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Damn that woman. She really had a knack for poking at sore spots.
“Never,” Billy drawled. “Annika loves me and supports me a hundred percent. She even asked me to sign the photo she has pinned to her dart—”
Jenna interrupted him by jumping to her feet. “I’m taking Bean up to bed,” she announced. The reporter might misinterpret Annika’s particular brand of teasing. “Come on, Kiddo. You’re completely beat. I wouldn’t be surprised if you caught a cold out there.” She bent down to scoop her youngest into her arms.
“Zack, you too.” Billy set down the poker and offered his hand to Zack, who grabbed onto it and hauled himself up like a rock climber. “You’ll probably dream about ice rescues and daring acts of heroism.”
The last thing Jenna saw as she carried the drowsy Bean from the living room was the speculative expression on Lacey’s face. What kind of notes was the woman writing? Just like with those ballplayers on TV, she could write the script herself.
It’s a scene of cozy domesticity right out of a movie. But what sort of movie? Is it a disaster movie in which the audience is left wondering who will need rescuing next? Is it a psychological cat-and-mouse game between a divorced couple and the dogged reporter there to uncover the truth behind the facade? Is it a romcom with a sappy happy ending when a deluded couple discovers they’ve been doing divorce all wrong? Or is it a good old-fashioned sports redemption movie?
Jenna was still chuckling to herself as she came out of Bean’s bedroom. Just recently, Zack had clamored for his own room, so she’d moved her own bedroom downstairs. She got more privacy there anyway, not that it mattered with the sorry state of her love life.
“What’s so funny?” Billy whispered as he closed Zack’s door behind him.
“I was just thinking it would be a funny premise for a horror movie. Reporter out for revenge after one too many things go wrong during an interview.”
“You have a morbid streak, you know that?”
“I’ve been told. It gets me through the day.”
With a slight smile, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The touch was so gentle, her breath caught. “Then I’m all for it. I would be anyway, because it’s one of the things I dig about you.”
“Oh really?” She knew this was a dangerous line of conversation, totally against the Rules for Divorce, but she couldn’t resist. “Any other dig-worthy qualities I should know about?”
His slow smile broadened. “Fishing for a compliment?”
She flushed, which always happened when she got embarrassed. But hers wasn’t a dainty pink kind of blush, it was an out-of-control blotchy reddening that took over her face like a rash.
“That’s fine, I’ve got plenty of them. I’d tell you more, but your face might get so red it spontaneously combusts.” With a grin, he dodged as she swiped at him.
“That’ll teach me to fish for compliments. All I get is insults.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s an insult. It’s an observation. I think you might be as red as a Cardinals cap right about now.” He touched her cheek lightly.
She swatted his hand away, even though she knew that he was deliberately provoking her, and she couldn’t help smiling at their ridiculous banter. It was a nice release from the stress of trying to be on their best behavior in front of Lacey.
“Maybe I should cool down by crashing into an ice pond like a big old hippopotamus,” she taunted.
“Oooh, burn.” He clutched at his heart. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Not while I’m around.” She felt both lightheaded and lighthearted, and also filled with fizzy desire. She and Billy were right next to each other, with almost no space separating them. If she was honest with herself, she wanted to be even closer. If she made a drawing of this moment, she’d put champagne bubbles all around them. Or lightning bolts of sparks.
A noise from the bottom of the staircase caught their attention in mid-goofing around. Jenna looked down to see Lacey passing by the stairs, glancing up at them with those observant eyes. She jumped away from Billy as if he was on fire.
Or maybe it’s a porno. Tagline: there’s no sex like forbidden sex between two exes.
Eleven
Billy took the call from his agent during his morning jog. Thin gray clouds skittered overhead, and dirty snow crusted the edges of MooseJaw Road. These days, instead of running in the direction of Archie’s bar, he sometimes went the other way, towards Richard Scarlett’s property.
Someone had to keep an eye on the man, and it seemed like something he could do to ease Jenna’s mind. He’d reported that the Hermit was back in the studio, doing his thing, working on an enormous canvas.
“Hey, Pete. Whatcha got for me?”
“Good news and bad news.”
“The universe needs balance, huh?”
