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“Yep,” Libby says, “not aternal.”
“Fraternal,” I correct her. “I was telling Libby about the difference because she has twins in her preschool class who don’t look alike.”
“Matthew and Meghan.”
“Right,” he says absently, still studying the picture. “That must have been different. I’d imagine it’s a very unique way to grow up.”
“I mean, I don’t know anything else, but I suppose it seems strange to other people. Me and Sienna are definitely connected in a way that’s more intense than traditional siblings…Like two halves of one whole. It’s got some drawbacks I guess, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
He hands the phone back to me with a soft smile and his fingers innocently brush mine. I feel ridiculous, and look away to hide the blush creeping up my neck and across my cheeks.
If this man only knew the role he’s been playing in my nightly bedtime routine. Thank God my roommate now spends most nights at her girlfriend’s off-campus apartment. Her absence gives me the freedom to do as I please. And apparently, thinking about Leo Hale touching me is very, very pleasing.
I have to get out of here.
I reach for Olivia’s plate but he puts his hand on my forearm, branding me yet again. “No way, Sky. You two cooked so I clean.”
I like it when he says my name. Maybe a little too much. I can already see tonight’s scene taking shape in my head. He’ll be wrapping that same hand around my hair, pulling it back and over so that he can breathe my name into the skin of my neck as his free hand roams over my breasts, down to my hips and then lower still.
Ok, now it feels like it’s topping one hundred degrees in here. He’s too close, and I’m not known for my poker face. If he really studied my expression at the moment I’m sure he’d be able to read my mind and then the gig would be up. I’m suddenly finding it hard to keeps my breaths even and calm.
I fetch my coat as he starts to clear the table, then walk back over to hug Olivia so I can make my escape.
“See you tomorrow, Sky-Sky,” she says, hugging me back with an extra tight squeeze.
“No, Libs, remember? Tomorrow is Thursday. I have school all day and then dance practice.”
“Aw,” she whines. And I have to admit that I kind of love the fact that she misses me.
“I’m picking you up after school on Friday, so I’ll see you soon.”
I give her a peck on the cheek and then peep out a quick,Bye, Leo, as I turn to go. But something catches my eye. He’s about to rinse the dishes before loading them into the dishwasher so he’s pushed the sleeves of his thermal shirt up past his elbows.
One arm is a blank canvas while the other is covered from the wrist up. It’s an eye-catching design, like a mash up between DaVinci’s anatomy sketches and a futuristic cyborg. Cogs, pulleys and steel rods intertwined with sinewy muscle, like the skin has been pulled back to reveal the mechanics of his limbs. The artwork is intricate and beautiful. Makes me think of something broken that was fixed.
I suck in a breath when it hits me.
I know those arms, and Iknowthose hands.
Chapter Seventeen
Leo
Skylar’s been gone for three days. In the quiet of my own mind I admit to myself that I miss her.
Yes, I miss her because my daughter has been a restless and sometimes cranky disaster since she’s been yanked out of her routine—that’s part of it. Olivia is chomping at the bit to meet this baby, and I think she might even be a little jealous of James being that he’s taken Skylar away from us—I mean her. But I also miss the warmth and fun she brings to our house. There are no dance-offs happening in the kitchen when I walk in the door from work, I burned the cheese on top of the chicken parm I attempted to cook on Sunday, and there’s just a dullness that wasn’t there before Skylar came onto the scene. She’s spoiled us or ruined us. I’m not sure which.
I have to remind myself to turn on the music, to try to dance with Olivia and sing while we cook, but she isn’t having it. My daughter loves me, I know that, but I also know I’m a piss poor substitute for the woman who has turned out to be our saving grace.
Her sister went a week past her due date before they induced the delivery, and the two women in this house were so keyed up in the days leading up to the birth that I felt like I was living through it with Garth and Sienna—two people I’ve never even met.
Skylar has been video chatting with Olivia every day, and I’m not sure if it’s a good thing. My daughter practically rips the phone out of my hand when it rings at seven o’clock each night, desperate to see this girl who I hate to admit has become the primary female in her life.
A babysitter.
A college kid.
Olivia gets this wide-eyed, over the moon look on her face whenever she gets to see baby James. Skylar holds the phone close enough so that Olivia can hear him breathe in an out. He’s so tiny, and seeing him brings me back to the days when I cradled my own little baby in my arms. I look on for a moment and then leave them to it. The sight of someone so small and helpless can flood me with love one moment and then a rush of painful memories the next.
