Chapter Nineteen

 

“I heard you stayed late at Brantley’s house,” Mom said, turning on my coffee machine.

She had, very helpfully, let herself in before I’d gotten home from work. After way too many questions about the state of me, still covered in paint, I’d convinced her to let me shower before she went down her line of questioning.

I really needed that spare key back.

I chewed on the end of a Twizzler. “I can’t imagine who told you that.”

She peered at me over her shoulder. “Marcie. I stopped in to get some pastries.”

“Why didn’t you go the bakery?”

“I did. She was there.”

Well, that was clear. “Right. Well, it’s not true. Sorry to disappoint you.”

She pulled her mug from the machine with a roll of her eyes. “Why does she think that if it isn’t true?”

“Because he’s a little shit who’s about to learn that small town rumors will come back to bite him on his very fine ass,” I huffed, still chewing down the Twizzler.

“So, is there truth to it or not? And how does Marcie know?”

I sighed heavily, putting the candy down. “I had dinner with him last night—as a friend,” I added pointedly. “And I guess the Bay-vine got hold of that information. He got us lunch from the Coastal, Marcie asked, and he elaborated to give everyone something to talk about.”

Mom’s lips twisted to the side. “Is that how you ended up covered in pink paint?”

“Long story short, yes. I wasn’t happy with him.”

“No kidding. You looked like you got in a fight with the paint aisle in the home store. Or Barbie.”

“Definitely Barbie.” I went back to chewing on my Twizzler.

“It was just dinner, then?”

She was fishing. Honestly, she may as well have pulled out a damn fishing rod, attached a Twizzler to the end, and baited me into telling her.

Well, she was the moron who gave me the Twizzlers first. So, ha.

“Just dinner,” I said breezily.

“Kali.” She met my eyes with a look that make me bristle. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“It was just dinner!” I insisted, finishing the candy. I was an animal, eating with my mouth full, but I didn’t care.

“You’re being defensive, and you’re a godawful liar.”

“I’ve heard that a lot this week.”

“Start telling the truth.”

“Can’t.” I paused. “The truth is against company policy.”

Her eyes widened, and she grinned like she’d hit the jackpot. “I promise not to tell your dad.”

Sighing, I took the Twizzler packet and went into the living room. Mom was hot on my heels like a puppy begging for scraps. I threw myself onto the sofa, tugged up my shirt, and yanked another bit of candy from the packet.

“Talk. Now.” She wiggled her fingers at me.

“I don’t wanna,” I mumbled.

“Kali.”

“We kissed. Twice,” I admitted, looking down. “Almost three times, but I attacked him with my paintbrush.”

Mom snorted. “There’s something you don’t hear every day.”

I peered up at her through my lashes. “It doesn’t matter. I told him it can’t happen again.”

“Because it’s against company policy?”

“Exactly. I was part of making that rule with Dad. I mean, I know you guys met when you hired him, but still. He told me nothing happened until after, and him meeting you made him realize how important that rule was.”

She blinked at me. “He told you nothing happened until after he was done working for me?”

“Yes,” I said slowly. “That was the reason we made the rule.”

“Oh boy.” She exhaled slowly and put her mug on the coffee table. “Honey, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but your father and I were fucking like rabbits before he was ever done working for me.”

I froze. I didn’t even fucking breathe. That was way more information than I’d ever wanted to know about them.

I smacked my lips together. “And now I’m going to be sick.”

Mom laughed, tapping her fingers against my knee. “That was a little blunt. My point is, he only added that rule because he realized that one day, you’d run the company, and he didn’t want you mixing business and pleasure.”

I frowned. That changed everything I knew. “But…isn’t that my choice?”

“I think he wanted you to stay on schedule. He…lost some time when we met.”

Holding up my hands, I shook my head. “Nope. Enough on that, thank you.”

Her laughter filled the room. “Point taken, honey. So…Can I ask about Brantley?”

“You’re going to whether I want you to or not.”

“True.” She grinned, picking up her coffee again. “Do you like him?”

“That’s a very high school question. I mean, I’m not scribbling “Mrs. Kali Cooper” in a notebook or anything.”

“Kali Cooper sounds good.”

“So does Kali Hancock,” I retorted. “Stop taking this places it isn’t meant to go, Mom. I’m attracted to him, but I’m also attracted to Tom Hardy. That doesn’t mean I’m going to marry him and have his babies.”

“You and every other woman in the country.” She sipped. “You know what I mean when I ask if you like him.”

“Mom.” I held my hands up. “It’s not…easy. You know exactly how it is to have feelings for someone who already has a family. I’m in the exact same position you were, except my mom’s death wasn’t as raw for me and dad as the twins’ is for Brantley. Two and a half years isn’t that long. Even if I did have strong feelings for him, I couldn’t waltz in there like he belonged to me. His heart belonged to someone else. Enough that they had a family.” I sank back into the sofa. “That isn’t what I want. I don’t want to be second best to a memory.”

“Do you think I’m second best to a memory?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know. I’m asking you a real question, Kali. Is that how you think I feel?”

I met her eyes. They were soft and gentle. They were honest. She really was asking.

“You’re not to me,” I answered after a moment. “Do you feel like you are?”

“I never have, no. She’s your mom, but I am, too. We’re just your moms at different times in your life. Your dad still loves her, but it’s a different love. I accepted that a long time ago. You can’t erase the memory of someone, but that doesn’t mean you have to be second best to them. And anyone who makes you feel that way doesn’t deserve you in the first place.”

I smiled sadly. “Thanks. That makes me feel better. But, still, you’re a stronger person than I am. Does it make me a bad person if I say I don’t know if I want the baggage of someone else’s kids?”

“Not at all. That makes you human.” She finished her coffee and put the mug down. “For the record, I felt the same. Sometimes you don’t get a choice.” She stood and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll see you for dinner, honey.”

I smiled, and just before she left, turned around and said, “Hey, Mom?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m really glad you didn’t get a choice.”

She winked. “Me, too, Kali.”

 

***

 

Lunchtime passed in peace. The crazy started when Eric showed up, armed with floorboards and anything else you could imagine. Together, we cleared Ellie’s room of all my crap and got started. The delay in my schedule meant he was by himself, and that meant I had to get my hands dirty.

We went through the motions. One by one, we laid the boards and nailed them in, cutting them to size where we needed to. After about an hour, it started to take shape.

I was glad we were doing this together, in the end. It took my mind of the monotony of the painting I’d spend the last forever doing, and being with Eric was always fun. His humor made the time pass a little bit quicker.

His constant requests for a date… Not so much.

“Gonna date me yet, Kali?”

I looked at him as I hammered a nail into place with one swift whack. “That’s what I think of your offer.”

“You wound me.” He shot me a lopsided grin.

I rolled my eyes and got back to work.

Half an hour passed before he spoke again, and when he did, it was because Brantley had shown up and poked his head through the door.

“Hey,” he said. “Everything okay?”

I couldn’t help my blush as I looked up and our eyes met. “Fine. We should be done in here soon, then we can get Eli’s done.”

He held my gaze for a moment with a smile, then looked around. “It looks amazing. Ellie’s going to freak out when she gets home.”

“Lord, I hope I’m gone by then,” Eric muttered.

I shot my leg out and kicked him. “Only because you can probably remember the epic tantrums you threw as a kid.”

“I did not throw epic tantrums as a kid!”

“Oh, really?” I slid off my knees to sit properly and look at him. “When we were seven, your mom made you get out of the pool to eat at your birthday party. You tantrummed so hard you almost drowned.”

“She’s lying,” Eric told Brantley. “It’s not true. That was her.”

I kicked him again and grabbed my hammer.

Brantley gave him a tight smile. “Oh, I believe it.”

“Hey!” I pointed my hammer at him. “What does that mean?”

He held his hands up. “The hammer is way more terrifying than the paintbrush.”

I waved it.

He laughed, all the tension from his smile at Eric disappearing. “All right, all right. Put it down. Do you need anything before I work?”

I glanced at Eric. When he shook his head, I did the same. “Thanks, but we’re good. How long until the twins are home?”

He checked his watch. “You’ve got about three hours.”

Eric looked at me. “We’re not gonna get it all done today, Kali.”

Aw, shit.

“Can’t you get one of your guys in? I can’t be anymore off schedule.”

“I can try.”

“Please.” I shot him the sweetest smile and held my hands together. “I’ll pay you extra.”

He paused. “I’ll waive that fee if you go out with me.”

“I’ll pay you extra,” I repeated.

He sighed, putting down his hammer. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“So, you’re good?” Brantley reiterated. His eyes swung from Eric to me, softening in the process.

Hmm.

“We’re good. Thanks.” I smiled, and he returned it, something that seemed completely at odds with the look in his eyes.

He disappeared, and Eric stood up. He stared at the empty doorway for a moment before looking at me.

“Somethin’ going on with you two?” he asked, eyebrows drawn together.

“No,” I answered a little too quickly, turning away to line a nail up to bang in. “Why?”

“Dunno. I get the feeling he doesn’t like me.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re an asshole,” I said cheerily. I hit the nail.

He nudged me with his foot. “Shut up.”

I grinned at him until he’d turned and left the room. Then, I let the smile fall away and sighed.

If Eric, the guy who was about as observant as snow in a landslide, noticed that Brantley and I had… a thing… then I really needed to sort this out.

Soon.

 

***

 

Ellie gasped, clapping her hands against her cheeks, her mouth wide open. “It’s ‘mazin’!”

“It’s…a floor, Ellie,” I said, bringing her back down to Earth. “Just a floor.”

“I know, but I can put my wug on it!”

“Not quite yet. I’m not ready for you to do that.”

“Why not?” She jutted out her bottom lip and put her hands on her hips.

I knelt down so I was at her level. Gently, I tugged her hands from her hips and poked her lower lip, making her giggle instead. “Because I have a list of things to do. I have some shelves to put up, your curtains need to go up, plus I have to build all your furniture and hang pictures. If you put your rug in there now, it’ll get all dusty.”

“Oh.” She tilted her head to the side. “That’s okay, I suppose. Is Eli’s fwoor done, too?”

Eli looked at me expectantly.

“Almost. You wanna see it so far?”

He nodded and took hold of my hand. I led him toward the door, opened it, and let him take a look at his three-quarter-done-floor. If Eric’s employee hadn’t taken an hour to get here, it would have been done. Even with all three of us working on it, we hadn’t quite managed to get it done.

Eric promised to show up at eight-thirty the next day to do it, and I was taking him at his word.

“Wow,” Eli breathed, ever the child of few words.

“You like it?” I asked him, bending down.

He nodded enthusiastically, his default way of answering in the affirmative.

I smiled and ruffled his hair.

“Kids? Dinner’s ready!” Brantley called from downstairs.

Ellie sniffed the air. “I smell pizza!”

That was all it took. Both of them went running down the stairs at a speed that made me cringe and almost tell them to slow down. I shut both their doors with a shake of my head and followed them down—at a normal speed.

I poked my head in the kitchen and waved. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ellie looked at me with horror. “Don’t you want pizza?”

I smiled. “I’m good. It’s time for me to go home now.” And at least I wasn’t covered in paint today.

Brantley set two plates with a big slice each down in front of the twins. “You can stay. There’s plenty.”

I’d heard that before. “And how much, exactly, is plenty?”

“He bought one for you, too!” Ellie shouted.

“Ellie! Hush!”

“No, you didn’t,” I said to him. “He didn’t?” I asked Ellie.

Eyes wide, she nodded slowly, reaching for her juice box.

I glared at Brantley.

“I didn’t buy it for you,” he started. “There was an offer, so I took advantage of it.”

“Oh, am I not worth full price?”

“Don’t even go there.” He shook his head. “I’m not falling for that.”

I smirked.

“So? Stay? Or do you have other plans?” His voice took on an edge I’d never heard before, and my eyebrows twitched together in a frown.

“Other plans? No. I was going to watch Friends re-runs without pants on. I’d hardly call that a plan.”

“Can I watch TV widdout pants, Daddy?” Eli asked.

“You never wear pants.” Ellie rolled her eyes, poking the hot cheese on her pizza.

“Neither do you,” Brantley pointed out. “Are you or are you both not pantsless right now?”

On cue, they both looked down at their legs.

“No pants,” they said at the same time.

“Right. So, this conversation is pointless.”

Imagine that. A pointless conversation with a four-year-old. What a novelty.

“Pweeease had some pizza,” Ellie asked, pulling some of the stringy cheese off the pizza. She placed it on her tongue. “Pwease.”

I glanced at Eli who gave me a shy smile. “Fine. But I’m going home after, and there’s nothing you can say to make me change my mind. You got that?”

They both nodded, sipping juice at the same time.

Seriously. So weird.

Brantley handed me a plate and opened a pepperoni pizza with a grin.

I side-eyed him, gave him back the plate, and grabbed the box.

He laughed.

My stomach flipped.

I was an idiot. Again.