He could see the beginning of a pout, so he added, “But you’re welcome to check out the others and take them home with you to enjoy.”
“Okay,” Kaira agreed at last. “Daddy, will you hold my books?” She thrust them into Jordy’s hands before he could respond, and returned to her dedicated perusal of the children’s section.
When she was out of earshot, Jordy cleared his throat. “So you’ll do it?”
Consign himself to several months of sexual frustration in the name of healthy lungs and finances? “Sure,” Rowan said. “Why not?”
First Period
IT TOOKa pathetically small amount of time to pack up Rowan’s things. Jordy insisted on helping, partly because Rowan shouldn’t be spending more time than necessary in his apartment and partly because he was afraid if he left Rowan to his own devices for too long he’d change his mind.
That fear evaporated the second he saw the interior of Rowan’s apartment, where walls had been opened up in order to assess the extent of the damage. After that, Jordy was mostly afraid he’d run into Rowan’s landlord and “accidentally” put a foot up his ass.
For her part, Kaira was thrilled to have a captive librarian at home. As far as Jordy was concerned, that and her safety were all that mattered.
It should have felt strange to hand over a house key and alarm codes to someone he’d just met, even if hehadcalled up Gem and run the idea by her. She said only, “This is an unusually good move on both your parts. I’m impressed.” Then he heard clicking; she must be in the office. “Tell me, does Rowan have a preferred china pattern?”
Rowan didn’t need china; Jordy had plenty of plates in the kitchen. Maybe she meant for someday when he moved out again. “I don’t know,” Jordy said. “None of the stuff in his cabinets matched.”
He had no idea why Gem found that so funny, but it didn’t really matter.
“My bedroom and Kaira’s are upstairs. She has her own bathroom,” Jordy told Rowan as he led him in the front door.He felt awkward about it after seeing Rowan’s apartment, and was silently thankful for the fact that he’d have been ashamed to invite his parents to a house that felt too showy. They’d always been clear about what was important in life. Still, in Toronto his celebrity status sometimes meant gawkers, so he’d compromised and found a home in a gated community that didn’t make him cringe. His privacy was one thing; Kaira’s safety was another. “The cleaning service comes on Tuesdays.”
“Got it.”
“But Kaira has to clean her own bedroom.” That was important. “So she can learn responsibility.”
Rowan broke into a smile. “Good call. Wish my parents had thought of that one. Still learning, me.”
“Yes, I saw your apartment,” Jordy said wryly.
“Hey! In my defense, someone literally went through with a sledgehammer looking for mold.”
“Relax. I was kidding.” They left their shoes by the hall closet and stepped forward into the living room. “This is where Kaira and I usually spend our time after dinner. Her taste in TV includes hockey andBluey. She’s coming around to football, though. And she loves nature documentaries.”
“Especially if they’re about armadillos?” Rowan guessed. His eyes flicked up to the tall ceilings, but if the size of Jordy’s living room fazed him, Jordy couldn’t tell.
“Especially those. Kitchen is right here, obviously.” Jordy gestured. The house’s open floor plan was self-explanatory, but he still felt like he had to say it. “I usually cook here if I’m home with Kaira.”
“Is she a picky eater?”
“Depends on the day. Dino nuggets are always a safe bet. Laundry’s through here.” He opened the sliding doors that led into the hidden kitchen behind the regular kitchen. “It’s sort of, uh….”
“Oh, a butler’s kitchen,” Rowan said brightly. “Cool.”
Jordy blinked at him. “A what?”
“A butler.” Rowan gave him a look that saidrich people, am I right?“You know, the kitchen where you do the actual cooking so that when people come over, you don’t have to clean up a mess.”
Jordy felt horrified. “That’swhat it’s for?”
“What did you think it was for?”
That… was a good question, actually. “I don’t know. They put the washer and dryer in there. I thought it was kind of a fancy laundry room.” Sometimes Jordy got hungry while folding clothes. He couldn’t be the only one that happened to.
“Anyway, laundry.” Rowan turned to the machines. “Anything I should know about these?”
“Kaira has sensitive skin, so I wash everything with unscented detergent. It’s in here.” Damn, they hadn’t talked about household chores yet. “Ah, I can do her clothes when I’m home—”
