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“Rodney is here with the girls. I’ve been snooping to make sure he’s taking care of them.”
Luca pursed his lips. “I don’t like you being near him. He’s dangerous.”
“He doesn’t know I’m doing it.” I pointed to where he was with Rory at the swingset. “This is the most parenting I’ve ever seen him do.”
The dog with Luca let out an ungodly howl and started to pull toward them.
I tried to shush him, but he was insistent. “He’s going to see us over here.”
One howl set off another and soon Beans was singing the song of his people and trying to pull his leash away from Nova.
“Fuck. The dogs are blowing my cover.”
Nova followed an excitable Beans, and Luca rose out of the bushes with his dog friend. With a reluctant sigh, I stood as well.
“Auntie Luna? What are you doing here?” Nova slammed herself against me in a hug while the dogs happily entangled themselves.
“Checking on my best girls.”
She looked skeptical, and I couldn’t quite blame her. “Is this guy your boyfriend?”
Luca’s cheeks flushed. “Nah, we’re just friends. Right, Luna?”
I wasn’t sure why I had expected him to say something else. Maybe an I wish, or a confirmation even though it would’ve been a lie. Why did it bother me that he’d negated her so quickly? That was the whole point of our arrangement anyway. I gave myself a mental shakedown. “Right. Luca and I were in a friend’s wedding together and he always takes Beans for walks for your mom.”
Nova’s eyes widened. “Oh, you’re the dog walker. Mom thinks you’re cute.”
I closed a hand playfully over her mouth. “Nova, that’s rude. You can’t go around telling people your mom thinks they’re cute. What would she say if she knew you were spilling her secrets like that?”
She pouted against my hand and tugged my arm down. “But it’s true. He is cute. For a grown-up.”
“Thanks?” Luca laughed. “Nice to properly meet you, Nova.”
She thrust out her hand for him to shake, looking so adorable as she did so with the most determined expression on her face. Luca accepted the handshake and Nova stared at him with all the scrutiny of a preteen girl scoping someone out to decide if they were actually trustworthy. His gaze cut to me when she didn’t let go. I could only shrug.
“Come meet Rory.” Nova pulled him toward the swing set.
“We don’t want to disturb your time with your dad,” I told her.
Nova rolled her eyes. “Maybe I want you to. We’re only here so he can impress the moms here. If I have to hear ‘oooh, you’re such a good dad!’” she said, complete with air quotes, “I’m gonna scream. What’s so great about pushing Rory on the swings? I’d rather have breakfast. I’m starving.”
Her words sent a bolt of fury through me. “He didn’t feed you yet?”
Nova shook her head. “I had a pack of fruit snacks I found in the cupboard, but they were hard as rocks.”
Luca wrapped an arm around my waist before I could charge at Rodney like a fucking bull. I was ready to strangle that asshole with the chain swing.
“Do you think he’d let us take them for breakfast?” Luca whispered.
“I can hear you,” said Nova. “He wouldn’t even notice if I left. Rory needs to eat too, though. Want me to ask?”
As much as I didn’t want Nova to have to be the messenger, he’d probably take more kindly to the request from her than from me. I hadn’t seen him at all last weekend. He’d sent Nova out the door with Rory in her arms and her bags trailing behind her before he slammed and locked the door. I wasn’t sure how I’d react to him up close. It was easy enough to be brave from a distance, but now I knew what he was capable of.
“Sure thing, kiddo.”
I held my breath, leaning into Luca more than I should have while we waited for Nova to talk to her dad. Rodney shot an icy glare in my direction. He said something to Nova I couldn’t hear and marched right over to me.
“What the fuck are you doing here? And more importantly what is he doing here? I don’t want him around my kids.”
