I refuse to ever give in to those thoughts or feelings. This was a mistake I’ll have to live with until my dying day. Not even Easton or his church can absolve me from wicked thing I’ve done.
It ends now.
Emma
I’d heard him.
Did he hear me?
“Aww, June really likes you.”
I jerk my brain back to the present and meet Ava Blakely’s warm stare. “She’s a cutie. Aren’t you?”
June hands me another Barbie doll. I place it next to the five others she’s already given me.
“I don’t need to ask Quinn,” Ava says with a grin. “You’re hired. The others I interviewed all lacked something I couldn’t put my finger on. Whatever it is, you got it. Even little June knows that.”
My heart leaps in my chest. When I’d shown up at Ava’s house a half hour ago after school, I’d been intimidated. Their house is massive and stunning. They live on the fancy side of town. Everything in their house has a place. Despite having several little kids, there are nomesses.
“Thank you,” I say, smiling back at my new boss. “I’m pretty flexible like I said before. Aside from school and track, I can be here whenever you need me. Holidays and weekends too.”
“And we’re certainly going to take you up on that.” Her phone buzzes and she looks down at it. “Can you watch her a second? My husband is with the boys getting haircuts and he said I need to call him ASAP.”
She hurries out of the room, her voice turning concerned as she calls him. I chat with June, even though she’s a toddler and doesn’t know many words, but my mind keeps drifting to this morning.
After our run, I was buzzing with need for Reid. So much so, I’d rubbed at my clit while I showered. I tried to hold in my orgasm, but I know I made sounds. When I shut off the water, the house was so quiet. I swear I heard him breathing outside the bathroom door.
What does he think about me?
Is he disgusted by me?
I’d been fretting over having to face him on the way to school, but then Brayden showed up saying his dad asked him to run me up there.
Oh God.
What if Reid knows what I was up to?
I’d be embarrassed and want to avoid me too. I can’t believe I did that. Ugh.
June brings me more of her toys. Apparently, thishas turned into a game for us. I line each thing up beside the next on the couch beside me. Maybe this job is exactly what I need to get my mind off my mom’s boyfriend.
My phone buzzes from my purse in my lap.
Mom: I can pick you up after your interview. I’m down the street cleaning but am almost done.
Guilt surges through me.
Me: I’m almost finished up here. See you soon.
Ava returns as I tuck my phone away. She’s shaking her head, a silly grin on her lips. “Sorry about that. He made it sound like it was an emergency.”
She holds her phone so that I can see a picture of her boys. They have matching bowl cuts and toothless grins. The haircuts are awful. The man also in the picture is older, extremely handsome, and scowling.
“They’re cute,” I say, because they are.
Ava giggles. “Quinn is not happy.”
“That’s your husband? He’s…” I trail off, feeling embarrassed. “Um, sorry. I thought you were close to my age.”
