Chapter Fifty-Seven
Jane splashed her feet in the pool. Teddy splashed on the top step, making waves for his toy boats. The sun reached high overhead. They’d needed the free time to decompress after the insanity of the Thane family meeting.
Teddy raced a speedboat toward her legs and then back to his plastic fleet floating along the top step. “Hey, Janie?”
She smiled, putting far too much effort into the acknowledgment. Yes, she was overcompensating, but the kid needed an overdose of love. “Yes, honey?”
“You finished malting.”
Her eyebrow arched. “What does that mean?”
“Snakes malt,” he explained, then jumped into the water. His little body made a big splash. Then he kicked and paddled to her spot on the ledge. “You stopped malting.”
“Ah.” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Molting. With an O.” Jane held out her legs then examined her arms. She had already noticed the changes, trying not to obsess over them with topical lotions, aloe vera, and vitamin E oil.
But while her flakiness was gone, sections of her skin were still discolored.
A dermatologist explained that in some sections, the change in pigmentation and scarring would be permanent. “I’ve finished molting.”
“Do you feel good in your new skin?”
Man, that was a deep question.
“It looks nice,” he continued. “Same as your last layer of skin.”
Out of the mouths of babes. “Yes, baby. I feel good in my skin.” She smiled, somewhat surprised at herself.
“I feel comfortable in my skin.” Her smile deepened.
Had Chance been the reason she’d been more accepting?
Jane rolled her lips together and realized he wasn’t the root cause.
It certainly didn’t hurt that the sexiest man on Earth couldn’t keep his hands off of her.
But this body of hers had been through a lot.
Physically. Mentally. And here she was, smiling and happy.
Jane wasn’t a fool. Finding comfort in her body wasn’t easy. She’d had recent shaky moments, but more often, she’d had given herself permission to be human. Fragile acceptance. But she had to start somewhere.
“I don’t feel comfortable in my skin when I get out of the pool.” Teddy held up his pruning fingers. “My fingers are swiggly. Then I dry off, and I feel like I’ve been stretched.”
Jane tipped her head back and laughed. He pulled himself out of the water, kicking water over her legs until he sat on the ledge, side by side. Dripping, he leaned against her side. They kicked the water together.
Her stomach rumbled. They couldn’t stay outside forever. “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah.”
“Me too. Besides, if we spend any more time in the pool right now, you might really turn into a prune.” She stood and retrieved their towels. He giggled and squirmed as she toweled him off, then he raced toward the deck stairs.
Jane gathered her bag and followed, knowing they were about to run into trouble the moment Teddy faltered at the top step. She climbed the remaining stairs and saw Gigi was lounging in the sun, engrossed in a magazine.
She and Teddy could creep down the stairs and enter the house a different way, but then their avoidance would be obvious. Plus, Jane didn’t want to reinforce Teddy’s avoidance of his mother.
“Go on,” Jane whispered. “It’s okay.”
The little boy kept his eyes down and ignored the woman lounging on the patio in a tiny red bikini, reading behind massive dark sunglasses. They quietly walked toward the sliding glass door. If Gigi noticed them, she ignored the interruption.
Jane pulled the door open. It squeaked. She was sure it’d never made a sound before, and she cringed.
As if on cue, Gigi called, “Jane?”
Her skin crawled as her name drawled out. Teddy froze like a deer in headlights. Jane twisted, not moving away from the boy or the door. “Yes?”
Gigi nonchalantly flipped a page and then another as though testing how long they would wait for her to speak. “Lark mentioned that you have a little infatuation over Chance Evans.”
Irritation prickled under Jane’s skin. She tried to hide it and kissed Teddy on top of his head, ushering him through the open door. “Go to the kitchen, and I’ll meet you in a few.”
He scurried off, grateful for a reason to leave and certain that meant he’d get to eat whatever he asked for. Jane slid the door shut, took a calming breath, and approached her boss. “Actually.” She cleared her throat. “I wanted to talk to you about him.”
“I bet,” Gigi cracked, never raising her eyes from the magazine. “He’s very attractive. Men with physical traits like his are few and far between.”
“He’s—”
“Quite the specimen,” Gigi finished for her then folded her magazine into her lap, finally glancing toward Jane. “A man like Chance can’t be caged.”
Already uncomfortable with Gigi’s description of Chance, Jane faltered, having never thought of relationships like cages before.
“They’re primal beasts,” Gigi continued. “They have needs and desires that can’t be met under normal circumstances.” She paused pointedly. “Not from ordinary, Plain Jane women.”
Jane clamped molars together, not willing to jump at the bait.
“However.” Gigi pulled her sunglasses to the tip of her nose and eyed Jane coldly.
“Men like him will alleviate their urges with substandard stand-ins until someone more appropriate comes along.” She left off the predictable like me and pushed her sunglasses up again.
“I do like spending time with him. He has an ass you just want to bite.”
Her lips flattened. From territorial to down-right bitchy, a million responses flooded her mind. But that was what Gigi wanted. Jane wouldn’t stoop to her level. Her teeth ground, but she managed, “If that’s all. I’ll go find Teddy.”
Gigi held up a hand. “Not before I’m sure you understand my point.”
Her point? She was gorgeous. He was gorgeous.
They should have gorgeous people sex. A few weeks ago, Jane might have crumbled under self-doubt.
But now she didn’t disguise her revulsion.
The only thing she had to be concerned with was keeping her job for Teddy’s sake.
She twisted her fingers in the wet towel.
“You want to bite someone who works for you?”
Contempt curled across Gigi’s bright pink smile. “My, my, Jane. You have such a little crush.” She picked up a magazine, snickering. “How very perfect.”
Anger pound in her ears. The longer her boss tittered, the tighter Jane’s chest became. “Gigi.”
Rolling her head, she sighed heavily in response.
“Just because I work for you—” Her ears rang. Words jumbled together, and her dry throat ached. “I care for your son. I give him everything I have. Don’t take advantage of that to be cruel.” Tears burned her eyes. “I don’t deserve it.” She swallowed hard. “And, Chance—”
Gigi smirked, callously amused. “Chance, what?”
“Beauty is only skin deep.” Jane seethed. “Whatever you think you see, you’re missing out on everything that makes him amazing.”
Gigi pressed her hand to her chest and giggled. Her laughter swelled, and she covered her mouth, hysterical. “The ugly duckling has a big crush!” She tossed her magazine and doubled over with laughter. “How fantastically cliché.”
Tears spilled over Jane’s cheeks. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. He’s my…” She swatted the tears away, furious but suddenly aware she and Chance hadn’t had a relationship-defining conversation.
Gigi stopped laughing but didn’t hide her caustic delight. “Your what?”
Her hands trembled. “Boyfriend.”
Gigi pressed her hands to her chest again and folded, cruelly laughing.
Furious and humiliated, Jane rushed inside. White-hot tears burned down her cheeks. She hid her face and ran to the closest bathroom. Behind the safety of the locked door, she dropped to the floor, wrapped her arms around her knees, and wept.
She cried until depleted. Her swollen eyes hurt, and her head pounded. Exhaustion made her weak. Jane dropped her head back against the wall and concentrated on her breathing.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Jane?”
She cringed at Lark’s voice.
“Jane, honey? Gigi’s worried about you.”
She snorted. “I’m fine.” The growing absurdity made it hard for Jane to do anything more than shake her head. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Jane waited until she was certain Lark had grown bored and left, then she stood to face herself in the mirror. The hours spent poolside didn’t help her tear-stained appearance. She leaned closer and studied the reflection.
With pinprick accuracy, she knew every spot that had changed as she’d grown older and after her time in Syria.
She saw the tiny indentation just off center of the middle of her forehead.
That spot had been with her since her freshman year in high school.
The hellacious pimple that wouldn’t go away.
Mostly because she picked at it. The remaining mark was near impossible to see.
Yet, she always saw it—and, for most of her life, she’d considered it one flaw of many.
Chance didn’t care about that stupid spot.
Truthfully… She didn’t care either. Not anymore. But not because of him.
Jane leaned back from the mirror, knowing she’d still always see that spot. Though maybe not as a shortcoming.
“Jane, are you still in there?” Lark called.
She had to laugh. “Yeah, Lark. Bad breakfast burrito.”
“Ew, gross. Go to your cottage if that’s the case.”
Her grin reached her eyes. Jane liked the way they smiled with her mouth. “I’ll keep that in mind next time. Thanks.”
This time, Jane heard Lark leave, with disgusted stomps and a trail of muttering comments.
She sighed, unexpectedly at peace with herself. “I see you.” She meant to point at the tiny scar on her forehead, but it felt like more. Her hand fell away. “And I like what I see.” A little voice in her head cheered. “I have to get out of this place.”
Her chin dropped. Jane didn’t know what to do.
She couldn’t leave Teddy alone in a toxic home.
Somberly, she slung the pool towels over a hook and stepped out of the bathroom.
There had to be a way to protect the little boy and get out of this job.
Maybe Aunt Courtney was the answer? Chance could help her brainstorm.
With her head held high, Jane headed toward the kitchen, vowing not to react if she saw Gigi or Lark. Or, hell, Dax, too.
She found Teddy seated on a barstool chair at the kitchen island, watching videos on an iPad under the watchful eye of a housekeeper that Jane considered an ally.
The woman opened her mouth to greet Jane but stopped short, forehead furrowing. “Are you okay?”
Unable to trust her voice, she lifted a shoulder.
“Your friend,” The housekeeper dropped her voice. “The bodyguard. He and another were in the security office.” She flicked her hand to shoo Jane. “I have the boy. Go. Take a moment.”
Jane nodded on her gratitude and took off to find Chance.