Chapter 15
Cooties – a disease that causes your fake husband to avoid you
Chloe
M y alarm goes off and I slap my hand on the nightstand. At least, I try to slap my hand on the nightstand to end the infernal racket, but I meet air instead. What in the world? Where is my alarm clock?
I force my eyes open and glance around the room. I’m not in my bedroom at home. I’m in the guest bedroom at Lucas’s house.
I moved in yesterday after we returned home from our one-night honeymoon where I slept on my side of the bed and Lucas slept on his. There was literally no contact between us.
In fact, when I woke up, Lucas was already dressed and ready to go home. He claimed he couldn’t wait to pick up Natalia whereas I’m beginning to think I have cooties.
My alarm is still blaring. I roll out of bed and march to the dresser where I put my phone last night. I switch off the alarm and notice the time. Seven a.m. I should be still snuggled in my bed. But I offered to help Lucas get Natalia to summer camp this morning. As long as I’m living here, I might as well help.
And now I’m awake and need to pee. I don’t have an attached bathroom and make my way to the family bathroom in the hallway.
Natalia flies out of her bedroom and dashes into the bathroom before I can get there.
“Hey!” I bang on the door. “I need to pee.”
“You snooze, you lose!”
I shuffle from foot to foot as I wait for her to finish but then I hear the shower switch on. Damnit. I can’t wait for her to shower. I contemplate running over to my house but I don’t think I’ll make it.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
I knock on Lucas’s door but don’t wait for him to respond. I slap a hand over my eyes and rush inside.
“I need to pee. Can I use your bathroom?”
I try to walk to the bathroom with my eyes covered and end up stubbing my toe on the bed. I drop my hand to check my toe.
“Are you okay?” Lucas asks and I lift my gaze to discover he’s shirtless. He’s wearing his uniform pants and nothing else. Holy mermaids in the sea! His chest is a work of art. Broad shoulders, more abs than I can count in the morning, and a tribal tattoo covering half of his chest.
“I’m ah….” I babble because my mouth is too busy drooling to figure out how to speak.
He chuckles. “Did you hurt your toe?”
My toe? Oh, yeah. I wiggle it. “It’s not broken.” My bladder reminds me of why I’m in Lucas’s bedroom drooling over him. “Can I use your bathroom? Natalia budged in line.”
I rush into the bathroom and do my business as quick as possible. When I return to the bedroom, it’s empty. As is the family bathroom.
Crap. I’m not much help with the morning routine if I’m standing in the hallway while Lucas and Natalia are downstairs. I throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before rushing to join them.
“I don’t want bran cereal!” Natalia screams. “I’m not an old man.”
“Watch your tone, cupcake.”
“I can whip up some eggs,” I offer.
Natalia feigns gagging. “Eggs are gross.”
“What about some toast?”
“I want my normal cereal.”
Lucas catches my eye over Natalia and mouths sorry. He has nothing to be sorry for. He isn’t responsible for his daughter’s behavior.
“I have a bunch of cereal in my kitchen back home. Do you want me to go get it?”
Lucas growls. “You’re not going to your house because Natalia’s being a brat.”
“I’m not a brat.”
He points to the table. “Then eat your bran cereal.”
I snatch my keys from the peg near the front door. I stare at the pegs for a second. There are nametags for each of them. Dad. Natalia. Chloe. Natalia presented me with the peg when we returned yesterday.
It’s the best present I’ve ever received, which sounds stupid. But all I’ve ever wanted is to belong to a family. A real family.
This isn’t real. This isn’t my family. But I’m going to enjoy it while I can. Starting with getting Natalia her cereal.
I open the door but before I can step outside, Lucas snags my keys out of my hand. “I’ll go. You don’t have any shoes on.”
I roll my eyes. “We live on an island. Shoes are optional.”
He squeezes my shoulder. “Go make yourself a coffee. I’ll be back in a sec.”
“The cereal’s in the pantry off of the dining area,” I holler after him.
“Do you need a lunch for today?” I ask Natalia when I return to the kitchen.
“Oh no. I forgot.”
“It’s okay. I got this. What do you want?” I open the refrigerator and survey its contents. “Ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly.”
“Ham and cheese with mayonnaise.”
I pull out the ingredients and set them on the counter.
Lucas returns with an armful of cereal. “Did you bring the entire pantry?”
He shrugs. “You’re not living there anymore. It’ll go to waste.”
I frown. It wouldn’t go to waste. I’ll be back in my house as soon as Holly realizes she doesn’t have a chance to steal custody of Natalia. How long do custody battles last anyway? I should probably ask someone.
Natalia grabs a box from Lucas. “Thanks, Dad.”
Lucas notices me preparing Natalia’s lunch and hands me a reusable lunch bag to use. I stuff the sandwich in there along with an apple and a mini chocolate bar.
Once Natalia’s lunch is ready, I fix myself a coffee. I’ve barely had a chance to swallow my first sip when Lucas’s phone rings.
As he listens to the conversation, he stands. “We need to go now, kiddo,” he says as he places his bowl in the sink. “I have to be at work early.”
“But I’m not finished eating,” Natalia whines.
“Sorry, cupcake. Duty calls.”
“I can drive her to camp,” I offer.
“You can drive?” Lucas asks.
“Of course, I can drive. It’s awful hard to get all those speeding tickets without driving. I’m fast on my bike but I’m not that fast.”
“Smart alec. I’ve never seen you drive before. You’re always on your bike.”
I shrug. “What’s the sense in driving when I can bike to everywhere in Smuggler’s Rest in less than five minutes?”
“You have a car?”
Does he not remember my car wash performance? So much for getting his attention.
I roll my eyes. “No, I was planning on putting Natalia in the basket on my bike.” He opens his mouth to protest but I giggle. “Yes, I have a car. I wouldn’t have offered to drive her if I didn’t have a car.”
“You need to leave in five minutes to drop her off in time.”
I salute him. “Aye, aye, captain.”
“You haven’t had your breakfast yet.”
“I can actually drive without eating first. It’s a skill I acquired in college when I couldn’t stand another peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast.”
“You went to college?”
I point to the door. “You need to get to work.”
He checks his phone. “Shit. I need to go.” He ruffles Natalia’s hair. “Have fun today.” He kisses my cheek as he passes me. “Thanks for your help this morning.”
“Happy to help.”
I’m not lying. I am happy to help. I’m happy to pretend to be part of this family for a while. I’ll just set my alarm for five minutes earlier tomorrow because I’m not letting a twelve-year-old beat me to the bathroom again.
“Come on, kiddo. Time to go.”
I sip on my coffee as she picks up her bowl and rinses it in the sink before placing it in the dishwasher. Well trained kid. She’s kind of perfect. I wish she was mine.
“Have fun,” I say when we reach the summer camp.
Natalia opens the door but pauses before whirling around to face me. “I want you and Dad to be real.”
My breath catches in my throat. “Real?” I croak out.
“I know you married him to keep my mom from getting custody of me, but I like you and I think my dad likes you. Do you like my dad?”
I nod. “Your dad is a great guy.”
“But do you like him like him?”
“Natalia, sweetie, it’s sweet how you want us to be a real family.” A real family? I never thought I’d have a real family. “But whatever happens between your dad and me is between the two of us.”
Her nose wrinkles. “Okay.”
She jumps out of the car before rushing away. Damn. I hope I didn’t hurt her feelings.
The last thing I want to do is hurt Natalia. But I didn’t lie. My relationship with her dad is private.
I shake my head. What am I thinking? I don’t have a relationship with her dad. Unless you count friendship, which is not what Natalia meant.
Gah. This family stuff is hard.