The sound of his name makes me wince. “No, he wasn’t my boss. He was my boss’s friend, which was bad enough.”
Because one, my boss Kevin never bothered to tell me my boyfriend was fuckingmarried, and two, when Jamie and I unceremoniously broke up that fateful day, I had to quit my bartending job or face the very real possibility of seeing him because he frequented that restaurant.
And there was no way I was ever talking to that scumbag again. I changed my number, switched my job, and eventually moved when he kept stalking my place and sending me flowers. Nothing says, “Hey, sorry I didn’t tell you I was a cheating douchebag” like bouquets of carnations. Who apologizes with the cheapest flower in the state of Texas? Even after I trashed them, they left behind that sickeningly sweet scent that reminded me of my grandmother’s funeral.
“Are you still on that man diet thing?”
“No dicks for me.” Figuratively or literally.
“That’s a shame. I have a friend—”
“No.”
“He’s super hot.”
“Thenyoudate him, and I’ll live vicariously through your escapades.”
She laughs maniacally. “No one saiddatehim. Just let him bang your brains out so you can get over your aversion to attractive men and see that you need to move back to Austin. Then we can party the whole summer. Come on. You haven’t been the same since Jamie. Where’s the BFF I know and love?”
“Girlfriend, I have to work. I have bills to pay. Daddy ain’t gonna cover my rent.”
I can almost hear her rolling her eyes. “George doesn’t pay my rent.” She calls her parents by their first names. My mother would smack me with herchanclaif I ever did that. “I have a salary, thank you very much.”
A salary Daddy pays even when you don’t show up to work.
But when she doesn’t stop badgering me, I promise to go out with her. I might need a break from Ethan Carterprontoanyway.
“Yay!” she yells into the phone. “We’ll have a blast! One night of partying never hurt anyone.”
I don’t bother pointing out how we both know that’s not true.
One night is all it takes for everything to go wrong.
* * *
When I wakeup the next morning, a precious face grins at me over the edge of the bed.
“Hey, Mila.”
What time is it? Ethan didn’t specify what time he wanted me to get the kids up, only that they ate around eight, and it’s not quite seven fifteen.
“Sorry I woke you. Did I wake you?” She bounces up and down on her toes.
This kid is like sunshine on crack. I smile at her even though it pains me to be so cheerful this early in the day without a shot of coffee injected straight into my jugular.
Baby babble sounds through a tiny speaker on the bedside table. Ethan must’ve put the baby monitor there this morning before he headed out to work with the horses. Cody isn’t quite two, so of course his dad still has a monitor for him. I feel dumb for not thinking about that sooner.
“Mila, can you do me a favor and keep your brother company for a few minutes while I brush my teeth? I’ll be right out.”
“I can do that!” She leaps into action, a blur of little girl racing out the door.
My laughter turns into a groan as I try to roll out of bed. When I bartend, I usually go to bed around three or four. Sometimes later. So getting up with the cows is not something my body knows how to do. I haven’t gotten up this early since that internship fired me.
A few minutes later, when I get to Cody’s room, his big smile perks me up. These kids are so freaking happy, I don’t know what to do with myself. I grin at him and snuggle his warm body to me.
“Did you sleep well, munchkin?” He nuzzles closer. I close my eyes, loving his sweet baby scent. “Are you hungry?”
His grumbling tummy answers the question, and I hurry to get him changed so I can feed him. It takes a few minutes to wrestle him out of his pajamas, and when I get to his diaper, his smile widens.
