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Kim sucked in a gasp, pointing at my face that was, no doubt, blood red. “Oh my god,” she hissed under her breath. “Youaregetting laid, aren’t you? That’s why you’re in such a sickeningly good mood!” A smile stretched across her lips. “You dirty, dirty little tramp. Who is it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied as I secured the Easter banner with another piece of tape.
“Liar.” Her lips spread in a shit-eating grin. “God, you’re really bad at it too.”
My face scrunched up in offence. “I am not!”
“Aha!” she crowed, jabbing her finger in my face. “Caught ya. Spill right this instant, or I swear to the Lord above, I’ll start telling you about the time José and I roleplayed that we were—”
“Ah! Gah! Please no. Stop,” I begged, clamping my hands over my ears to drown her out. I looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before grabbing her arm and pulling her into the corner of the room away from the other volunteers. “Okay, look, I can confirm that I’m... sleeping with someone,” I mumbled on whisper, “but I’m not ready to share who it is. Right now, we’re taking things a day at a time, no pressure, no labels.”
Her eyes darted to mine, and I got the distinct impression she was seeing all the things I tried so hard to keep hidden. “But you really like this guy, don’t you?” she asked quietly, her tone changing from playful to serious.
I stood up straight and tilted my chin up, my body’s involuntary response to feeling like it was being backed into a corner. “We’re just having fun.”
I could tell she wanted to press, but she stopped herself by curling her lips between her teeth and biting down. “Okay, honey,” she said a few seconds later. “If you’re happy, I’m happy for you. But if you ever end up beingnothappy, I’ve got two shovels and a whole mess-load of airline miles that can get us to a non-extradition country. Preferably one with hot men.”
My head fell back on a laugh as I pulled her in for a hug, then we got back to work. The kids were due back from lunch soon, and there was still quite a bit to do. As usual, the Triad had gone overboard for a simple classroom party. They’d even hired a man to come in dressed as the Easter bunny so the kids could take pictures. It was all ridiculous as far as Kim and I were concerned, but it was either play along for the sake of our kids or step up and lead a hostile takeover of the PTA, something neither of us wanted to do.
I was thinking that the volunteer gigs couldn’t possibly get worse, when the door to the classroom opened.
“You have got to be shitting me,” I hissed under my breath, my mouth falling open in shock.
Kim looked between me and the woman who’d walked through the door. “What’s going on? Who is that?”
“My ex’s new girlfriend,” I ground out, my molars gritted so tight they actually creaked. “Give me a second. I’ll be right back.”
I didn’t wait for Kim’s response before storming across the classroom and stopping a handful of inches from Hayley.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, mindful to keep my voice low. I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of these people, but I couldn’t help the accusation in my tone.
She actually had the nerve to look at me with doe-eyed innocence. “I knew this party was a big deal to Hazel, so I signed up to help out.”
“Are you kidding me? Hayley, don’t you think this is a huge overstep? You’ve met my daughter twice.”
The fake sincerity quickly melted away, and in its place was the bitch I’d met that first time at lunch. “Well maybe I’d have a chance to get to know her better if you’d stop fighting Keith on custody,” she hissed in a quiet voice. “You aren’t being very fair to him. He misses his daughter.”
“Then he should have thought about thatall those timeshe opted not to come pick her up on his scheduled weekends because he had other things to do.” I planted my hands on my hips and stared her down. “What game are you playing here?”
She made a distinct effort to look down her nose at me as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not playing at anything. I’m going to be a part of Hazel’s life.”
My skin prickled, because that sounded an awful lot like a threat to me, but before I could say anything else, a voice behind me called out Hayley’s name.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that all three members of the Triad were waving her over, looking excited to see her. I didn’t know what the hell she was doing, engraining herself with the other PTA moms in Hazel’s class, but I had a bad feeling about it.
“What was that all about?” Kim asked when I returned to the table.
“I’m not sure, but I think it might be a problem,” I admitted as the door opened and Hazel’s class came filtering in.
I caught sight of my girl the minute she skipped through the door, smiling at the sight of her. I watched as she did a quick scan before her emerald eyes landed on me and her entire face lit up.
She skipped over to me, rounding the table and wrapping her arms around my waist in a tight hug, like she hadn’t just seen me earlier that morning. “Hey, honey. Did you see the Easter bunny’s here? You should get your picture taken with him.”
“Ooh, yeah!” she said, looking at the front of the class where a line was already starting to form.
“Go on,” I assured her. “I’ll be right here when you’re done.”
She started that way, but jerked to a stop when Hayley appeared in front of us. She bent forward, bracing her hands on her knees and getting in Hazel’s face with a smile that was way too bright.
