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Soraya leaned forward to whisper to Billy, “Billy Club Billy Cooper?”
That old nickname was like a splash of cold water. How long would it be until he could leave those days behind him for good? It had been two years since he’d even set foot in any kind of club. Not even a Sam’s Club.
“Old nickname,” he murmured. “But yes.”
“Wow. My sister is a huge fan, and I mean huge. She wrote you a letter once. You sent her a signed photo. She has it pinned on her cork-board, or she did, until she switched to hockey.”
He didn’t remember a letter, but they went through the publicity department so often he didn’t even see them. “Was it snail mail or email?”
“I mean…she wrote it out and everything. I helped her get it in the mail. She was so young she didn’t even know how to buy stamps. But she really looked up to you. She plays softball.”
“I can sign something else for her if you want,” he offered. “Snowball?”
She chuckled. “Nah, like I said, she’s all about hockey now. But she’ll love it that I met you and that you’re a cool dude. Not how—” Smoothly, she shifted gears. “Not like some major leaguers.”
He knew she’d almost said, “Not how I thought,” or something like that. Face it, he’d probably never shake the “Billy Club” rap. It was what it was.
“Thanks.”
But she wasn’t done with her questions yet. When Zack and Bean ran to the kitchen for a snack, she asked them, “So you two are exes? Yeah, I’m going there, because we just played Exploding Kittens and now we’re bonded.”
Jenna shared a glance with Billy, then nodded. “We like to say we’re co-parents rather than exes. That way our relationship isn’t referred to as something in the past. Because we’re still, you know, in a relationship, just a different kind. And that’s probably way too much information.”
“No. No, that’s great. That’s awesome that you can do that. You must both be really good exes. How do you do it?”
God, this again? Billy wished he could go eat popcorn in the kitchen with the boys.
“Well…” Jenna began, but Soraya cut her off.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to get into it. I know why it works.”
“Oh really?” Billy rested on one elbow and lifted his head to listen. “This is gonna be good, I can tell. Why does it work?”
“Because you’re able to block out all that sexual tension.” She waved a hand between the two of them.
Billy could practically feel the heat from Jenna’s blush.
“Oops, did I say the wrong thing? Cal always says I have no sense of discretion, and that he’s the only billionaire chill enough to hire me. That part’s true, but as for discretion, that’s kind of a case-by-case thing. We bonded, y’all. I hope I didn’t offend you.”
“No, no,” Billy reassured her. “We already figured out the sexual tension part for ourselves.”
“And now y’all got yourselves a dilemma, huh. Should you dip back in, or should you stick to the program like it is? Can you resist the forbidden fruit,” she added dramatically.
Jenna gave a strangled sound and jumped to her feet. “I…I should check on the kids.”
As Jenna fled into the kitchen, Fun Nanny clapped a hand over her mouth. “Shit, I’m the worst,” she said after she’d recovered. “Why’d I have to go and offend her for real? I should never have mentioned all that Billy Club stuff.”
He shrugged, though he too wished she hadn’t. “I guess I’ll never shake that nickname.”
“You had some fun, that’s all. A whole lot of fun from what they say.” She winked, her false eyelashes fanning against her cheeks.
His gut tightened. Was “fun” really the right word?
“I was young then. I like my life better now.”
“I hear that. Hey, if you need me to babysit while y’all get busy, I’m available. I’m kind of twenty-four-seven here. That’s because Cal pays me bank. Then again, that’s because I’m worth it.”
She flung her blue extensions behind one shoulder.
