I walked into reception with Everleigh hanging off my arm – literally. Blinking in shock, I shook my head. Holly sat behind the desk with Oakley.
“Hey. What’s going on?”
Oakley looked up, her eyes lighting up as she spotted her daughter. “Hey, baby, you enjoy your pancakes. ”
Everleigh nodded theatrically.
“Yep. Where’s Daddy?”
“In the office, go find him. ” The only reason she let Everleigh go off alone was because the office was behind the reception desk and she had to pass her to get to it.
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I walked up to the desk and leant my arms on the surface. “You’re working here now?” I asked Holly.
She nodded, blushing. Jesus, I only asked if she was working here not what colour her underwear was.
“Yes, part-time until I go back to uni. Your other receptionist started maternity leave early, apparently. ”
Wow, no one tells me anything!
“Yeah,” Oakley said, her attention now back on us. “Olivia’s not been feeling well and decided to start maternity two months earlier than planned. She’ll take nine months off rather than six now. ”
“Oh. She okay?”
“She just needs rest. Thankfully Holly’s available, so I don’t have to advertise for the maternity cover position until September. I’m just going to check on Cole and Everleigh, make sure she’s not rearranging the paperwork again. Can you show Holly the booking system?”
I shrugged. Not like I have anything better to do.
“Sure. ”
Oakley smiled and left.
Holly bit her lip and whispered, “Thanks. ”
“It’s fine. Okay, budge over. ”
Holly moved her chair, and I pulled the other one up. It was clear that she wasn’t used to being so close to men by the way she let her hair fall in her face, half hiding her face. So shy.
“This your first day?”
“Yeah. I’m scared I’ll do something wrong and get fired. ”
I rolled my eyes. “You’ll probably do something wrong, who doesn’t? You won’t get fired. ”
She smiled and her shoulders relaxed. Wow she was really worried about messing up. Christ if I had a pound for every time I screwed something up I’d be rich.
“Thanks, Jasper,” she said. Her eyes had less black kohl around them today. It made her look softer and not like she was about to gut me and eat my insides.
I grinned, winking, which made her blush again.
“Alright, if you click booking. . . ”
When I’d finished being Holly’s teacher, I left The Centre and went home to see if my wife was back yet. Her car was in the drive, along with another one I didn’t recognise. My heart beat at a thousand miles an hour. Who the hell was that? I didn’t want to think the worse. I’d forgiven her and we’d agreed to move on, but I couldn’t help it. Recently I’d been wondering if she was bored of me and looking elsewhere.
Opening the door, I slowly walked inside.
“Jasper, in the kitchen,” Abby said. It couldn’t bad if she yelled to me.
A guy was sat at my kitchen table. Brett? What the hell was he doing here if they’d sorted everything out at the café.
“Hey. Babe, this is Brett and, Brett, this is my husband Jasper. ”
I held my hand out, and we shook, both squeezing slightly to test who had the biggest balls.
I won.
“Brett. ”
“Good to finally meet you, Jasper. Abby’s talked about you a lot. ” Saying what?
“Really. ” I wanted to say she’s not mentioned you much at all, but that would make me a child. “You two get the trip stuff sorted?”
Abby nodded, flicking the kettle. I looked in Brett’s mug – my mug – and saw it was empty. Was he staying for another one?
“Want one, babe?”
“Please,” I replied, even though I didn’t.
“Brett?”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to get in the way. ” Good. Fuck off then.
Abby frowned and waved her hand. “Oh, you’re not in the way. ”
Speak for yourself.
“Did you go to Oakley and Cole’s?” Abby asked, grabbing the mug off Brett to refill it.
“Yeah, took Everleigh for pancakes. ”
She smiled. “I bet she loved that. Your bacon rolls are in the fridge. ”
“Thanks, I’ll eat them later. ”
Brett stayed silent. See arsehole, our lives may not be rock n roll, but we work. Back off. I wanted to laugh at myself. Technically he hadn’t done anything wrong, but I didn’t like his pissing-contest handshake. She was my wife, and he needed to back the hell away.
Brett stayed for one more cup of tea, and the whole time was in a deep conversation with Abby about work before he left. They’d occasionally tried to include me, but I didn’t work in a school – thank god or I think I’d end up killing some of them – so I didn’t have much to say. I did try to talk sports with him and make an effort but apparently he didn’t follow any of it.
Abby turned and handed me a box. “Here,” she said.
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I frowned, taking it from her. Shit, had I really missed something? I opened it, and that watch stared back at me.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a watch, Jasper,” she replied sarcastically. “I know things have been a little strained recently, there’s a lot going on at school. I just want to show you how much I appreciate your support and understanding. I love you, baby. ”
I am the worst man on earth.
“Abby,” I muttered. Damn all this time I had been thinking the worst in her. I’m such a dick!
“Do you like it?”
“I love it. Thank you. ” Grinning, I pulled her into a kiss.
Work got her for the morning, but for the rest of the day she was mine.
Chapter Five
I woke up on Monday morning, and after a long night of what could only be described as crazy animal sex, I was pretty fucking happy. Abby was already up and in the shower; I could just about hear her strangled-cat singing.
It wouldn’t be long before Oakley would call and yell about me being late, so I dragged my satisfied arse out of bed and went to the bathroom. My naked wife was facing the tiled wall; her body was lathered up, completely covered in bubbles. I watched her with wide eyes and an open mouth as she ran her hands over her stomach and across her breasts. In record time, I was hard. So what if I’m a little late…
She stepped under the water spray, and the bubbles slid off her body. My mouth went dry. She looked over her shoulder and winked, turning the shower off. No, she was done!
“You should’ve got up earlier if you wanted to join me. ”
“What?” I frowned. That was not fair; I was asleep and didn’t know shower sex was up for grabs. “Get back in. ”
She laughed and shook her head, wrapping a towel around herself and, unfortunately, ending my perving.
“Can’t, I’ve got to get to school. If you’re up on time tomorrow though–”
“I’m there,” I said, making a mental note to set my alarm earlier.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” she said, sauntering out of the room, trying, and succeeding, to look sexy.
Considering I’d missed some wet naked time I was in a really good mood. And it wasn’t just the sex last night either. Things were finally back to normal between us. There’d been something missing for a while, she was distant, and I’d stupidly doubted her but she’d just been stressed and overworked. We had one last thing to discuss now things were back on track – children.
I made no secret of the fact that I wanted them immediately, but she’d said she now wanted to wait. I had to know if that was just the stress talking or if she really meant it. Either way was fine, but we needed to talk about this
stuff.
By the time I was ready for work, Abby had left, leaving a note that she’d be home before me tonight and would cook my favourite dinner and then take me to bed. I didn’t mind that she hadn’t said goodbye. I couldn’t bloody wait for tonight.
“Morning,” I said, yawning as I walked into the building.
Holly looked up and smiled wide, lighting up her whole face.
“Good morning, Jasper. ” She was very perky for half past eight in the morning. “Did you have a good weekend?”
“I had a good Sunday. You?”
She shrugged, blushing.
“I know that look,” I said, pointing my finger at her. “Who is he?”
“No one. ”
“Bull. Details. Now. ” I pulled up a chair next to her, grateful that no customers had come in yet but the early seven a. m. classes had finished by now, and the next ones weren’t until nine. I had about twenty minutes being me before I had to act professional.
“Nothing happened, but I met this guy and we’re going to lunch. ”
“Oh yeah, where’d you meet him?”
“At the library. ”
“What were you doing there?” I shook my head. “Forget him, he’s boring. ”
She tilted her head, and her golden hair fell in her face. She sat back up. “Just because he reads doesn’t mean he’s boring. ”
I raised my eyebrow. “Would you prefer him to read about an orgasm or give you one?” Her face turned the colour of the Santa’s hat that still sat behind the monitor. Me and Kerry couldn’t work out who took the hat out of the Christmas decoration box – I said her and she said me – so now it’s a battle, and there was no way I was putting the damn thing in the loft.
“You’re so crude,” she hissed, pretending to look at the booking screen on the monitor so I wouldn’t see how embarrassed she was.
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Was that crude? “Sorry,” I muttered, trying to keep a straight face. “What’s his name?”
“Harry. ”
“And where is Harry taking you?”
“Carlton’s. ”
“Ooh the stuffy, posh place. Wanna take my number so you can text me to save you when you’re so bored you want to stab yourself with their shiny, fancy silverware?” Carlton’s was bloody boring. I took Abby there once, and I regretted it the second I stepped into the place.
“I think I’ll be fine, thank you. ”
“You’ll be bored. Get him to take you to the diner, eat crap and have an ice cream fight. ”
“I’m not eleven,” she replied dryly.
“Nope, you were definitely born thirty. ” She frowned, and I knew I’d gone too far. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way. You’re not boring; you’re just too shy and too scared to let your hair down. When was the last time you did anything impulsive?”
She opened her mouth and closed it again. “So what. So I don’t have ice cream fights or jump out of planes, that doesn’t mean I’m–”
“You want to jump out of a plane?” I asked, shocked.
“Yes. ”
“With a parachute attached, right? You’re not that upset by what I said?”
She rolled her eyes, and a small smile tugged at the sides of her mouth. “Of course with a parachute. ” I would never have guessed she would want to do anything even remotely dangerous.
“If things go well with Harry, get him to jump with you. ” She needed someone that was going to challenge and push her. Brad was outgoing, an idiot and would do pretty much anything for a twenty or a shag. I had no idea why Holly was so reserved.
“I don’t know. ”
“Why not. You want to do it, and you’re an adult so…”
“Uncle Jasper!” Everleigh screamed, coming to Holly’s rescue. I shoved my chair out in time for her to leap up and land on my lap.
“Hey,” I said, rustling her hair and grinning like a moron. I really missed her. Oakley walked in behind, carrying Eveleigh’s Snow White bag. “Wait, have you just got here? And after all the crap you give me about being late. ”
She let the bags drop down on the table and raised her eyebrow. “I was here at seven. Cole went into work late today, so I let Everleigh stay at home for a bit longer. I’ve just been home to get her before Cole leaves. ”
Damn it. “Holly has a date,” I said to get the spotlight off me.
Holly gave me an evil glare. Without all the eyeliner, she didn’t look that scary though. Her looks matched her personality when she wore only a little make-up. Perhaps that was why she wore so much black around the eyes, to appear more confident.
“Really? Quick work,” Oakley said, winking. “You’ve not been back long. Who is it?”
“Some boring dude she met at the library. By the way, what were you doing in a library?”
“Buying paint,” she replied sarcastically.
“Ha ha. I meant because you’re on break from uni. Surely being around books is the last thing you want to do now?”
“Shut up,” Oakley said, hitting the back of my head, making Everleigh gasp.
“You’re not allowed to hit, Mummy,” she said, shaking her head as if she was the parent and deeply disappointed.
“Go in the back office and watch TV for a minute,” Oakley said, lifting her off my lap. “I’ll come and get you when your class starts. ”
Everleigh skipped off, pulling her bag, which fell to the floor and scraped along the ground behind her.
“It’s great that you have a date, Holly. Jasper, why don’t you make sure the gym is ready for the class?” She grinned. “Everleigh’ll only tell you off if it’s not. ”
She bloody would too. If anyone came between her and her gymnastics time, she’d freak. It was like looking at Oakley when she was Everleigh’s age. I knew that although Oakley hoped Everleigh would carry it on, she didn’t think she would; the kid just liked climbing and jumping off stuff. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if in a year or so, she stopped wanting to go.
“Am I in trouble?” I asked, grinning, “or do you just want her out of the way, so you don’t get in any more trouble?”
“Shut up, Jasper. ”
“You two sound just like me and Brad,” Holly said and laughed. Flashing them a smiled, I went to see if Marcus wanted any help.
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After chatting with Holly and taking a million instructions for the new equipment that was being delivered for the new football pitch, Oakley left to take Everleigh swimming then to some messy play group. I’d take my kid to all that crap too. I was sort of looking forward to it.
Holly kept to herself most of the day, working hard and doing everything exactly as she’d been taught. She worked like a newbie, before long she’d be on Facebook between booking customers in and filing. If she even had a Facebook account. Surely she would have.
The day dragged by so, so slowly. It didn’t usually, but I was on a pretty sweet promise tonight, so I wanted to get home as soon as possible. Finally though, Oakley was back for a few hours while Cole gave Everleigh a bath, so I was free to leave. My sister also had a sweet deal tonight; she made the mess with Everleigh and her husband had to scrub the paint off her skin and hair!
Abby’s car was in the drive. I practically abandoned my car on the street I was so excited to get this evening underway. My heart was racing and jeans were tightening with the excitement. I threw the front door open and legged it into the kitchen. The smell of steak and peppercorn sauce hit me as I walked through the door.
“Hey, babe,” I said, grinning from ear to ear. My wife looked stunning in a summer dress with her hair pulled back, revealing her kissable neck.
She turned and handed me a bottle of beer. “Hey. Dinner will only be two minutes so why don’t you sit down and I’ll bring it over. ”
“Thanks. ” What the hell did I do to get this lucky? I sat at the table and watched her and her sexy arse as she
finished up and brought our dinner to the table. My mouth watered as I flitted between looking at the big, fat juicy steak and my gorgeous, juicy wife. I couldn’t wait to get her into bed and potentially make our baby. My heart suddenly dropped a little. We had to talk about what was going to happen on the baby making front.
I took a huge swig of beer, gathering as much courage as I could. Man I’m such a pussy. Grow some balls and ask your damn wife when she wants kids!
“Abby, did you really mean it when you said you don’t want children yet?”
She froze; her wine glass suspended in the air and then she put it down. That wasn’t a good sign.
“How come you’re bringing this up now? I thought we were having a relaxing evening together. ”
“We are. ” What did that mean? We can’t talk about things like that because we were supposed to be having lots of sex later?
She sighed, pushing her food around on the plate. “Jasper, right now just isn’t a good time. There’s so much going on, and if we have a baby now it’ll be ten times harder to go back to work after. ”
“Of course it will, but it’ll be harder whenever we have one. You know we’ll work out childcare with Oakley. ”
We split having Everleigh between us so we could both work at The Centre, so I knew she’d do the same with her niece or nephew. Abby wouldn’t even have to give up work. I wasn’t a chauvinistic bastard, and I didn’t expect her to give up on her career goals. I wanted to do as much as I possibly could. Hell, I’d do it all if I had to.
“Right. So you want to wait a year or…?”
“Maybe we can talk about it again in a year. ” Just talk about it again in a year. What if she decided she wanted to talk about it again in another year? I nodded, pretending that I wasn’t so disappointed it was crushing me.
“Okay, we’ll talk next year,” I whispered, forcing a smile. Our night was ruined; I could feel it by the way she dropped her eyes to her dinner and refused to look at me. Did she not want children at all now or was it really just not in the next couple years? I’d wait a few years if that was what she needed but not having them at all would be too much. I couldn’t do that.
I gulped and forced in another mouthful. If she didn’t want kids at all, it was over.
Chapter Six
To say I was in a bad mood was an understatement. I was pissed. My wife was being fucking impossible, and I had no idea if she was bullshitting me and didn’t want a baby at all or genuinely just wanted to wait.
Players, Bumps and Cocktail Sausages Page 4
