Chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
“Mom, my toe is itchy,” Addy called out from her bedroom.
I heaved myself out of the couch that had swallowed me when I’d dropped onto it after putting the girls to bed.
Today had been a day of mixed feelings. I’d sold my car and had found a much cheaper and smaller one at the dealership.
I needed the warranty in case anything broke, so I had opted to pay a little more money to get the security I would otherwise not have.
The girls had cried when I picked them up in the new car.
And no matter how much I talked it up, even going so far as naming it (Martha), they wouldn’t calm down.
Then my realtor had called telling me he had an offer on the house.
Unfortunately, it was way below the asking price.
Now I had a decision to make that was giving me a headache.
Sitting down on Addy’s bed, I inspected the toe in question. “Looks normal to me, ladybug.”
She waved her foot around, nearly taking out my eye. “But it’s itchy. I can’t sleep when it’s itchy.”
“We could put lotion on it.”
“Okay.”
After applying lotion to her big toe, she finally lay back down. I climbed up to the top bunk and tucked her in, then kissed her forehead. “Love you, ladybug.”
“Love you too, Momma.”
Elana was passed out on her bed, legs spread every which way.
I placed a kiss on her head, then dragged myself back into the living room, forcing myself not to look at the way the girls’ toys were piled up because we had no place to put them, or how there was only a small gap between the furniture to walk through.
I knew things could be worse. We were all healthy, I still had my girls, and I had great friends.
But as many people had unhelpfully already pointed out, the apartment was the worst place I’d ever lived. We were barely scraping by. If it weren’t for the dinner deliveries, I’d be skipping dinner more days than not. Sometimes it was my only meal.
I fell back onto the couch again, settling into the same spot I’d been in before.
My body ached, and it was sweet relief to get off my feet.
I’d been looking for a second job and had already talked to Malena about it.
She offered to take the girls on the weekends when Cockalorum didn’t want them, which meant I’d have extra income but wouldn’t have to pay for childcare.
That way, I could work Saturday and Sunday nights at Frankie’s, a little dive bar around the corner that had offered me a job.
I would start tomorrow once the girls were gone on their vacation.
I wondered if there was any tequila left from when Malena and Keely came over for one of our margarita nights. A drink sounded great right now.
Turning on the TV, I settled in for some mindless entertainment.
I’d only watched the first ten minutes of Bridgerton when someone knocked on the door.
It was after eight at night. Anyone at my door at that time couldn’t mean anything good.
There were no messages or missed calls on my phone, so it wouldn’t be one of my friends.
I debated ignoring it. In the almost seven weeks we’d now been here, the police had been in the building four times.
But whoever was out there was persistent, knocking again. I prayed it wasn’t the police again.
Gritting my teeth, I rolled out of the cushion, then dragged myself to the door.
Orange was already there, wagging his tail and scratching.
Winston was on top of the kitchen cupboard—the highest point in the apartment—his tail swishing back and forth in agitation.
He looked ready to attack whoever was at the door.
A look through the peephole showed a familiar square jaw and stubble. Blinking to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating, I looked through again. The handsome face was still there.
I unlocked the door and pulled it open, staring at Vance.
“I thought this place was bad during the day, but it seems there’s a whole lot more crazy that comes out at night.”
His gruff voice sounded deeper than usual. Was that even possible? Was I already asleep and this was a dream? Did that mean he was about to take his clothes off?
“What?”
“It’s not safe for you to live here.”
I nodded at Orange, who was dancing around Vance’s legs. “I have a dog.”
Vance patted Orange, then took a step forward, bringing us toe-to-toe. Orange was now frantically licking his hand.
I finally regained my wits. “What are you doing here?”
He gave Orange another scratch behind the ears, his eyes never leaving mine. “Your divorce is final.”
I covered my mouth with my hand, my vision going slightly blurry from the tears filling my eyes. “Are you serious? It’s done?”
He nodded, and the hand that wasn’t busy loving on Orange cupped one of my cheeks. “Let me in, ipo.”
I dazedly stepped to the side. His hand dropped, and my cheek tingled as if he’d left a permanent print on it.
Orange led the way inside, his tail wagging a hundred miles an hour. Vance didn’t hesitate to follow, closing the door behind him as if he was planning to stay.
Leading him into the kitchen, we dodged toys and clothes.
Orange was doing his best to get more pats by bumping into us, pushing us so close that we were forced to stop.
The hairs on my nape stood up from feeling Vance’s eyes on me, and I turned around.
Once Orange realized we were too busy staring at each other, he jumped up on the couch with a huff.
“Do you want something to drink? I have coffee, tea, water, or wine. There might also be a beer or two somewhere that Thad left behind when he was here with Malena to fix my kitchen sink. I was actually about to look for some tequila, so if I find some, that’s on offer too.”
I walked to the fridge but turned around when he didn’t answer.
He’d been closer than I’d anticipated, because the move brought me only a hairbreadth away from him. Swaying at the sudden close proximity, my hands went to brace on his abs, and his arms wound around me to stop me from falling.
My cheeks heated and I tried to step back, but he tightened his hold on me.
How is it that I always feel so safe when I’m with him?
I looked up, my eyes meeting his. Fuck, I’d missed him. “What are you doing?”
“This.”
He bent down—our height difference so much that I barely came up to his shoulder—and sealed his lips to mine. His arms pulled me closer so we were as connected as we could be with our clothes on.
I’d dreamed of kissing him. Had pictured him without a shirt a time or sixty. But the reality was so much better than I could have ever imagined.
His lips were soft and full, and a small sigh escaped when I sank into him.
My mouth opened of its own accord, and his tongue touched mine in a gentle caress.
His hands were trailing up my back and into my hair.
His smell enveloped me, something I’d never get enough of.
His lips were gentle on mine, making my head spin.
When he leaned back, I tilted forward, not ready for this moment to end. Because what if there was never another one?
“We need to talk.”
Cue the dramatic music.
The bucket of ice water that had just hit my head made my eyes snap open. “Do I need a glass filled with something alcoholic for this conversation?”
The corner of his mouth tipped up, and I fought hard not to touch the little dimple in his cheek. Fought and lost, because my finger gently traced it before it disappeared and Vance’s eyes went from amused to molten.
“If you keep touching me, then there will be no talking. And we need to have this conversation.”
I gulped around the knot in my throat and decided this definitely warranted alcohol. I searched my cupboards for the tequila and margarita mix I hoped was still there and got lucky. Holding both up, I wiggled them at Vance. “Margarita?”
“I’m good.”
Okay. So I’ll be drinking by myself. “Do you want to sit down for this? Stand up?”
He tugged on a strand of hair that had fallen into my face. “Let’s sit down.”
Once I’d mixed my margarita and we were both sitting on the couch, Vance in the middle and me perched on the edge right up against the side, Orange on his other side, I scraped together the last of my courage and lifted my gaze to his.
He was already looking at me, his eyes holding a heat that made my insides melt. I prided myself on being good at reading people. Well, except for Cockalorum, but my numerous mistakes in that regard were already well known.
Moving on. Not wasting any more time thinking about it.
“Now that the divorce is final, I’m no longer your lawyer.” He took the glass out of my hand and put it on the table, then took my hands in his.
Okay, I think I like where this is going.
My body locked up tight and my heart squeezed painfully. “Oh. So what does that mean for me? Do I have to find another lawyer?”
A line appeared between his brows. “You don’t need another lawyer. Unless your ex-husband wants to change the custody agreement. But then you can ask Malena to represent you. After I make sure her strategy is sound, of course. But I can’t be the one representing you.”
“I don’t understand.”
He leaned forward, causing me to tighten my grip on his hands. “Mae, do you think I go around kissing all my ex-clients?”
“Ah, no, I guess not?” My voice sounded tinny, and I imagined this was what it was like being underwater while someone talked to you. Where was this going?
“It would be unethical of me to date a client. It’s not technically forbidden, but it wouldn’t look good either.”
“But we’re not dating.”
“We are now.”
I realized I’d been gripping one of his hands and released it, picking up my glass off the table.
My movements were jerky, and I spilled half the drink on my top.
Getting up, I rushed over to the kitchen and grabbed what was left of our paper towels off the counter.
The spray bottle was underneath the sink, hidden behind empty cans of bug spray I needed to get rid of.