I’d been looking down as I spoke, so I snuck a glance at him after this last revelation. I wanted a hint at how he was taking this, wondering if he was going to bolt.
But his attention was steady. Giving me time. Giving me the courage to continue. So, I did.
“The only reason we’re here is because my father offered us this house rent-free, in exchange for having brunch with him once per week. But he keeps piling up new demands. And now that I’m working again, the spousal support payments I’m required to pay are essentially canceling out any money coming in from child support. Yesterday, just before I came in here, my father pulled me aside and told me that he was bringing in a militant-looking nanny and I panicked, thinking that if I refused, he’d kick us out and we’d be homeless. And you know what happened next.”
I gentled my tone, feeling strangely shy now that I’d laid the good, the bad, and the ugly all out for him to see. “So, knowing all that, there’re no hard feelings if this isn’t for you.”
Jace leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
“What’s next on the tour?”
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
JACE
It’s just that, when I’m with you, I forget about everything else. You make me feel like myself again.
K.A. Tucker,Running Wild
From the moment perfect Polly Alberton came into my life, I knew I was in trouble. With each meeting, she kept layering wit and sweetness and humility into the body of a bombshell. I didn’t think it could get any worse than yesterday, when she’d put her hand on my stomach, nearly causing me to get bricked up in my clown costume. But when she came to the door this afternoon in that tight black T-shirt, her tits pointing toward me like the green flag of a goddamn NASCAR race, I had to think about accidentally walking in on my father in the shower so that Captain J didn’t salute at full attention.
At least Polly seemed completely unaware of the effect she had on me. When she lost her balance on the way out of the kitchen and I caught her, finally having her supple skin underneath my hands . . . I didn’t want to let her go.
After leaving her parents’ room, Polly took me on a tour upstairs. All afternoon she’d been giving me guarded looks, nervous energy radiating from her, giving me unnecessary warnings like I wasn’t already committed before I walked through her front door.
“This is my room.” Polly pointed to a doorway on the right, just at the top of the stairs. “Ryla and Max’s rooms are on the other side,” Polly pointed to the two doors across the hall from hers, “and a Jack and Jill bathroom connects them.”
“This is the playroom.” Polly opened a door further down the hallway revealing a room with three large windows on the far side, with shelves of toys along two walls. Max was sitting on the floor in the far corner of the room reading a book on top of layers of blankets with piles of pillows around him. Gauzy curtains hung above him, and fairy lights were strung along rounded edges of the curtains, giving the space a cozy feel.
“We made a reading nook over there,” Polly said, pointing toward Max. “Hey Max, Jace is here. We’re doing a tour.”
We walked a few steps into the room as Max sat up, eyes glancing between me and his momma, then back down to his book.
“This is one heck of a reading nook.” I stopped at least ten feet away from Max. “Whatcha readin’?”
“Wings of Fire,” Polly answered for Max, coming up beside me. “He’s almost to the fifth book in the series and finished up a graphic novel version recently. Isn’t that right Max?”
Ryla suddenly burst between Polly and I, the tantrum from downstairs clearly forgotten.
“I can make the lights change color!” Ryla plopped down next to Max, grabbing a small black remote to demonstrate the color-changing options of the fairy lights. After oohing and aahing over the lights, I shuffled closer to the reading nook and crouched down on the balls of my feet.
“Wings of Firesounds pretty cool. You’ll have to tell me about it,” I said to Max, then looked over at Ryla. “What do you like to read?”
“I want to start Harry Potter, butshe,” Ryla pointed derisively at Polly, “won’t let me start it until I’m seven.”
I heard Polly sigh, obviously trying to approach Ryla with patience, but the strain was evident in her voice. “It’s too scary, Ryla. I already told you. Your brother was scared of that book when he was your age. I don’t think it’s a good idea right now. I’m so proud of how well you’re reading, but just because you’re able to read something, doesn’t mean you’re ready.”
Ryla crossed her arms, put out. It seems put out might be her default state.
“Hey, little miss. Your momma has your best interest at heart. Those books were scary even when I read ’em for the first time and I was older than Max was now, so how about we give her some slack. There’s plenty of books out there to read and we have a pretty cool library in town. My momma is friends with one of the librarians. I’m sure she’d be able to find some books for you.”
Ryla looked slightly less miffed at my suggestion. I pointed over at the dollhouse in the corner which I assumed was hers. “I’ve never seen a dollhouse like that. Want to show it to me?”
Those were definitely the magic words. Eyes brightening, Ryla popped up. “That’smydollhouse! It used to be mom’s, but now it’s mine. Want to see the toilet?”
I kept a straight face. “Absolutely.”
Ryla proceeded to show me a three-inch-tall porcelain toilet that made a real flushing noise when you pushed the tiny handle.
