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“As in I’m the neighborhood busybody? No.” She vehemently denied the accusations, but knew the type. “Far from that.”
“I’ve never heard of you before today. If you think you were somehow special to Misty or the kids, you weren’t.”
Hurt ran through Bree as tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Misty’s voice carried through her mind as if she’d Googledcontradictionand the number one response was “Ice has a way of finding a person’s weakness to hurt them. It’s a defense he uses because he’s the one afraid of being exposed.”
“And here I thought the only words you and Misty exchanged wereharderandfaster.”
“No, those were the most used, not only,” he said. “I appreciate that you think you’re doing what’s best for Jane and Aiden, but the sooner they accept this is their new castle, the better off they’ll be.”
“You’re not serious? They can’t live in a trailer.”
“I grew up in a trailer,” he countered.
“Really? One like this or was it one with an actual flush toilet and a shower?”
“We got toilets in the Review and in the shop.” He hitched his thumb to the building that blocked his trailer from the glowing neon woman with timing to make it seem as if she were working a pole. “Plus, I’m a guy.”
“With a daughter. You want to turn Aiden feral, fine, but she can’t be copping a squat to pee behind the trailer.”
Ice chewed a bit on his bottom lip, his eyes wandering to the back window of the trailer. The man was all might and fight, and she’d leveled him in five seconds.
“Misty never let me have them longer than a playdate,” he admitted. “I know how to feed them, at one time I could change them one-handed, but you’re right, I live like a man without a home because I have few needs.”
“You said something about an apartment or condo?” she questioned.
“It’s close to the Strip,” he said. “I rent it out through those travel sites, and it’s booked most days.”
“How bad of a hit would it be financially for you to cancel bookings?”
“It’s paid for. Now it’s making me money,” he stated and ran his hand over his shorn short hair. “Problem is, if I cancel bookings without fire, flood, or other natural disaster as an excuse, I’m fucked as a host.”
“Right,” she said. “And why couldn’t they have stayed in my spare room, with central air and running water?”
“Tomorrow I’ll check them into one of the hotels on the Strip.”
“For how long?”
“I’ve got a hookup, in more than one place,” he said.
“They just lost their mom, hours ago. Now beyond their stuffies, they have no home, and you want to shuttle them around between a dozen hotels.” Shaking her head, she took him in fully. “If what you say is true, that John is going to ditch them the moment he sees freedom, then what? What is there for these kids living out of suitcases?”
Her heart ached at the idea these kids may have had a half-there mom, but they had a bed each night and never knew hunger. Ice, in many ways, was a grown-up. He’d bought a place and rented it out to tourists. That sh owed more than forethought; it showed planning and strategizing. He was barely halfway through his twenties and was the manager of a business, though that might be for the perk of testing the women pushing that drive. Then there was how he lived, for the moment. If the place was dry and at least partially clean, he was comfortable. Basic food, shelter, and clothing needs met.
“I thought you were an engineer, not a child psychologist.”
“I’m a human being with the basic understanding of what might be hard and confusing for a child.” She leaned over a bit to nudge him with her shoulder. “I know it’s hard to believe, but I too was once a child.”
“You collected Post-its and highlighters as a kid, didn’t you? Had a little briefcase with a ten-year plan all written up.”
“Highlighters, yes, but it was more graph paper journals and little sticky tabs,” she admitted. “Planners, but I never went past four years.”
“Where are you currently?” he asked, his voice smooth. “At the end or the beginning of a four-year plan?”
“The end, I guess,” she mused. “Time for a new chapter soon. I’ve been here for three years postgrad from Georgia Tech.”
“Mega scholarship winner?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Dean’s list all four years to keep that presidential one active.” She stretched her legs out and pointed her toes. “But in-state tuition is affordable, and I lived at home and commuted. Did my best to avoid student loans and not be a burden on my parents.”
At the mention of her parents, she pulled her phone from the pouch to see over a dozen missed calls at this point, not counting the texts. She should have at least texted her mother. They could talk next week. The clock was striking midnight, which put them at close to three in the morning. Text it was, a quick and simple one she should have sent eight hours ago, when she’d agreed to help with the twins.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“My parents aren’t helicopter ones, until I don’t answer, and I was caught up in everything else and didn’t reply.” Tucking the phone back into her pocket, she couldn’t help the change in mood setting her at ease.
When Ice wasn’t “on,” there was more than haunting eyes and abs to be attracted to, and she wondered if her body was in control or her mind. It had been five hours, maybe, since he’d come to her porch and pinned her to the wall talking about her denying her feelings as if she lusted for perfect strangers. Right now, it wasn’t the Vegas heat keeping her warm. How could it be on a cloudless night, which meant the heat of the day hadn’t been trapped? The warmth was passing between the two of them as if, in this moment, they were finally seeing each other for the first time.
