equitable.
Bottom line, Miles had to want to bring her into his life. Other than doing fun things like going out on the boat. Hell, even that had been more about her and the kids than it had been about her participating in his life.
She decided she’d try tonight. After the kids were settled, she’d ask about work and his father’s foundation. The project was consuming a lot of his time, but he never really spoke about it, other than to say he had a meeting.
When the train jostled at her stop, she got off and walked home. As she neared her house, she saw Miles sitting on the front porch looking pretty damn unhappy. Then she realized why. William was there with the kids.
“Hey,” she said, trying to sound cheerful.
“When you said the kids had eaten with your ex, I didn’t make the connection that he would be here.”
She took a deep breath. “Do I even want to know?”
“I rang the bell, expecting one of the kids to answer. When a grown man opened the door, I was surprised.”
“And?”
“I told him I was here to see you, and he told me you weren’t here yet and closed the door on me.”
She shook her head. William was an ass. “Can you wait out here for like five more minutes?”
“Sure.” He looked disappointed, but his presence in the house would only make things worse.
“I’m home,” she called as she went inside.
Andrew and Billy sat at the dining room table, doing homework, she hoped. As she neared, she realized that no, they weren’t. They were playing on tablets. “What are those?”
“Aren�
��t they cool? Dad got them for us. He says this way we can FaceTime him while he’s away.”
“Away?” What the ever-loving hell? Her fury bubbled up faster than she could control.
William came from around the corner, where she sincerely hoped he’d been in the bathroom and not her bedroom. William didn’t always respect boundaries. “We need to talk.” She moved past him straight to the kitchen, assuming he would follow.
Behind her, she heard Billy say, “Ooo…that’s her mad voice.”
“What do you want, Tess? I have plans.”
She spun and waved her hands. “Plans. You always have plans. So do I. He happens to be sitting on the front porch because you slammed the door on him.”
“What would you have me do when some strange man comes knocking? Invite him in?”
“Yes. That’s the courteous thing to do. You didn’t have to hang out with him, but to leave him outside was ridiculous.”
“I’m here with the kids. It’s my time—”
She almost lost it. “Yes, your time. You could take them to your house and spend hours with them. Instead, you feed them and dump them off at your earliest convenience.”
“Convenient. Need I remind you that I take Wednesdays as a favor to you?”
“They’re your children. It’s not like I’m out partying while you slave away caring for our kids. I’m at work. And even if I were out partying, it shouldn’t matter. Those kids are your responsibility, too.”
He bristled at her tirade. “I’ve always provided well for our children.”
“Yes, provided.” She held up her hands. They’d been having this same conversation and argument for years. “It doesn’t matter. From now on, all I’m asking is that you not be rude to my guests.”
“You mean your boyfriend.” He crossed his arms.
She matched his stance. “Whoever happens to be here.”
“Are we done?”
“Yes.” As he turned to leave the room, she remembered the tablets. “Wait. I thought we agreed no more buying expensive gifts just because.”
William turned back. “The tablets weren’t very expensive. And kids need the most up-to-date technology. It’s how to be successful.”
I’m so sure the games are all about being successful. “The boys said something about you going away?”
“Yes. Margaret and I have a vacation planned. We’re leaving Saturday and we’ll be gone two weeks. I want to be able to talk with them and see them.”
Tess ground her teeth. “So you’re cutting this weekend short, and you’ll miss next Wednesday and your next weekend. Am I hearing that right?”
“Yes. But we’ll be able to talk using the tablets, so you don’t have to worry about using your phone.”
As if the phone were her biggest problem. William was trying to buy the kids’ love, using money to make up for not being there. “Well, thanks for all the warning so I can make plans around work.”
“I’m sure your mother will help. She always does.”
“That’s not the point.”
He didn’t get it. He never would. She waved him off before her anger got the better of her. “I’ll talk to you whenever you get back.” She walked past him to get Miles from the porch. What she’d thought would be a simple conversation had lasted much longer than she’d planned. She hoped Miles hadn’t left.
She heard William saying goodbye to the boys as she opened the front door. Miles was sitting on the top stair. “I’m so sorry. I completely understand if you don’t want to stay. As much as I’d like to say it won’t happen again, I can’t guarantee it.”
Miles stood and smiled at her. “I don’t scare off that easily. Unfortunately, dinner is probably on the cold side now.”
“I’m like the worst girlfriend ever.” The tension from her argument with William still sat in her shoulders and guilt for everything with Miles made her stomach ache.
Miles set the bag of food down and pulled her into a hug. “I happen to think you’re a pretty good girlfriend. Your ex sucks, but you’re not so bad.”
The door behind them opened, and Tess stiffened. She had zero reason to feel guilty, but having William see her in Miles’s arms made something twist inside her. Instinct had her wanting to pull away, so she forced herself to stay put. On the rare occasion Tess was in the same room with William and Margaret, they made no attempt to hide their affection for each other. Tess sure as heck shouldn’t have to do that in her own house.
“Tess,” William said with a nod.
She guessed that was his version of goodbye. Or fuck off. Or whatever.
“Is it safe to go in now?” Miles asked.
“If you still want to.” She stepped back but left her hands on his waist, enjoying the brief physical connection. “I told you my life was messy. You’re the first man William has ever seen me with. He obviously didn’t handle it well.”
“It could’ve been worse. He could’ve punched me in the face to try to claim his territory.”
She burst out laughing. “He has no claim here, but even if he thought he did, he would never risk his precious hands.”
Miles looked confused.
“He’s a surgeon.”
“Ahh.”
She tugged him toward the door. “Let’s go warm up the food and you can witness the arguing and fighting over homework that is the perfect end to a long day.”
They walked into the house together and Tess was glad Miles didn’t frighten easily.
…
After a warmed-up dinner, Miles sat at the dining room table and watched Tess work magic. He didn’t care that she made jokes about yelling and fighting over homework. He was amazed she completed homework with Andrew. The boy obviously hated math, but Tess had endless patience with him.
Billy worked silently on some worksheet, pausing on occasion to tell Tess or him about another feature of the tablet that made it awesome. Miles got the distinct impression the tablet was a point of contention for her, and Billy was trying to turn the tide. Miles gathered they were gifts from their father, but other than that, he couldn’t figure out why she’d be mad about them.
Then Billy let it slip that he and Andrew had spent their dinnertime telling their father about the day on the lake and the party at Miles’s house. When she heard that, Tess’s head shot up from where she’d been looking at third grade math.
Miles swallowed a chuckle. That one sentence from Billy told Miles all he needed to know. William was staking a claim, but it was more about the kids than Tess. Billy didn’t seem to recognize the effect of his words. He slid his homework into a folder and pulled out another paper.
“I want to join STEM club. I need you to sign the permission slip.”
Tess took the paper. Before reading it, she pointed to the page Andrew was working on. “You forgot to carry.” Then she looked at the pink paper. “When does it meet? Thursdays? That should be okay. Is there a fee?” She scanned the page and then took the pencil she had tucked in her hair and signed.
“Mr. Ross didn’t say anything about a fee. But it’s really cool. We meet every week and do a bunch of different projects. He said we can enter some competitions as a team.”
Miles saw that Tess tried to be engaged and listen to Billy, but Andrew growled at his homework again.
“Hey,” Miles said to Billy. “Can you help me take your mom’s dish into the kitchen and show me where stuff is? You can tell me all about the club. I used to do Science Olympiad when I was your age.”
“I thought you played baseball,” Andrew said.
“I did both. I played Little League. Then in middle school I did Science Olympiad. In high school I had to pick one and I went with baseball. My dad hated that.”
“Really?” Billy’s eyes got wide. “Why?”
“My dad was a huge science nerd. He loved helping out with the team. He knew nothing about baseball, so he couldn’t help.” He leaned closer to Billy. “Sometimes it’s nice to do something your parents don’t get.”
>
Billy smiled.
Miles stood and grabbed his plate. Billy took Tess’s from where she had it shoved to the side and went toward the kitchen, chattering as he walked. “I asked Mr. Ross about Science Olympiad, but he said that since we’re a new club, we couldn’t do Science Olympiad. It’s too complicated to start now, but if we get enough interest, maybe next year.”
Over Andrew’s head, Tess mouthed, “Thank you.”
Miles winked at her. For the next fifteen minutes, he moved like a snail through the kitchen, cleaning dishes and packing up leftovers. He hoped he wouldn’t have to keep Billy busy too much longer. The boy had a million questions about what kinds of projects he had done and if he still had any of them.
He was lucky if he could remember what he ate for breakfast, so a project he’d done more than twenty years ago was low on his list of important things to remember. “I can ask my mom. You know how moms are. They save everything.”
Billy laughed. “Right? What’s with that? It’s weird.” He ran over to the side of the refrigerator and pulled a paper from under magnets. “I made this in kindergarten, and she still has it. It’s just my name.”
“It was the first time you wrote your name by yourself. I was proud of you,” Tess said from the doorway.
Billy rehung the paper with a sheepish look.
“Homework is finally done, so you guys can watch TV or play games for a half hour.”
“Can we play on the tablets?”
Tess sighed. “That’s fine.”
He took off running into the other room and yelled for his brother.
Tess remained in the doorway, leaning against the frame, arms crossed. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Cleaning up. Talking to Billy to keep him in here so I could help Andrew with homework.”
“No big deal.”
“It means more than I can explain.”
Miles tossed the towel on the counter and crossed the room. “Hey, I’m not going to turn down brownie points you’re handing out so generously, but if that’s all it takes to make your life a little easier, think nothing of it.” He stroked his thumb across her jaw.
One Night with a Millionaire (Daring Divorcees) Page 15
