Animal Attraction (San Francisco Dragons Book 2)

by Kate Willoughby

  “You’re being ridiculous,” Maggie said with a heavy eye roll. “I’m changing the subject.”

  “Fine,” Jade said. “But you know I’m right.”

  Maggie found it difficult to pay attention in her evening class on education technology leadership. Her mind kept wandering. Taylor and Zach were moving in today so she kept imagining them setting up their temporary digs, putting their toothbrushes in the bathroom, their clothes in the closet...and Jade had been right. This did feel like her territory was being overtaken. It wasn’t her house, though, which made her feel even more stupid for feeling displaced.

  After class, she headed to Spencer’s and when she walked in, she could hear laughter. “No fair!” Zach yelled.

  Spencer, Taylor and Zach were playing a board game on the dining room table. Kirby came and greeted her with enthusiasm and she crouched down to give him some loving. “Hello, my precious dog. Did you miss me?” she asked in a low voice.

  The dog just licked her face and wagged his tail.

  “Are you calling me a cheater?” Spencer asked with exaggerated outrage.

  “Yes!” Zach said.

  “You’re going to regret that!” Spencer stood up abruptly and Zach, shrieking at what seemed to be the top of his lungs, started running toward the living room. Roaring, Spencer took off after him.

  Taylor smiled at Maggie. “They do that every time Spencer rolls a high number. Are you hungry? We put some food aside for you. It’s on a plate in the fridge. Roast chicken, steamed veggies and some herbed couscous.”

  “Sounds great,” Maggie said, setting down her purse. “Thanks.”

  Having finished a lap around the living room, Spencer and Zach entered from the opposite side of the kitchen. Spencer had tossed Zach over his shoulder and the boy was laughing hysterically.

  “Hey there, beautiful,” Spencer said, pausing to give her a kiss. “I didn’t see you come in. How was class?”

  Maggie smiled at him. He looked gorgeous, as usual. Jeans and a T-shirt that stretched around his upper arms and chest.

  “Same old, same old,” she said as she pulled out the plate of food. It actually looked pretty good. She popped it in to the microwave.

  “Zach, it’s your turn,” Taylor said.

  “Maggie, you take my place,” Spencer suggested.

  “No, I’m going to eat dinner. You go finish your game,” Maggie said.

  She sat at the breakfast counter and ate while they played and laughed. By the time she’d finished eating, the game was over. Spencer had won and was shamefully lording it over the other two.

  “I didn’t know you liked board games,” Maggie said to him.

  “It’s not my go-to activity, but Zach wanted to play.”

  “Did you like the chicken?” Taylor asked Maggie. “It’s a recipe I saw on TV.”

  “It was delicious,” Maggie admitted.

  “I ate four pieces,” Spencer declared. “Best chicken I’ve had in a long time.”

  Maggie turned to the sink, ostensibly to fill her water glass, but more because she didn’t want Spencer to see her reaction to his statement. Her eyes actually stung. Maggie made chicken for him all the time and he always seemed to like it, but he never raved about it like he had just now.

  As she pulled herself together, Taylor announced it was bedtime.

  “I want Spencer to read me a story,” Zach said.

  “I don’t know how to read,” Spencer said.

  “You do too!” Zach said.

  “What’s the magic word?” Taylor and Spencer said at the same time.

  They looked at each other and smiled.

  “Please!”

  “All right,” Spencer said.

  As they headed upstairs, Maggie dithered about whether to follow, then decided not to. From the moment she’d come in, she’d felt like she’d be intruding.

  Lulu chose that moment to whimper and Maggie went over to her.

  “Hey, sweetheart, are you all right?”

  Kirby came over and licked Lulu’s face and Lulu wagged her tail feebly. Concerned, Maggie put her hand on Lulu’s head, as if feeling for a fever on a child. It was pointless, but she did it anyway.

  Maggie glanced at Lulu’s food bowl and it was empty, but…

  “Kirby, did you eat Lulu’s food?”

  Kirby just looked at her with his tongue lolling out.

  When story time was over, she’d have to ask Spencer if he’d watched Lulu eat or not.

  But half an hour later, Taylor and Spencer still had not emerged. How long did it take to read a bedtime story? She put her dishes in the dishwasher and heard another burst of laughter cascade down the stairwell.

  That did it. She’d had enough.

  She pulled out a pad of paper, intending to scribble a note to Spencer that she’d gone home. At her own apartment, yes, she’d be by herself, but she wouldn’t feel nearly as lonely as she did here. But she stopped mid-note and ended up going into the guest bathroom and calling Jade instead.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Who said something’s wrong?” Maggie asked.

  “You’re at Spencer’s. Today was moving day. Something must be wrong because you wouldn’t be calling me otherwise.”

  Maggie quickly outlined what was going on. “I feel like a third wheel.”

  “You are,” Jade said with her typical forthrightness. “But you have to change that, because she’s the third wheel. You and Spencer are a couple. She’s just the woman who gave birth to his child. That man is in love with you. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Everything he does for you and with you proves it. Trust him and trust his feelings for you. And give him a stellar blow job tonight.”

  32

  Spencer waited for Taylor to come out of Zach’s bedroom. She left the door ajar.

  “If we could leave the hall light on…” she said. “He’s still a little nervous about the dark.”

  “Sure.”

  “I don’t know where his nightlight is. I’ll get a new one tomorrow.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Spencer said. “I don’t care if the hall light is on all night.”

  “Thanks again for putting us up.” She put a hand on his arm. “And for finding me a job and for being…well, so much better than I remember you being.”

  He laughed. “You’re welcome. You’re not as much of a bitch as I remember.”

  “Ha! Thank goodness. It’s funny how grown up you feel at twenty.”

  “Right?” he said as they returned to the ground floor. “You really do feel like you’re an adult, but looking back…” He sighed and shook his head. “I was still such a stupid idiot.”

  “Yes, you were,” Taylor said jokingly. “The Idiot and the Bitch. Sounds like the title of a book.”

  Spencer was only half-listening. The bottom floor of his house had an open design and one sweeping glance told him Maggie wasn’t in the kitchen, dining room or living room.

  “Maggie?” he called.

  She came out of the guest bathroom. “Is Zach all tucked in?” she asked, tucking her phone in her pocket.

  “Yes he is. The little rat kept wanting me to read one more book,” Spencer said.

  “Just say no,” Maggie reminded him. “Set the limits.”

  Taylor glanced at her. “Just say no?”

  Spencer nodded. “After barfing incident, Maggie advised me to learn to say no to Zach, to set limits and stick to them.”

  “That can apply to bedtime stories too,” Maggie said.

  Taylor frowned and Spencer felt uneasy.

  “I don’t see a problem with reading to him,” Taylor said. “Especially when it’s Spencer reading to him. They need to bond.”

  “I’m not saying they shouldn’t bond,” Maggie said, a little irritation in her voice. “I just…never mind.” She took a deep breath and smiled. “I’m going to hit the hay early. Are you coming to bed soon?” she asked Spencer. Then she sauntered over—it couldn’t be called anything other than saun
tering—and caressed his cheek. The look in her eye made him think that they wouldn’t actually be going to sleep anytime soon. Fine with him.

  He opened his mouth, but Taylor said, “I thought we were going to look at apartments online.”

  Oh shit.

  Spencer blinked rapidly, suddenly feeling like he was the rope in a tug of war.

  This was clearly a no-win situation of the worst kind. Either way he was going to piss off a female.

  He had told Taylor he’d look at apartments with her after Zach went to bed and he didn’t like to back out of things, even when it was something trivial like this. She’d never looked for an apartment before, having lived either with her parents or in a dorm, and she’d asked if he could help.

  He must have hesitated too long because Maggie said, “It’s fine if you need to help her. It shouldn’t take long. There are websites that practically do all the work for you.”

  With that, she picked up her messenger bag and went down the hall.

  Spencer gave Taylor a signal that he’d be back in a minute and followed Maggie to the bedroom.

  “Hey, you’re okay with me helping her, right?” he asked.

  She stood for a moment, her back to him, then turned to face him with a sigh. “Yes. It’s fine. I just was hoping we could spend a little time together, just you and me. That’s all.”

  Smiling, he went to her and gathered her up until he had a soft, womanly bundle of Maggie in his arms. “Believe me, I want that too.” He cupped her ass in his hands and squeezed. “But I need you to bear with me. I know it’s not your fault, but Taylor and I have a bridge that has to be rebuilt for Zach’s sake. Like you said, I think there are websites that make it really easy to find apartments so I’ll just get her started and then come back. Sound good?”

  Her reply was a kiss that started out fairly mild but quickly escalated until he was considering going out to Taylor, begging off, then hightailing it back here to Maggie so he could strip her naked and fuck her into a mind-blowing orgasm. But establishing a good relationship with Taylor was so important. Like it or not, they were on Team Zach together for the next thirteen years and he wanted to get off on the right foot with her.

  Even though his cock was raring to go, he broke the kiss. “I’ll be back before you know it,” he promised.

  “And I’ll be here waiting for you. Naked.”

  Maggie woke the next morning reluctant to leave the warmth of Spencer’s body. He’d kept his promise to her, and returned to the bedroom about a half hour later to make thorough love to her. By the time they were finished, all her muscles were lax and languid from sexual satisfaction and she felt well loved. Everything seemed back to normal.

  However, when she entered the kitchen to get breakfast for herself, Taylor was standing at the counter cutting up pancakes for Zach. On the plate already were slices of apple and a small pile of scrambled eggs.

  “Are you hungry?” Taylor asked as she served Zach his breakfast. “I made plenty. Not too much syrup, Zach. Good boy.”

  Maggie did not want to eat the woman’s pancakes. She really didn’t. But she told herself to take the high road. It was only breakfast.

  “Sure, but I don’t have much time,” Maggie said.

  Maggie made herself a cup of coffee with the Keurig while Taylor made her a plate. The pancakes did look pretty fluffy and they were still warm from the oven where Taylor had stored the extras.

  “I didn’t know we had any pancake mix,” Maggie said.

  Taylor shrugged. “I don’t think you do. But you had everything to make some from scratch, so that’s what I did.”

  “Pancakes from scratch?” Spencer said, entering the room. “I hope there’s enough for me.”

  “What are you doing up so early?” Maggie asked, surprised. He usually slept another hour on game days.

  “I smelled something delicious,” he said. “Thought I’d take a chance I wasn’t dreaming.”

  Taylor handed him a plate of pancakes and he smiled his thanks.

  “How come they don’t have to eat apple?” Zach asked.

  “I’ll grab a smoothie at the rink,” Spencer said. “It’ll have all sorts of fruits and vegetables and even a little protein in it.”

  “And I plan on having a salad at lunch,” Maggie said.

  “See, sweetie? Adults know how important it is to have a balanced diet.”

  “Listen to your mom, squirt,” Spencer said. “She’s a wise woman.”

  Maggie flinched inwardly at his casual use of the words wise woman. She’d thought those words belonged to her. Apparently she was wrong.

  “So did you find some apartments online last night?” Maggie asked in as innocent a voice as she could manage. Fact was, she didn’t want them living here one moment longer than they had to. It might be small of her, but there it was.

  “We did, and if you have time later, Spence, I’d love it if you could look at those apartments with me.”

  “Ah, sure. I could probably squeeze in a little time before my nap.”

  Zach giggled.

  “Ah yes, the famous game day nap,” Taylor said, joining them at the table with just a cup of coffee. “I have fond memories of those naps.”

  Maggie glanced at Spencer whose face was turning red.

  Don’t go there, she told herself.

  “You’re too old to take naps,” Zach said.

  “Dude, all hockey players take naps. We play so hard that our bodies get banged up and when you sleep, that’s when your body fixes all the banged up parts. So we need more sleep than most people. Understand?”

  Zach nodded.

  Maggie took one last sip of coffee and stood. “I’ve got to get going.”

  Spencer stood up too. “Are you and Jade coming to the game tonight?”

  “I think so,” she said, heading for the door.

  He caught up to her in the foyer. “Let’s grab a late supper, okay? Just you and me. We’ll get an Uber for Jade after the game.”

  She met his azure gaze and the discontent she’d felt just moments ago faded away. “That sounds perfect.”

  As March turned to April, it seemed as if Spencer spent every waking moment with Zach. Maggie couldn’t blame him. He was trying to make up for lost time, and as joyful as it was to witness them connecting as father and son, Maggie couldn’t help but feel more and more like an interloper. An invisible wall was being built, brick by brick, with her on one side and Taylor, Zach and Spencer on the other.

  It didn’t help that Taylor and Zach were still living in Spencer’s house. The new job with the team took up too much time for Taylor to move out, and yet she was able to watch Netflix with Spencer and Zach, get manicures and pedicures, and institute Family Game Night, which Maggie was invited to participate in. She’d forced herself to play a couple of times, but couldn’t shake that persistent feeling like she was intruding. She ended up studying on those evenings.

  But she refused to reduce the number of nights she spent at Spencer’s. It still felt weird sharing the house with his ex-girlfriend, and every day she hoped that the hunt of an apartment would end soon.

  That aside, she did her best to get along, especially with Zach. He really was pretty adorable and for the foreseeable future, Maggie was going to be a substantial part of his life. At first, he’d tested her boundaries, deliberately disobeying to see what he could get away with, but as a teacher of children only a couple of years older than he was, she knew how to deal with him. It didn’t take him long to realize she said what she meant and meant what she said, which astounded his mother, who often “counted to three” with little result.

  One day, because Taylor was held up at work and Spencer had a team thing he’d forgotten about, Maggie had agreed to watch him while she graded papers. After some initial whining about wanting to watch a movie instead, he eventually settled down with some paper and crayons. But when she glanced over to check on him, she noticed he was holding the crayon like he was piloting a helicopter. This
grip was not uncommon, especially these days when children spent so much more time swiping and tapping than coloring.

  “Hey, Zach. I was wondering if you could help me with something,” she said, taking a seat next to him. “I need a picture of a dog for a lesson I’m teaching tomorrow and it needs to be drawn by a kid.”

  “Okay. I like helping.”

  “What a good boy you are. Can you draw a picture of Kirby for me?”

  He nodded and fisted the black crayon like he had before.

  “Oh, hold on. I need you hold the crayon like this.” She demonstrated.

  Thankfully, he didn’t ask why, only acquiesced when she helped him grip it the right way. “There you go. Perfect!”

  She talked him through drawing Kirby’s body, head and curly tail, correcting his grip when he tried to revert back. Then she asked for him to add a tree to the picture and a sun, which he colored purple. But by the time they were finished, he seemed to have gotten the hang of it, even though he migrated toward the dynamic tripod grip, in which the writing implement rested on the fourth finger instead of the third.

  After she finished her work, they went home where Zach asked if they could draw together more instead of watch something on Taylor’s tablet. Having anticipated this possibility, she produced the box of crayons and paper she’d brought home from school, and Zach drew up a storm. By the time Taylor and Spencer got home, he’d drawn a variety of animals, household objects and, to Spencer’s great amusement, a Zamboni.

  33

  When Zach’s fifth birthday rolled around on April 13, Spencer could barely contain his excitement. It was the first birthday he’d been able to spend with his son. While not exactly bitter about the previous four birthdays he’d not known about—especially the Ground Zero birthday—he found himself feeling guilty as well as excited, a combination of feelings that forced Maggie to rein him in when he shopped for a gift.