Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“So—” Kendall leaned in, keeping her voice low so the other guests wouldn’t overhear. “I’m not sure how you’ll feel about this, but one of the team doctors for the Leatherbacks is single. And I really think you’d hit it off.”
Oh god. I sincerely hoped I’d held back my groan.
Why was everyone so intent on fixing me up? First Zara and now Kendall? We were at her house for Sloan’s baby shower, for crying out loud.
I tucked a curl behind my ear. How the hell was I supposed to respond? Kendall and Emerson had been kind enough to invite me to their weekly yoga sessions, and I’d enjoyed getting to know them. But part of me always felt different from them. Separate.
Not because of anything they’d done. In fact, they were both so warm and welcoming. It was more the fact that I was almost a decade older. I was at a different point in my life. They’d been best friends long before they’d married brothers. And I was an employee of their family.
Perhaps taking my silence as an indication of my interest, Kendall tapped on her phone then showed me the screen. “Isn’t he handsome? He’s also the sweetest guy and helps coach a kids’ soccer team.”
He was cute. And he sounded really nice. But I just…couldn’t.
I could try to blame it on my new job, my busy life, the situation with my parents—though, thankfully Mom had agreed to move Dad to Green Acres. I’d done all the research, and she finally felt comfortable with the decision. Maybe not at peace per se. But at least she’d relented.
And while those were all completely valid reasons for not wanting to date, I was trying to put myself first. I was trying to show my son what it meant to love yourself. And right now, putting myself first meant focusing on myself and my family, on my career, not starting a new relationship.
No matter how difficult it might be to resist Jasper.
“Thanks for thinking of me, but I’m not looking to date right now.” I didn’t want to lead Kendall’s friend on, but I also couldn’t share that I was hung up on her brother-in-law. “I don’t even know where I’d find the time, let alone someone to watch my son.”
Emerson turned to me with a brilliant smile. “You know if you ever need someone to watch Kai, he’s always welcome to come hang at our house. He was so sweet with Ezra.”
“And Leo,” Kendall said.
“Or our place,” Alexis said. “The girls had so much fun with him the other weekend.”
“Thanks. That’s so nice of you,” I said, trying to backpedal. “Both of you. But I couldn’t possibly—”
Alexis smiled. “The offer stands.” And then she walked off to say hi to someone else.
Emerson placed her hand on my arm. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to.”
“She used to be a nanny,” Kendall said. “Nate’s nanny, in fact.”
Emerson rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t Nate’s nanny. I was Brooklyn’s nanny.”
“Semantics.” Astrid popped a carrot slice into her mouth, crunching on it loudly. Even though they were twins, they had very distinct personalities. “Brooklyn’s his daughter. Therefore, you were Nate’s nanny.”
“My point is,” Kendall said, giving them both a look, “she’s trained in CPR and first aid, and kids love her.”
“Thank you.” Emerson blew her a kiss. “And Brooklyn would love to hang out with Kai.”
“I—” I didn’t know what to say. “That’s really kind of you to offer. Thank you.”
“I’ve never been a single parent, but I can imagine it’s tough, based on what Nate’s told me. Take support when you can. It’s freely offered,” Emerson said.
I nodded. These women were so authentic and down-to-earth. I found myself wanting to confide in them. “It is tough. Sometimes, I honestly don’t know whether to be upset or grateful that my ex isn’t more involved.”
Though Craig had certainly been making more of an effort lately.
He’d called every Saturday morning since we’d moved to LA.
And as far as I could tell, he was still planning to come visit later this week.
I sure hoped so because I was relying on him to watch Kai while I went to New York for the charity auction.
“Nate’s ex is a piece of work,” Emerson said. “Thankfully, she signed away her parental rights.”
“I can’t even imagine…” That made me sad for Brooklyn, even though I knew she was so loved by Nate and Emerson and all of their family.
“Unfathomable,” Kendall said, probably thinking of her own son.
“In this case, it was definitely for the best,” Emerson said.
“One hundred percent,” Sloan agreed then turned to me. “And you’ll know when you’re ready to put yourself out there. For now, just enjoy being single.”
I said nothing, instead sipping my drink. Was I enjoying being single? I mean…now that I thought about it, I hadn’t really dated that much. Jasper was the only man I’d been with since Craig.
“Enjoy being single?” Astrid laughed. “The dating world is terrifying. You must have forgotten now that you’re blissfully married to Jackson.”
Sloan laughed. “Oh. I haven’t forgotten. I think I’m scarred for life by the thumb-sucker.”
“Oh god.” I shuddered.
“Wait.” Emerson placed her hand on Sloan’s arm. “What do you mean, thumb-sucker?”
Sloan and I looked at each other and tried not to laugh. Finally, she said, “So I’d gone on a few dates with this guy, and I was going to spend the night at his place. When we went to go to sleep, well…” Her cheeks pinkened. “He rolled up in the fetal position and put his thumb in his mouth.”
“Oh my god,” Astrid said at the same time Emerson exclaimed, “He did not!”
“Oh, he definitely did,” Sloan said.
“What did you do?” Kendall asked, looking as if she was struggling to contain her laughter. Or maybe her horror.
“I said that I’d forgotten I had an early meeting, and I got out of there as fast as I could.”
We all started laughing. When Sloan’s laughter cut off, her face suddenly serious, I frowned. She stood, and everyone fell silent.
Oh shit.
Everyone seemed to realize at the same time that her water had broken. And then all hell broke loose.
Zara’s eyes were wide as I recounted the story of Sloan going into labor. “I can’t believe Sloan’s water broke at her own baby shower.”
I adjusted my robe, tightening the belt on it. “I know. It was crazy, but everyone sprang into action. And luckily, her family got to meet the baby before we left for New York.”
“Boy or girl?” Zara asked.
We’d spoken briefly a few times over the past month, but this was the first time we’d gotten to video chat for an extended time in a while.
I was in my room at the Huxley Grand New York getting ready for the Huxley Family Foundation gala, and she was relaxing on her couch. I’d missed hanging out with her.
“Girl. Evie. Evelyn was Sloan’s mother’s middle name.” I’d gone to visit them the day after Evie was born, and she was darling. Mom and baby had been doing well, and Jackson looked absolutely besotted.
“Oh, I know that look.” Zara pointed at my face on the screen. “Does someone have baby fever?”
“What?” I pulled a face. “No.”
“You sure about that?”
“I can admire a cute baby without wanting another one of my own.”
“If you say so.” She didn’t sound convinced.
I laughed at the absurdity of it. “As if I don’t already have enough on my plate.”
“True,” she said. “How’s your dad settling into his new place?”
“It sounds like it’s going well.” I’d spoken with the staff at Green Acres several times. “I think my mom is the one who’s struggling the most with the transition.” I grabbed my makeup palette and started applying my eye shadow.
“That’s understandable. How’s Kai? What’s he up to this weekend?”
“He and Craig are dog-sitting for Jasper.”
Her eyes widened, and she sat up. “Um. Excuse me. What?”
“Jasper adopted a puppy a while back, and Kai is obsessed with her.”
Zara stared at me, mouth agog. “I don’t know what’s more surprising. The fact that Craig actually followed through on his visit. Or the idea that your ex-husband is dog-sitting for your boss slash ex-lover.” She leaned forward. “He is still your ex-lover, right?”
“Craig?” I laughed, intentionally misinterpreting her question. “Of course.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Jasper. I thought you were trying to avoid him. How the hell did you end up dog-sitting for him?”
“I’m not. Kai is.” I bit back a grin.
And I couldn’t be more grateful to Jasper for suggesting it. Kai often got anxious when I traveled, and I knew Jasper’s dog, Rosie, would be both a good companion and a good distraction.
“And Craig was okay with that? And Jasper and Kai…” She furrowed her brow. “…have spent time together?”
“Craig only knows that Jasper is my boss. They’ve never met. And Kai hung out with Jasper after he asked me to select some artwork for his penthouse. I guess I forgot to tell you that.”
“Forgot?” she scoffed. “Um, yeah, you definitely neglected to mention that. How did that come about?”
I gave her a condensed version of the story. By the end, she was grinning. “Ooh, babes. An unlimited art budget and the freedom to choose whatever you wanted?”
I laughed. “It was amazing.”
“It or him?” she asked.
“It,” I said in a firm tone. “As in the art shopping. That’s all.”
“Mm-hmm.” I sensed that she was holding back a laugh. I pretended to be too busy applying makeup to notice.
“We agreed to focus on work,” I said, hating how defensive I sounded. “And we’ve both adhered to that.”
“Mm.” She didn’t sound convinced. She leaned forward, squinting at the screen. “Is that your dress?”
I gestured over my shoulder to where the gown was hanging. “Yeah. I have to get going soon, but do you want to see it on?”
“Um, yes. Is that even a question?”
“Be right back.”
I grabbed the dress and stepped out of the frame, donning it before staring at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t even sure I recognized myself.