I slipped on my hat and pulled on a flannel over my favorite gray T-shirt, then waited to see if she would knock.
She walked right in.
What was up with this woman and her lack of knocking?
I stood in the kitchenette, feeling more anxious by the second, while I listened to her tentative footsteps across the floor.
“Ready, Dee?” she asked, shy and quiet.
I turned and stared at her. She had never looked so . . . delicious. Skinny little jeans tucked into knee-high brown boots, and a long blue shirt that let just the right amount of her tits make an appearance. Her hair was all wavy, and she had shiny lips and black stuff around her eyes.
I narrowed my eyes and scratched my head through the beanie. “You look amazing.”
“Um, thanks?” Her laugh was infectious, and I joined in.
Then, growing serious, I crossed to her and stood a foot away. “Have you been avoiding me today?”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t sleep on the floor, and you were out cold, so I went to my bed. I didn’t wake up until right before noon, and I had some work to do. You were gone when I came back downstairs.”
So she’d come looking for me, too.
“Just checking.” I extended my arm and dangled the keys to the I-Have-No-Balls Wagon in front of her. “You want to take the Daddy Mobile?”
She scrunched up her nose and nodded.
The ride to the Black Hole was quiet but not as awkward as I’d anticipated. Knowing we were out together, with every intention of going back home together, made the drive more bearable. Had I been riding in the car with her, dressed like that, without knowing where we stood, it would have been excruciating.
As it was, we’d embarked on new territory the night before. And I wanted an encore before the kids got home.
We pulled into the parking garage, and I jumped out to open Gwen’s door in an attempt to be a gentleman. She blushed and thanked me, and we rounded the corner toward the bar.
“Tess!” Gwen shouted. And then I had to shut my mouth because it had fallen open.
The woman was beautiful with an air that said she didn’t give two rats’ ballsacks about it. A guy can smell high-maintenance and snobby a mile away, but this one thought she was ordinary. Like Gwen. Birds of a feather and all that shit.
She lit up as we approached and then opened her arms for a hug. When they released each other, she stepped back and raked her eyes over me and smiled. “You must be Andrew. Gwen wasn’t lying. You’re hobo chic.”
Gwen’s face blushed bright red, and she scanned the ground by her feet.
“Been talking about me?” I asked.
She made a face and started toward the line, but I waved at the doorman and he let us inside without a hassle. The lighting was so dim it was almost impossible to see anything until we got past the thick, black velvet curtains leading into the bar. After that, our entire equilibrium went to hell in a hand basket.
The bar was dedicated to the Black Hole and its ill effects on the human psyche. The floors were just a smidge off center. Some chairs were tall and some were short. The lighting was dim and blue. The ceiling was blacked out with lights that blinked at different times.
I peered into the darkness and just made out the form of my sister leaning over the bar and talking into Xander’s ear.
“Cece’s here.” I pointed her out, and Gwen pushed up on her toes to look.
A wry look crossed her face. “How are you even related?”
I leaned in to her ear and inhaled to take in her scent before warming her with my breath. “She’s been taking Ritalin since she was nine. Stunted her growth. And she dyes her hair.”
Gwen’s eyes grew wide and then clamped shut. “You are just terrible for giving up that information.”
We sidled up to the bar, and I tapped Cece on the shoulder. When she turned to look, I stepped to the side, out of her vision. When she spun the other direction, I grabbed an ice cube from an abandoned glass and dropped it down the back of her silver sparkly halter top.
Cece screamed and jumped off the stool to shake out the cube. Then she turned and glared at me before flicking me on the arm. “You’re an ass.”
A short, stocky blond guy rushed around behind her and patted her on the back while looking me over. “You okay, Cece baby?”
She nodded and rolled her eyes. “My brother is just a third grader in a grown man’s body.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re Andrew.”
“Yeah?” And who the hell was this guy?
“DJ Jimmy. Don’t mess with Cece around here. All of these guys will kick your ass, blood relation or not.” He gave her a peck on the cheek and grinned at Gwen and Tess as he disappeared in the direction of the DJ booth.
Xander called me over with a whistle and a jerk of his head. “First round is on me. But you call a cab if you get too bad off, Drew. Got it?”
I leaned back against the bar to take a look around. I hadn’t been there in years, but it was the same. That made me happy. Very few things stayed the same. The Smurfs. The Simpsons. The Black Hole. That about covered it.
The girls were huddled together, and I took the opportunity to fill Xander in on the SexLympics that had been performed the previous night.
He shook his head as he wiped down the bar. “Just be gentle with her.”
“Nah, she likes it a little rough,” I said and took a swig of my beer.
He stilled and leveled a glare on me. “I’m serious. She doesn’t need somebody dicking around with her just to be a prick. Especially someone who’s only working for her to get his inheritance. She’s better than that. I feel bad about helping you do this, just so you know. If you’d told me who she was, I wouldn’t have.”
“Because she’s Cece’s boss? Why the hell do you even care? It’s not like you know her.”
He turned away and went to take another order.
DJ Jimmy spoke into the microphone to introduce a solo act, and Ian emerged with his old, beat-up guitar. He smiled, adjusted the mic stand, and then began playing the same song from last night. Gwen wrapped her hand around Tess’ arm and squeezed.
Tess turned to Gwen and mouthed, “Yes.”
At least it wasn’t Gwen falling all over him.
DJ Jimmy sauntered over and slipped in between the girls, resting one hand on Cece’s waist and the other around Gwen’s.
He leaned close, talking low enough for just the four of them to hear, and I was itching to punch his mouth. My hat was making my head sweat from the amount of heat escaping my scalp. The beers I’d just thrown down didn’t help either.
Gwen cut a sly look in my direction and quirked an eyebrow. I shrugged and looked away, pretending to be absorbed in Ian’s last few chords onstage.
That seemed to be Jimmy’s cue, and he slipped something small and white to Gwen before he jogged back up to take the microphone. His number. She shoved it into her pocket.
What the hell?
I was pretty sure I could get some numbers to piss her off if I needed to. I just didn’t give a shit. I wasn’t interested in competing with a ponytailed DJ in tight black jeans and a black T-shirt, like that shit was cool or something. He looked like a roadie.
Jimmy started his next set and waved to Cece, Gwen, and Tess, a smarmy smile on his face while he announced that the next song was for his “girls.”
Cece grabbed Gwen and Tess and pulled them onto the stage to dance. All the men in the place seemed to have tunnel vision as they bounced and pressed up against each other. I was going have to knock some teeth in.
I fought an overpowering urge to grab Gwen and Cece and swing them over my shoulders, kicking balls and asses as I dragged them from the building. That was my sister, for God’s sake.
Ian shuffled over to me, a huge grin spread across his face. “I heard I’m being set up with the friend.”
My rage was making me see red edges in my line of vision. I’d finished my third beer and was getting a little p
issed.
Scratch that. Livid.
One of Xander’s waiters shimmied his way up on stage with the girls, and he wrapped his fingers across their throats and angled their heads back to deposit a melon ball shot concoction into their mouths from a strainer while they danced. Gwen choked a little, and the guy got clumsy and spilled the majority of the drink on her shirt.
Her nipples shot out, tenting the fabric of her blouse, and she laughed.
I found no humor in it whatsoever.
The song came to an end, and I glared with narrowed eyes as the girls climbed down and returned to the bar.
“I’m so sticky,” Gwen said into my ear then laughed.
I kept my eyes straight forward on the stage.
She snuggled in against my neck. “What? Why are you grumpy all of a sudden?”
I turned to her, all humor gone from my face. “I’m just not interested in watching you make a fool of yourself.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re a mom. Maybe you should act like one.”
Her face turned crimson, and she held her breath before her hand flew out and slapped me across the face.
I turned back to look at her, rubbing my jaw.
“Don’t act like you know anything about me, Andrew.”
“I know you should have more respect for yourself than to dance around like a desperate college girl when you have two kids at home who call you Mommy.”
Her eyes tightened, and I saw tears well up as she bit her lip to stop from crying. “I’m a grown woman, and I can do whatever the hell I want to.” Her breathing went shallow. “And I’m not their mother, you asshole!”
Chapter 8
Do You Want to Know a Secret
Her words hit the ground in front of me like they were made of lead.
The air was oppressive, and I was having trouble breathing. She was shaking, her fists clenched and her face bright red. My hand was still rubbing my jaw, which appeared to have taken its rightful place on the bar floor.
“I’m their damn godmother,” she said. “So you can go to hell.”
“Godmother.” It was all that would come out of my mouth. Then, “I can’t even believe you would keep that from me.” I dropped my hand to my side and frowned. “You were wrong for that.” Pulling the Hyundai keys out of my pocket, I looked at the small group that had assembled around us. “You all knew?”
My angry gaze landed on Xander, who had his arm wrapped protectively around my sister, and my jaw lowered again.
“Cece? Xander, are you screwing my sister?”
Cece narrowed her eyes and stomped over to me, then pushed against my chest. “Maybe if you weren’t such a selfish prick, you’d have figured it all out by now.”
“I lived with you for two weeks!” I yelled.
She took a step back, and Xander lunged forward to grab her waist.
“And you,” I said to him. “You knew all along about everything? Because nobody bothered to let me know. Even though I’m the one person who should have.” I looked each one of them in the eye. “I’m leaving. Screw all of you.”
Xander reached for my arm, and I pushed him away so hard he almost lost his balance.
“Don’t touch me,” I said. “You’re lucky I don’t rip your fucking head off for pulling this shit on me.”
He crossed his arms. “Since when have you cared?”
I ran my hand over my face, trying to keep it together. “Since now.”
I tossed the Hyundai keys into the air, and they clanked to the bar counter as I barreled through the doors and into the night. Looking left and right, I stumbled to the street, searching for a cab to take me home.
I didn’t even hear her come back. I went straight to my apartment and started throwing all my shit into my suitcase. Once again, I was reminded just how little I had. But this time I also realized I had nowhere to go.
No Cece. No Xander. No parents. No Gwen.
I got into the shower to try to organize my thoughts, but they were flipping through my brain too fast for me to form a cohesive plan. I could stay in a hotel for a few days. I could sleep in a cardboard box on the side of the road. Whatever. I was getting out of there.
How could Gwen have omitted that piece of information? It made so much sense now. She’d told me almost nothing about their family when she hired me.
I heard the shuffle of curtain rings and winced when Gwen pulled the plastic back and cold air hit my ass.
“Seriously, you have got to learn to knock,” I said.
“We need to talk.”
“Now? You want to talk now?” I laughed while I rinsed the remainder of the soap off my body. It had been a fantasy, Gwen and me in the shower. But now all I could see was a liar, and I wanted her out of the apartment so I could leave without incident. “I’m done talking, Gwen. You should have told me sooner. You should have explained what the hell happened to those kids. It’s completely unfair to ask someone to come into the middle of . . . whatever this is . . . and take care of a family that isn’t a real family.”
“We are family!” She crossed her arms over her chest, and her eyes searched my face to see if I was listening.
I wasn’t.
“Let me explain, okay?”
Wrapping the towel around my waist, I stepped out of the tub and brushed by her. “You can talk while I finish packing.”
There was a choked gasp from behind me, and she hurried to my side. “You’re leaving?”
“Did you expect me to stay? You lied to me.” I yanked open the top of my suitcase and grabbed a pair of jeans. After pulling them on, I dropped the towel to the floor and turned to face her. “Talk or leave.”
Her face turned bright red. “You want to know about the kids’ parents? How they died and left me to be the caretaker?”
I reached for my hair, and my hand froze midair. With a solemn nod, I sat on the edge of the bed. “Yes. Yes to all of it.”
“We don’t ever talk about it.”
“Then I can’t help you.”
She sank to the floor, and I maintained my position, fighting the urge to comfort her until she explained herself.
She took a deep breath.
Then another.
“I have to tell you about a few things first so you understand how all of this became what it is.”
“I can keep up.”
“Right. Of course you can. Here’s the rundown. I grew up a few miles from here. My dad was a truck driver, and he died on the road when I was eight. Massive ten-car pileup.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. So it was just me and my mom. She had me when she was right out of high school, and after my dad died, she kind of lost it. She figured out just how little she had without him. No college education. No income. Nothing to call her own, except me.
“She pushed me to be better. Said I needed to be smarter and more independent so I wouldn’t have to depend on anyone. I was shoved into all of these honors classes, and she would drill into my brain that I needed to study and get a good job, I needed to be a career woman and make my own money. Which made me laugh even then, because she remarried less than two years later after meeting Kevin in an AOL chat room or something.”
I tried to block the mental pictures of a small, sad, broken, little eight-year-old Gwen losing her father and then having him replaced so fast. I was beginning to hate Debra. But I put on my stone face and said, “What does this have to do with Bree and Brady’s parents?”
“I’m getting to that,” Gwen said, fidgeting with her hands. “With my new stepdad came new friends. And that’s how I met Bryan Pope. His mom became my mom’s best friend. He was a year older than me, but we were inseparable. He never had a dad, so we bonded over being raised without one. Bryan was kind of my everything. He was like a brother-dad.” She chuckled. “He was the first guy to tell me I was pretty. The first one to say he loved me.” Her eyes lifted to mine. “He was probably the only guy to ever mean it, too. Besides my dad.”
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I swallowed back a protest. There was something seriously wrong with Gwen having been told she was beautiful only by her dad and this Bryan guy.
“By the time I got to high school, Bryan and I were in all of the same classes because of my fast tracking. He walked me to and from school and protected me from bullies. Bryan wanted me to have fun, and he made sure I did. Then, during our junior year, Anna Lawrence moved to town, and Bryan fell in love with her. She was my exact opposite—blond and bubbly, personality for days. Bubble-gum pink-princess Barbie.” She smiled. “I loved her, too. They were my best friends.”
She shook her head as if to clear it. “They got married out of high school, and Anna got pregnant with Bree. It was amazing . . . I’d never seen the kind of love they had as a family. I came home from college on the weekends to help them out. When Bree was born, I was the first to hold her, outside her parents. She stole my heart, and I never got it back.” Her eyes glazed over. “We were all a big happy family. It was perfect.”
I felt a stinging behind my eyes, thinking of my own family. Perfect had been light years from what it had been like, and despite sensing Gwen’s story was about to turn, I still felt the slightest bit envious.
“When Bryan’s mom died, she left him some money, and that’s where this house came from. My mom would help out with Bree when they needed it. And when Brady was born, we all chipped in and helped with both kids. Bryan appointed me godmother. It had gone unspoken before then, but he made it official. Paperwork and all. I promised if anything happened to them, I’d take care of their babies.”
Her voice grew soft, and I held my breath.
“Bryan ended up having to take extra hours at work, and my mom couldn’t help anymore because my stepdad’s health got worse, so they had to find a nanny for the kids. She was young and right out of college.” Gwen lifted her chin and sniffed.
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