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“Say it anyway. Reassure me you’ll make sure she gets to go on the rides she wants.”
Alana crossed her arms. “What about the rides I want to go on?”
“Make sure Dad lets you go on those too.”
She raised her brows. “So if he’s ignoring us, do I have permission to call him a dickhead?”
It was so tempting. “Don’t call your father a dickhead to his face.” That was a reasonable concession. “And you’re welcome to take his phone and pocket it before you get on rides, to make sure he’s focused on Harmony.” How fucked up was it that I trusted my twelve-year-old more than my ex-husband?
Then again, there was a reason he was the ex.
We finished loading up Joe’s car, strapped Harmony into her booster seat, and I gave the girls one more round of hugs before forcing myself to send them on their way.
That was one pair on their way. Now I just had to get the next one settled, and then I was jetting off to Hawaii on my own. I already had the vacation set up, no reason to stay at home and mope. While I was gone, Alana’s swim coaches would be staying here. Their apartment was being fumigated, they were saving every penny they could, to grow their coaching business, and the arrangement made sense.
An exercise in efficiency. It was a beautiful thing. Though I’d still rather be taking the vacation with my daughters.
I loaded up my own things into my car, and was just finishing when Colin parked in front of the house. Tanner wasn’t far behind, taking the second spot in the driveway.
As they climbed out of their vehicles, I knew better than to ogle their well-toned forms. Mostly because I’d had a year or two of practice, and I’d do my staring when they weren’t looking. I always felt weird, in a Mrs. Robinson kind of way, objectifying them.
Not that they were kids, but at thirty, they were still nearly a decade younger than me.
“Morning, Ms. Lane,” Colin called at the same time Tanner said, “Hey, Daria.”
I waved back, never sure which name was more awkward, and nodded at the front door. “Hey guys. Come on in.”
As they walked past me, I most definitely drank in an eyeful. They were both dressed in T-shirts and shorts—reasonable, expected, but always a tempting reminder of what they looked like wearing less.
Colin was about six inches taller than my five-six, with broad shoulders, dark hair, and the most adoring brown eyes. I knew from the many times I’d seen him teaching the kids that he had the perfect amount of fuzz on his chest, and deity levels of patience with the students.
Tanner had been an Olympic swimmer, but a torn rotator cuff stopped him from finishing the year he competed, and the injury never healed to the point where he could rejoin the team. He still kept his body mostly hair free, which…yum. And he had a piercing blue gaze that made most people crack under it.
There were days when I could convince myself the age difference didn’t matter long enough to indulge fantasies about them, but I never managed to forget they were Alana’s favorite teachers. A reality that made it easier to keep them as friends and nothing more.
“All right, grand tour.” I stopped next to them in the living room. “Our bedrooms are upstairs. Stay out of the girls’ rooms unless there’s some sort of disaster.” I wasn’t actually worried about them violating our private spaces, but the checklist was in my head and I was going through it. “You’re welcome to use the shower in my room if you need to. You won’t run out of hot water, using two at the same time.”
I led them into the kitchen. “Help yourself to anything in the fridge and cupboards. Please do, so it doesn’t go bad.” Two steps down and we were in the sunken family room. I gestured to the two rooms that sat off that. “You can sleep in those. There’s another shared shower. Laundry room, weights, and treadmill are downstairs. Help yourself. My office is down there too, and stays locked for client privacy reasons, and not at all becauseyou should never go in there.” I hoped my light sarcasm conveyed the spooky old movie vibe I was going for.
Their laughs said I’d nailed it.
Was the house entirely too big for three people? Yes. But back when my universe revolved around Joe, we had grand visions of this becoming our lifetime home, retiring here, having plenty of room for grandkids…
I’d been so delusional.
“That’s that. You can call me if you need me. Any questions?”
“I think we’re set. Thank you so much, again, for letting us stay here,” Colin said.
“Of course, no problem.” Temptation surged through me, to stick around, chat a little longer. Maybe joke.
I had a flight to catch and if I was lucky, I’d hook up with some hottie on the beach while I was gone. Unlikely he’d be the same kind of company Colin and Tanner were, but I was looking for pretty and a good lay, not late-night conversations under the stars.
“Right. Yeah. Call me.” I shouldered my laptop and grabbed my purse.
My phone rang. I glanced at the screen.Work. Fuck. “Be right back. So I can leave again,” I said to the guys.
I wandered into the front foyer as I clickedAnswer. “This is Daria.”
