CHAPTER 10
BROOKE

As I lay there, staring up at the ceiling of Kevin’s guest room, I felt my heartstrings flutter. He was tugging at them strumming them in a way only he could. But I didn’t like it. I didn't trust him after what he had done to me all those years ago.

Seeing him with his children, though, was a side of him I’d never envisioned back in college. It was beautiful seeing how tender and loving he was with them, how they were the shining apples of his eye. The way he looked at them almost convinced me he had changed, that he was a different man than he was when we first met.

Part of me didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be around him, considering how weak my inhibitions and self-control were around him. But the money he was paying me would be worth the trouble, plus I adored his kids.

Spending time with Kevin was bringing back old memories and it was wearing me down in ways I could never have foreseen. The dinner we all shared the night before over that massive fish with all those vegetables had been the most fun I’d had in years. There were moments where I could’ve sworn he was watching me, looking at me with lust in his eyes. I felt myself heat from the inside, just as I had that night on his porch where I’d lowered my guard enough to let him in.

“Miss Brooke?”

A small knock came at my door as I rolled over and smiled.

“Are you awake?”

“Come on, kids. Let her rest,” Kevin said.

“It’s okay,” I said. “They can come in.”

I heard the door open before two small bodies rushed my bed. Sydney and Daniel clambered up to me, burying their faces into my shoulder. I laid my arms out for them to cuddle in and I pulled them close, almost forgetting that Kevin was there as well, sitting on the edge of the bed with his hand on my thigh.

“I was thinking we could go check out some of the island museums today.”

“Still storming?” I asked.

“They’re calling for storms most of the day, yes,” he said.

“Then museums sound awesome. What do you think, kids?”

“Are you coming?” Sydney asked.

“Please come,” Daniel said.

“Of course I’m coming. I love museums,” I said.

I began to tickle the kids, rolling over and pinning them underneath my body.

Kevin joined in the tickle fight before everyone turned on me. Sydney had my feet and Daniel had my neck, and I could feel Kevin’s fingers dancing along my skin. They were tickling me and making me laugh while filling my gut with a white hot need for him. I wiggled away as quickly as I could and rolled off the bed, taking the kids with me as they crashed onto my body.

We hopped into a cab and rode to the first museum, which was filled with all sorts of science experiments. I walked around with Sydney and Daniel, gawking at all of the turning gears and bubbles and exhibits. It might have been made for children, but I was just as enamored as they were.

Then thirty minutes into the trip, Kevin got a call.

“It’s Owen. Hold on,” he said.

I sighed as I turned toward the kids. I caught them just in time to see their faces fall as their father walked away. I shook my head and walked toward them, ushering them to the laser tag exhibit.

I knew how to get their minds off things.

We stood in line for fifteen minutes before someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Kevin standing there with a look of sorrow on his face.

“We’re running into some issues and I have to get back to a computer.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got the kids. You go,” I said.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“It’s what you’re paying me for. I’m sure. Go and save the day, and I hope everything’s all right.”

“Thanks. Me too. I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

He squatted down and gathered the kids to him, telling them he loved them and that he’d be back soon. I hoped for their sakes that he was right. The kids and I played laser tag three times before their minds were off their father leaving. We walked through the pirate exhibit and watched a small show the workers were putting on. We walked across the street to a history museum where Sydney and Daniel gawked at the dinosaurs and other extinct animals. They were entranced by the tour guide who was answering all of their questions, and it almost made me forget about the fact that Kevin had left us for work.

I checked my phone to see if he had called, but I didn’t have anything.

Not even a message updating me on what was going on.

I should’ve known better than to expect anything else. This was exactly how it was while we were dating. I knew he was better than that for his kids, but I was still disappointed. I looked up from my phone and saw a man staring at me, and I nodded my head before I walked with the kids to the next exhibit.

And strangely enough, I saw the man at that exhibit.

And the two after that. He appeared to be alone, and it gave me a creepy feeling.

“Ma’am?” I asked the tour guide. “Are your tours given in specific orders?”

“Not really. We usually ask where the participants want to start and then go around from there,” the tour guide said.

“Huh. Okay,” I said.

I looked behind me, feeling like I was being watched. But the man I expected to find there wasn’t.

Maybe I was simply being paranoid.

We walked around the history museum for two hours before the kids started talking about getting hungry. I ushered them outside and down the walkway to the sidewalk so I could hail us a cab.

And just as I lifted my hand, I looked across the street, right into the eyes of the man that had been in the museum.

Bells were going off in my head. I shuffled the kids into the first cab that pulled up and quickly rattled off the address to Kevin’s place. I stared out the window at the man as the kids complained about wanting to go out to eat, but I calmed them down by telling them I would make us all massive ice cream sundaes when we got back.

I turned around and watched the man fade into the background. He didn’t seem to be following us, but I was still unnerved. He had been looking straight at me, right into my eyes every time I turned my head. The hairs on my arms began to stand up as an uneasy feeling coursed through my body.

I’d have to talk to Kevin about it once he got some free time.

I had a bad feeling brewing in the pit of my gut.