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Billy jumped at the opportunity to change the subject from “Billy Club.” “How long have you worked for Caldwell?”
“Couple years. I’m a singer, and he’s real flexible about gigs and so forth. Most of the staff has been around a long time. He hires only the best!” She struck a pose.
“No argument here. You’re great with the boys. And the cook…wow, that bread, holy shit.”
“Mallory’s just a temporary fill-in. You should try Amy’s cooking, she’s the full-time cook. Now we might need a fill-in for the fill-in.” Mallory had gone to bed early with a fever. Billy hoped she hadn’t infected either of the boys.
“When did you all arrive here?” Maybe he could solve the mystery from his last visit to this house.
Before she could answer, a shout came from the kitchen. Soraya jumped to her feet and hurried off to tend to the crisis.
Billy’s mind wandered to the bedroom he’d picked out on the second floor. It was the farthest away from where the boys were staying. Quiet, private. Jenna had chosen one down the hall. They’d conducted an entire silent conversation using winks and head gestures. By the end, he knew she’d be coming to his bedroom later.
The thought made him both unbearably excited and also…
Terrified. Because whatever he and Jenna did, they needed to be absolutely sure about it. They had the boys to consider. It was one thing to get swept away with desire. Making a clear-eyed, sober choice was another.
All that talk about “Billy Club” from Soraya had rattled him. Maybe he didn’t have it in him to be the wise and mature man Jenna deserved. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He was just a goof-off, a decent ballplayer who liked to party too hard. In the end, maybe he was just Billy Club, and always would be.
It was almost enough for him to want a drink. But he wouldn’t go there. Not with so much on the line.
He got to his feet and paced around to calm his jumping nerves. This was the same feeling he got before a big game. Antsy, excited, slightly sick to his stomach. But no game could possibly matter as much as this.
Jenna came back into the room, holding a big bowl of popcorn, her eyes filled with merry laughter and her fine blond hair falling from her ponytail holder.
He met her moonlight gaze and just like that, a sense of peace flooded through him. Peace and certainty.
For Jenna, he could be that man. For her, he already was that man.
Twenty-Two
Jenna tended to Bean first. Her little one needed her to cuddle with him until he fell asleep, but he was so worn out that it didn’t take long. But then Zack needed to talk. He was worried about Annika, and whether he’d done everything right. After she’d reassured him that he was incredibly brave and smart, he finally dozed off.
At which point Jenna raced down the hall to the room she’d claimed. Soraya had given her a nightgown to wear, but it was so far from her usual style that it felt ridiculous. It was a floaty, silky piece of fabric with one ribbon holding it together at the front. She debated whether or not to bother with it, but her clothes were so sweaty from the long, crazy day that impersonating a Victoria’s Secret model seemed like the better option, overall.
She tiptoed down the hall to the bedroom at the very end, a smallish room under the eaves that was probably considered subpar by the standards of this mansion. But since it was the most removed from the rest of the bedrooms, Billy had jumped on it.
Later…
Later was now. And her pulse was jumping like the popcorn she’d made earlier. They were doing this. They were really doing this.
When she tapped on the door, Billy opened it, wearing an absurdly luxurious velvet robe in crushed purple. She burst into laughter. “Did Elton John leave that for a future guest?”
He struck a pose. “Looking like a true survivor,” he sang. “Feeling like a little kid.”
Giggling, she ducked past him and he closed the door behind her. The room was chilly but cozy enough, with a queen-sized four-poster bed made up with the fluffiest comforter she’d ever seen. Billy had lit a candle that burned steadily on the nightstand. The room had no curtains, but it still felt entirely private. Condensation clung to the corners of the windows. Outside, there was nothing but dark sky and probably the lake beyond that. No one else was out this way on a stormy winter night.
He caught her hand as she completed her survey of the room. “I have to talk to you.”
Talk? Her stomach tightened. She didn’t want to talk. She wanted to lose herself in the swirling excitement that had been building between them. But talking…maybe that meant he’d changed his mind. “Are you…don’t you want to…”
“No! I do. You know I do.” He put her hand against his crotch so she could feel his hardness. It sent a massive shudder of desire through her. It had been so long…and they used to have so much fun…
She bit her lip to hold back her whimper of desire. “Then what?” she whispered.
“I just want you to know something first.”
Oh God. He’d secretly married. He already had another family. He wanted them to live as a polycule of some sort. No, he’d gotten impetigo and had weird blotches all over his body…he’d grown a tail…he’d…
