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“I’ve got it, Day. This shit’s heavy, just get in the car.”
I gave him a hard look that made him grin. “I’m more than capable of loading a few bags into a car.”
“You know, you’ve got this sassy streak I never saw comin’. Gotta say, honey, it looks real good on you.”
I blushed at that, my knees suddenly feeling weak, like I might melt right into the ground.
“Well isn’t this just the picture of domestic bliss,” a voice said from behind me, and I didn’t miss the way Laeth’s whole body seemed to lock up and his smile fell as I turned to see who’d spoken.
I recognized the man and woman from the day I’d gone in for my interview with Laeth, but I couldn’t remember their names.
“Jensen, stop,” the woman scolded, backhanding the man in the stomach as she offered me a smile. “Sorry about him. He was dropped on his head a lot as a baby. I’m Shane.” She offered meher hand to shake. “We met the day of your interview. And this is my husband, Jensen.”
“Yes, I remember. It’s nice to see you again.”
“You too.” She looked between Laeth and me, her smile getting bigger, and I felt like I was being left out of something. “I hope your job’s going well.”
“Oh, yes. Of course. It’s great.”
“I bet it is,” Jensen said. The smile he was casting over my shoulder at Laeth was more teasing than anything, and I didn’t think he was trying to cause any trouble, but the energy suddenly pouring off Laeth had gotten decidedly darker.
The muscle in his jaw worked as he clipped, “You about done, asshole?”
“Yes, he is,” Shane answered for him, the look she gave her husband withering and downright chilly. “Just ignore him, Laeth.”
I had a feeling that was going to be easier said than done, for whatever reason.
“We’re just here to grab some stuff for a barbecue we’re having at our place next weekend,” she continued.
“The three of you should swing by,” Jensen threw in.
I was just about to tell him how nice that offer was and that it sounded fun, when Laeth spoke, his voice clipped and angry as he said, “It’s not like that, and you know it. She’s just the nanny. We don’t do family outings, jackass.”
I whipped around to look at him, the heat that had been engulfing my body since that kiss to my temple snuffing out like he’d poured ice water over my head.
If things hadn’t been awkward before with Jensen’s teasing, they certainly were now. The pity and discomfort in their eyes certainly did nothing to help.
My smile felt brittle. “I appreciate the invite,” I said, my voice sounding as small as I felt. “Maybe some other time. But it was really nice seeing you both again.”
With that, I turned and did as Laeth had first suggested and got into the car.
Chapter
Twenty-One
DEVA
“Hello. Earth to Deva.”Lyric’s hand waving in front of my face startled me out of my daydream and back into the present.
Since that first story hour at the library, Lyric and I had started to develop a friendship. I’d taken Cash to every one since that first, traded in my five books for new ones, then I’d stick around her desk and chat with her until the man in the costume upstairs was finished and Cash was ready to go. When she’d texted earlier to ask if I wanted to meet for coffee, I’d jumped at the opportunity to get together somewhere that wasn’t her work.
Aside from Myra, it had been my first invitation to meet with people from my new town, and maybe it was a little pathetic how excited I got at the idea, but I wasn’t ashamed.
In the days since the scene in the grocery store parking lot, I’d done my best to stay out of Laeth’s way, mainly because every time I saw him, I thought back to how he’d referred to me asjust the nannyto his friends, and that pain would come roaring back.
I’d done something incredibly stupid. I’d let myself hope. After everything I’d been through, I should have known better than to hope, to want. God. I’d gotten complacent. After so manyyears of being at rock bottom, I’d finally gotten a taste of what it was like to climb up that hill, and in my excitement, I’d forgotten to guard myself.
After Laeth had so firmly put me in my place, I’d promised myself I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. I made dinner, then retreated back to my room. Over the past few days, he’d tried to engage in conversation, but I’d stuck with as short of answers as possible before finding a reason to walk away.
