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Valentine mimed flicking back his hair. “Not in the past hour.”
“Well, you are.”
“Just eat,” he ordered.
So I did. The first slice barely registered, my hunger overtaking everything but the consumption of much needed calories. Pizza had never tasted so good.
When I was done, I pointed at Valentine. “I like you.”
“I like ye, too. I wish I’d bought more.”
“Oh my God, was that for sharing?”
“No. I meant watching ye eat was somehow so hot that I want it repeated.”
I laughed, settling back against the second couch. My phone dinged, and I grabbed it, but it was only Molly saying the kids were asleep and nothing had happened.
When I lifted my gaze, Valentine was still watching me. “Want to share whatever had ye panicked today? All I heard from Daisy was that ye had an emergency.”
I owed my boss a better explanation than the hasty, panicked ones I’d given throughout the day, but in a rush, I was sick of keeping secrets. It wasn’t comfortable, and if I planned to bring my daughter here, a child who loved to chat, our story would be partially out anyway.
Hugging my knees, I pieced through what was safe to share. “The drama relates to the baby daddy I told you about.”
“Mr dead guy, uh-huh, I remember.”
“Tobi and I were living with his family.”
“His parents?”
“No. His wife and sons.”
Valentine gawked, his shock comical. “He was married? How old are his kids?”
“Grown up. The oldest is twenty-four, so a year younger than me, and the other twenty.”
“Fuck, so he cheated.”
“Yup. I worked for his company in one of their offices, and he would come by once a month or so, always with nice compliments for all the women. He had a reputation as a silverfox and a charmer, but mostly everyone liked him. Then there was a party to celebrate a major contract being won.”
“He plied ye with drink and one thing led to another?”
My breath caught. Valentine was so close to the truth, but that information was a step too far.
“Something like that. I got pregnant unexpectedly, and when I told him, he was strangely happy about it. He set me up with child maintenance payments, even visiting Tobi a couple of times while I was on maternity leave.”
“But ye weren’t a couple.”
I shuddered. “Not at all.”
“Did he tell ye about his other family?”
“Nope. That was a big shock. I only found out after he died.”
Valentine’s jaw dropped again. My story wasn’t a fun one—at least living it hadn’t been—but getting the big reactions from my roommate was becoming enjoyable.
Valentine’s expressions were making me want to share.
“Who told ye?” he asked.
