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“All right, beautiful. Bye.”
I end the call and again try to focus on work, but my mind remains distracted. Every moment we share brings us closer together, and I don’t want it to unravel any time soon.
Amelia’s right, I need to tell Jade before she learns my secret on her own.
Chapter 21
JADE
I feel bad switching my days off at the last minute, but luckily Magdalene seems to understand. In fact, she was nice enough to let me keep my original day off in addition to going to the art exhibit. To make up for all the time I’d be missing, I worked hard earlier in the day to make sure I had dinner taken care of before I left, since that’s one of the major tasks on my to-do list.
Dinner is quick and super easy so I can hurry and get ready for my date. Instead of taking the entire day to cook something elaborate, I decide to stick with the basics and whip up a baked chicken and asparagus dish. The whole day is practically a blur and I don’t want to risk getting too distracted and possibly ruining dinner because my mind is on getting to Asher and spending some much-needed time with him.
“Jade, don’t worry about giving Jacob his bath, I’ll take care of that part tonight. Go ahead and get ready for your date,” says Magdalene. “You’ve been on pins and needles all day and I know you want to start getting dressed.”
“Am I that obvious?” I ask, handing Jacob to her. “Thank you so much for being understanding about my schedule. I’m so excited for tonight because I’ve never been to an art exhibit before and it’s on my bucket list.”
Magdalene smiles and places Jacob on a blanket littered with his favorite toys. Her usually perfectly coiffed hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail, and her face is bare, wiped clean of all make-up. No point in applying make-up to spend the entire day crying it off. I’ve washed her sheets several times already, and I’m having a hell of a time cleaning the smudges of mascara from her pillowcase. I notice the small bags under her eyes and I’m pretty sure she’s worn those same pajamas all day. This is definitely not her norm.
I guess smoothing things over with Heath is taking longer than I thought.
“I love going to art exhibits,” says Magdalene. “Heath and I used to go all the time, but then he got so busy doing other things. We stopped going out and doing anything fun, really. It’s funny how things change so fast. You’ll have to come home and give me all the details of your date to help me relive my glory days.”
Magdalene’s laugh is empty, filled with regretful realization as she contemplates where her relationship with Heath now lies. There’s an uncomfortable silence before I finally respond.
“Of course I will,” I say, moving to the stairs before this conversation gets too awkward. “I’m going to get ready, but please let me know if you need my help with anything.”
Magdalene nods and plops down on the floor next to Jacob. I shake my head at the sad disheveled woman and head upstairs to my room.
I wish Heath could see how badly he’s hurting Magdalene and least be kind enough to cut her some slack.
I try to shake the thoughts of the depressing scene unfolding downstairs and focus on my date. My outfit is already sprawled across the bed, so I walk into the bathroom and start the shower. After taking my time washing away the dirt and grime from the day, I grab the large Egyptian towel from the counter and dry off.
Still wrapped in my towel, I head over to my small make-up vanity and apply a few of my staple items — a light shimmer eyeshadow, heavy mascara and lastly my fire-engine red lipstick.
My dress for the evening is black and form fitting with spaghetti straps. I decide to style my hair in loose waves falling over my shoulders, with a simple black pump. I stand in front of the full-length mirror in my room to admire my handiwork, and I must admit, I look good. Damn good.
I hope Asher likes it too.
I check to see how much time I have left and realize I need to hurry up and get to the lobby, so I grab my purse and my phone and head downstairs.
“Oh my,” says Magdalene. “Look Jacob, look at how pretty your nanny is. Jade, you look amazing. You need to tell that mystery man to take you out more often so you can doll up.”
I blush and smooth my hand over the dress. “Thanks! You don’t think the dress is too tight, do you?”
“Of course not,” says Magdalene. “There’s no such thing as a dress being too tight, especially with a body like yours. Besides, you want to be the one looking at the art, and you want him busy watching you. I think you nailed it, but let’s switch out that purse to something a little more fitting for the evening.”
