Chapter 17
Chapter seventeen
My eyes blinked open, my vision slowly adjusting to the low light coming in from the edges of the closed blinds. The first thing I saw was Addy’s forehead. The second thing was her nose. And then I felt her finger poking my cheek and smiled at her. “Good morning, ladybug.”
She stopped poking and climbed up to squeeze in next to me. “Imagine if you had a beard and no eyes.”
“Not sure what I’d be more worried about, having a beard or no eyes.”
Her head resting on my shoulder moved up and down, and she hummed under her breath. “Imagine if you had two mouths and three arms.”
“Now that would be great. I could eat all the food and hug you more with my extra arm.”
I squeezed her to me, tickling her side. “What if your hair was made out of rubber, and instead of skin, you were covered with a layer of diamonds?”
Addy giggled. “That’s silly, Momma.”
Elana appeared next to the couch, her hair sticking up on one side and plastered to her face on the other. Her little bunny was clutched tight to her chest, and her eyes were only half open. “Can I have diamonds?”
A knock on the door made her abandon her mission of getting up on the couch, and she rushed to the door. “I want to open it.”
Addy crawled over me, her knee hitting my stomach, the breath escaping me in a rush. “I want to.”
Rolling to the side, I caught my breath and sat up. “Girls, check who it is before you open the door.”
Elana’s hand was already on the door handle, but she didn’t turn it and instead called out, “Who is it?”
“Vance.”
The deep baritone was unmistakable, and Elana and Addy must have thought so too, because they ripped the door open. Orange danced around their legs, his whole body vibrating when he saw it was Vance.
“Good morning.” He kneeled down, and the girls high-fived his outstretched hand before he gave Orange a scratch behind the ears. “I brought breakfast.”
Addy and Elana jumped up and down, talking over each other. “What is it?”
“Is it ice cream?”
Vance held the box out in front of him so they could see inside. “Donuts.”
The girls cheered and Vance stood up, chuckling.
Elana held her arms up, and he scooped her up, settling her on his hip and holding her with one arm, the other hand carrying the box inside.
Orange followed, his excitement now barely contained, his whole body shaking back and forth from the movement of his tail.
Vance’s eyes flicked to me, heating as soon as they wandered over my sleep-rumpled state. I wore an oversized T-shirt and shorts to bed. Not an outfit I’d ever considered to be sexy. But when Vance looked at me like that, it made me feel as if I was only dressed in skimpy lingerie.
He kicked the door closed with his foot, then walked into the kitchen, setting the donuts on the counter and Elana on one of the barstools, his eyes never leaving me.
I tugged on the hem of my T-shirt, still sitting on the couch, not sure if it would be better to stay there or get up. I wanted to get dressed, but that would mean walking to the bathroom in full view of Vance.
Addy took the decision out of my hands when she waved a donut over her head, grinning at me. “Vance has your favorite donut.”
I walked the four steps it took me to get to her and stretched out my hands, making grabby motions. “Come to Momma, my precious.”
Addy handed it over with a giggle since she knew how much I loved salted caramel. I closed my eyes once I’d taken the first bite, savoring the sweet treat.
When I opened my eyes, they clashed with Vance’s, and the expression on his face was hard to interpret. He looked to be partly in pain, partly angry. A quick check of the girls confirmed they hadn’t done anything other than devour their donuts.
Elana’s was a squishy mess, since she’d first licked the outside and was now taking bites out of random spots. Addy was holding hers with a napkin, not wanting to get her fingers dirty, taking dainty little bites.
My cheeks heated under Vance’s unwavering attention. “So, um, what are your plans for the day?”
Great question, Mae.
“I want to show you the house I bought since I need help furnishing it.” He turned to the girls. “What do you two think? Is your mom good at picking out furniture?”
Addy nodded seriously. “She’s the best at it. She chose my bed and then decorated it.” She stopped eating, her face falling. “I miss our house. My bedroom was pink, and Mom put flowers on one of my walls. She even let me paint a unicorn on my bed.”
Elana put her sticky hands on Vance’s shoulder. I had to give him credit for not even flinching at what would most definitely be a stain on his pristine white T-shirt. “She’s good at not mixing stripes and polka dots.”
I chuckled at her since it was something I’d told her a few weeks ago. But leopard-print pants with a pink-and-green polka-dot shirt was simply more than I could look at all day.
Vance nodded, tapping Elana on the nose. “It’s settled, then. Your mom has to help me.”
“I have to get the girls ready first, and I have a shift tonight at seven. But I’m all yours between then.”
“That works for me.” Vance clapped his hands together, then turned to the girls. “How about you get dressed, and I’ll find out from your mom what I can do to help.”
They both nodded, and I took another bite of my donut to make sure I was still alive. The girls never did anything the first time I asked them.
They raced to their room, and Vance came over to where I was still standing in the kitchen. He moved next to me and leaned in to kiss the side of my head, then put his arm around my waist. “Now, what can I do to help?”
Swallowing the last bite of my donut, I turned to look at him. Big mistake.
Being this close to Vance was comfortable.
It was nice, and I wanted to sink into him.
But reality was a bitch who elbowed her way into my blissed-out brain.
“I need to get their bags packed, and Addy has to read some of her books for school before she leaves because they won’t be back for another week.
And I don’t want to make her do all her schoolwork in the last week. ”
“I can do the school stuff if you show me where it is. That way, you can start packing.”
“What?”
Yup, still as eloquent as ever.
“Addy’s schoolwork?”
I pointed at the table that we’d been using as a desk. He leaned past me, and I held my breath. He smelled too good. One whiff of his eau de sex god would tip me over the edge of sanity I was barely clinging to.
But then he had the audacity to hug me to him, once again kissing the side of my head.
Goodbye, sanity.
Thankfully, he stood up before I could do something embarrassing that included climbing onto his lap. Or licking the dimple in his cheek. Or running my hands over his muscles.
God, I need therapy. Next thing you know, I’ll be in front of his hotel room wearing only a raincoat.
Though I didn’t own one, so I’d have to show up in a bathrobe.
Nope, didn’t own one of those either. Towel?
Or the beige coat I bought because it made my complexion glow but then never wore because I looked like a giant dumpling in it?
He sat down on the couch and sorted through the school stuff that was spread haphazardly over the table, half of it hanging off the side. He found the list of readings and math work Addy was supposed to do and organized everything into neat piles.
Since I was still in my pajamas, I searched through the boxes off to the side that had my clothes in them, avoiding looking at him before squeezing myself into the bathroom. It was an acrobatic act to get dressed in the small space, but with Vance in the apartment, it was my only option.
I emerged five minutes later, teeth brushed, face washed, and hair up in a messy ponytail. I wore my usual jeans and T-shirt combo, plus a little bit of mascara and foundation. It was the only makeup I had left. And once I ran out, I’d go without.
We spent the next hour and a bit getting the girls ready. And when Cockalorum showed up early, everyone was ready instead of the last-minute hysterics that usually ensued whenever we went anywhere.
Elana opened the door, waving at her dad, who nodded at her.
“Hello, Elana. Are you ready to go? Tammy is waiting in the car.”
Hank’s eyes fell on Vance, who was still sitting at the table, packing up some of Addy’s school books. “Why is your lawyer here?”
The question, directed at me, was spoken in a clipped voice. I knew that low-pitched tone and pinched forehead.
Rushing to the door to do damage control, I shook my head. “He’s here because I needed help moving the couch.”
Clearly not buying my lame-ass excuse, Hank raised his brows. “You seriously called your lawyer to help you move your couch? You don’t think he has better things to do?”
Ignoring the barb, I picked up the girls’ suitcases and pushed them at him. “There you go.”
I was sure my face was bright red at the anger that had risen inside me at his words. But there was no way I would cause a scene with the kids there. “What time will you drop them off?”
“Why? You planning on going somewhere?”
He sounded as if it was an outlandish idea that I would go anywhere.
“I don’t know yet. It’s a week away. But I want to make sure I’ll be home when you get back.”
“About that. We decided to stay an extra three days. There’s a singer Tammy likes who’s doing a concert while we’re there. I managed to get tickets.”
“What are you doing with the girls while you go to the concert?”
“There are nannies at the place we’re staying. You don’t expect me to spend every minute of every day with them, do you?”
I ground my teeth together instead of forming a tight fist—thumb on the outside the way Thad had shown me—and punching Cockalorum’s stupid smug face.
“Actually, you’ll have to have the girls back on Saturday, according to the custody agreement.” Vance’s heat hit my back. “Unless Mae agrees to any changes.”
“I don’t agree.”