10. Penny
PENNY
B y the time we got back to LA and settled into our routine again, one thing was obvious. I was officially sleeping with my boss. My rich, older, off-limits boss.
How was I supposed to help it? It was like that first night together unlocked a whole flood of wanting and needing, craving him every waking moment.
I couldn’t open my eyes in the morning or close them at night without thinking about him.
I wondered if he was thinking about me, or if we would spend any time together that day or night.
I was living in the happy bubble that only existed when I had a big crush on somebody.
Something fun, something that got my heart pounding whenever I heard his footsteps and made it sink whenever he left for the day.
It wasn’t always easy to turn my full attention to Sofia, but I did my best to keep her busy and happy.
The next few weeks after visiting New York were filled with museum trips, park visits, trips to the library, art lessons in the spare bedroom, which Travis had agreed I could set up as a studio.
Maybe using the word lessons was generous, though I was interested in her instinctive understanding of color and form.
“You have a lot of talent,” I told her, and every time I did, she seemed to grow a little taller and stood up straighter, proud of herself.
If that were all I ever managed to do for her, it would be more than enough.
Making sure she was proud of herself and seeing herself as the smart, talented girl she is.
Kids only needed somebody to believe in them so they could believe in themselves.
Cecilia, Travis’ housekeeper, stopped in the kitchen on her way out.
“Goodnight, ladies,” she chirped as she swung a very large purse onto her thin shoulder.
The woman was stronger than she looked. “I’ll be back Thursday.
And Penny, I left the dress with the grass stains soaking in the laundry room sink. ”
“Thanks,” I told her, giving Sofia a knowing look. I’d warned her about sliding on the grass at the park. “See you Thursday.”
“Will Daddy be home for dinner tonight?” Sofia sat on one of the stools in front of the kitchen island, swinging her feet as she colored once she said goodbye to Cecilia.
Like most things she did, she took coloring seriously, choosing exactly the shade of pink she wanted before coloring in a bouquet of roses.
“He sure will,” I announced, turning away from the stove, where I was simmering sauce for lasagna. “He texted to say his last meeting would wrap up soon, so that’s why I got dinner started.”
“Do you like Daddy?”
The question almost made me swallow my tongue, but I quickly reminded myself this was a four-year-old child I was talking to.
She couldn’t mean it the way it came out.
“What do you mean?” I asked, keeping it light and casual.
One of the worst things adults could do was project their thoughts and experiences on something an innocent child said.
“You know. Do you like him like I like you? Are you friends?”
See, you idiot? Chill out. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so guilty and nervous if I wasn’t completely obliterating the line between the personal and the professional every time the man touched me without me stopping him.
The fact was, it had never seriously occurred to me to stop him, not since that first kiss.
“We’re friendly,” I explained, greasing a baking dish. “We get along pretty well. One thing we always agree on is how awesome you are,” I told her, winking when she looked up from her work.
“Do you know my friend, Ava?”
“Of course. You had a playdate with her today.” We had spent the afternoon at the park with the girls playing while I chatted with Ava’s nanny, Claire. She was a nice girl, and it was refreshing to talk to an adult besides Travis.
Sofia kept her gaze fixed on the coloring book, but the crayon in her hand didn’t move. “Ava said her mommy and daddy were fighting a lot yesterday. Her mommy told her daddy she didn’t like him. She said they were yelling a lot.”
“Oh, I’m sorry that happened to her.” Folding my arms on the counter, I lowered my head so we were close to eye level.
This was an incredibly smart kid. Observant.
Sometimes, that could backfire. “It’s tough for mommies and daddies.
They have fights. It’s not that way with me and your daddy.
I work for him. But just like I’m sure Ava’s mommy and daddy still love her even though they’re fighting, we both still love you even if we disagree about something.
You don’t ever have to worry about that, okay? ”
“Okay.” The crayon moved again. “Can we have garlic bread with dinner?”
Kids. They could be a lot more resilient than people gave them credit for. “Sure thing. Just not too much, though. We don’t want garlic breath.” She was giggling by the time I started layering noodles, cheese, and sauce in the pan.
As I worked, my thoughts wandered. I hadn’t exactly been snooping around.
I didn’t need to in order to notice a lack of evidence that there was ever a woman in Travis’ life.
That put a stop to the idea of him being a widower unless he was so crushed by his wife’s passing that he couldn’t stand having reminders of her around the house.
Possible, but probable? I didn’t think so.
The only other logical explanation was that their relationship had ended badly.
Sofia was probably too young at the time to remember much about her mother.
If it bothered her, not knowing the woman, she never let on.
She didn’t ask questions about why her friends had mommies, and she didn’t.
It could’ve been something she and Travis worked out a long time ago.
I didn’t want to dredge up anything by asking about her, but if Sofia mentioned her, I wouldn’t know what to say or how to comfort her.
What woman would be stupid enough to pass up on a man like him?
Then again, what was I saying? Just because he was fantastic in bed and extremely nice to look at didn’t mean he made a good husband or boyfriend.
I had seen another side of him, too, and I couldn’t forget it.
He could be short, dismissive, even ignorant.
He would be home any minute, at least according to the text he’d sent. And there I was, standing at the kitchen counter, making dinner to serve him when he got home. I only now realized that was how I saw it.
And that was dangerous. It was one thing for us to sleep together, but proudly presenting him with a lasagna dinner after a hard day’s work was venturing into something much bigger and more significant than we really shared.
It wouldn’t be the first time I got a little caught up in my feelings sooner than I should.
One of my worst habits was going all-in on a new relationship, falling too fast. I didn’t see the point in wasting time, screwing around, playing games.
Why didn’t he text me back right away? Did he mean it when he said he wanted to go exclusive?
I didn’t have the patience for any of it.
If I liked somebody, I showed them. I made sure they knew because there was no point in assuming I could do it tomorrow when tomorrow might not come for either one of us.
Not that I was trying to be morbid about it or anything.
It was a fact of life which had been drilled into my head.
Once I popped the lasagna into the oven, I took off my apron. “All right, young lady. You know what that means. I think you should go up to your room and wash your hands and face, then get changed into the comfy clothes I put on the bed after we got back from the park. Sound good?”
“Sounds good.” It took her a minute to put her crayons back in the box, then I helped her down from her stool, and she skipped through the kitchen, singing to herself. The Ava situation was already a memory.
The timing could not have been better. I was in the middle of mashing together butter and garlic for the bread when the front door opened.
Usually, Travis would call out to let us know he was home, but not tonight.
There was nothing but his quick footfalls to announce him.
They got louder the closer he came to the kitchen, and I had to remind myself to breathe as I ran my hands over my hair to smooth down any flyaways.
Silly? Sure, but I couldn’t help it. I had a big crush on the hottest, most craveable man I ever met.
A man who smiled wide when he found me waiting in the kitchen. He looked around a little, his eyebrows lifting. “Upstairs,” I whispered.
That was all he needed to hear to make him cross the room in a few long strides and grab my hips, drawing me close.
“I’ve been waiting all day to do this,” he murmured before treating me to a long, deep kiss.
I wrap my arms around his neck, giving into every blush-worthy fantasy I had entertained during the day.
“It smells amazing in here,” he grunted out between kisses, eventually burying his face in my neck and inhaling, causing me to shiver at the feel of his hot breath against my skin.
“You smell better.” The hand gripping my ass squeezed a little tighter, making me softly moan in approval.
It was like the past couple of years without a boyfriend or anything resembling one made me ravenous.
I couldn’t get enough of him, his touch, or the heat he stirred up with every kiss.
I closed my eyes and gave myself over to that heat, letting him back me up against the counter before he lifted me onto it.
I could barely stifle a squeal once he set me down. “What are you doing?” I asked, giggling as he devoured my neck. I was already wet and only getting wetter by the time I closed my legs around his hips and pulled him in.
“What do you think?” he asked, slipping his hands under my T-shirt, one of them cupping my breast. Good sense told me to pump the brakes and remind him who could come skipping in here at any second, but my body had other needs he was addressing.
I couldn’t bring myself to stop him when it was just so damn good being touched like this and being wanted so much that the first thing the man did on entering the house was basically attack me like it was all he could think about all day.
“Oh, fuck,” he grunted out when I wiggled my hips a little, rubbing my pussy against his erection. “Do we have a few minutes to escape to the pantry?” His teeth grazed my earlobe, making me shiver and almost forget what was important.
“She’ll be downstairs any second,” I whispered, though that didn’t stop me from running my fingers through his hair and moaning softly as he massaged me through my bra.
“Later tonight,” he growled out, and it wasn’t a question. It was a command I couldn’t possibly refuse.
“Right after bedtime,” I promised, sliding a hand between us and cupping him. “Save this for me.”
“Fuck, you’re killing me.” He groaned, though something told me he wasn’t upset.
“Okay, okay.” I giggled while his tongue lapped at my throat. “We need to stop. Down, boy,” I added with a laugh.
“You’re gonna tease me like that and shove me away?” There was humor in the question, but stark need ran underneath it. He rolled his hips, thrusting against my palm. “You expect me to wait when you do this to me?”
“Just think how much better it will be later on.” He groaned again like the most miserable man alive, but I cut the sound off with another kiss.
One more.
I needed my fix.
A sudden tapping against the back door made us both jump. My heart was in my throat as I turned and found a complete stranger standing on the back patio, peering into the kitchen. She was tall, regal-looking, beautiful in a chic, belted dress that showed off a slim figure.
And the sight of her made Travis back away from me like I had a contagious disease. “Motherfucker,” he whispered, raking his hands through his tousled hair.
“Who is that?” I asked, my heart pounding at his reaction.
With a soft, almost miserable sigh, he muttered, “My mom.”