“I should probably go ahead and call an Uber.” Reluctantly, I pulled away from her warmth, reaching for my pants that were haphazardly laying on the floor. I extracted my phone from my pocket and quickly flipped to the Uber app, ordering a ride. “Alright. We’ve got about twenty minutes until Charles shows up in his black Lexus.” I tossed my phone back to the floor.
Ella’s eyes sparkled. “I could think of something we could do for twenty minutes.”
“Mmm.” I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into me. “What did you have in mind?”
She began trailing kisses down my neck. “I was thinking we could start—”
Ella was interrupted by the sound of a soft thud echoing through the house, followed by Grace’s voice. “Mom, I’m home. I brought coffee and bagels.”
“Shit,” Ella cursed, throwing the covers off of us. “You’ve got to get dressed. You’ve got to get out of here. She can’t see us like this.”
I almost fell as I scrambled to my feet, pulling my pants on. I threw on my shirt and jacket, not bothering to button either one of them.
“They were out of the blueberry, so I got you a cinnamon raisin,” Grace’s voice continued.
“That’s okay, honey,” Ella called, snatching a fluffy pink robe off of the hook on the back of the door and wrapping it around her. “Set them in the kitchen, and I’ll be right there. I just woke up.” Her voice was shrill and definitely didn’t sound like she’d been asleep moments before.
“How am I going to get past her?” I whispered, shoving my feet into my shoes.
“You’re not,” she replied. “You have to go out the window.”
“What?” I asked louder than I intended, picking up my socks and belt from the floor.
“Shhh,” she hissed, holding out her hands as though she could somehow stop the sound of my voice with her fingers.
“Did you say something, Mom?” Grace’s voice shouted.
“Uhh no.” Ella’s face was flustered. “I just… uh… stubbed my toe.” Ella quickly crossed the room and unlocked the window, prying it open.
My eyes widened. “Oh wow, you weren’t kidding.”
She opened the screen on the window with one push and gestured from me to the outside.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “but Grace can’t find out. We should probably talk about this, but—”
“Do you want cream cheese?” Grace shouted.
I moved to the window and breathed a sigh of relief that it was only about a five-foot drop to the ground.
“Yes, please,” Ella chirped, giving me a sympathetic look. “This was…” She trailed off, grabbing my shirt with both of her hands and tugging me down to kiss me.
I slid my arms around her waist, wanting to savor every last second of this time with her. “I’ll call you later today?”
She smiled and nodded as the sound of footsteps filtered down the hall. A look of panic settled on Ella’s face, and I crouched down until I was sitting on the window frame.
“I’m sorry again,” Ella said.
With that, she gave me a shove, sending me headfirst into a bunch of azaleas.
Seven
Ella
I loweredthe blinds just as Grace pushed open the door with a takeaway coffee cup in her hand. “Everything okay, Mom? I thought I heard voices in here.”
“I just stubbed my toe,” I said nonchalantly, crossing over to her.That whole no boundaries parenting thing is great until you’re trying to sneak your daughter’s boss out the window.
Grace laughed, handing me the cup of coffee. “On the window?”
