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“I hope he remembers what I told him.”
“The guy’s trying. Cut him a little slack. Sometimes, it’s hard to resist a pretty face.”
“Not for me.”
He lowered his voice. “Ouch. My heart is bleeding.”
“Good. I was thirsty.”
He laughed.
A few minutes later, she tapped his shoe with hers.
He tapped back.
CHAPTER26
There was no way he was making lasagna for him, Josiah, and Ayesha and feeding Theo grilled cheese. Theo was only a picky eater where seafood was concerned. If it swam in the ocean, it would never swim in his belly.
“Ayesha, I swear, if you make Theo a grilled cheese sandwich while I’ve had that sauce simmering for hours, I will physically fight you when I get home.”
Josiah’s school break and their trip to Angola had lined up perfectly, so Ayesha and the boys came to spend the week with him in D.C. Tomorrow, they would see him off at the private airstrip, and the entire week, he’d found himself wondering why he and Ayesha kept tiptoeing around each other.
He hated the pretense.
But, for her, he would keep it up.
They’d made an agreement, and he didn’t want to go back on it, mess things up, and forever lose the possibility of one day being more than what they currently were.
“What if I make him a small one?” she argued.
“No. I’ll fight you.”
“How much longer will you be?”
“I’m almost done. I have two more things, and I’ll be right back, okay? Hang on for me. Can you hang on for me?”
She sighed. “I guess.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you soon.”
He ended the call, smiling to himself, and went to the other side of the store in search of fresh parsley.
“Girl, how’d I get myself into something like this?”
He looked up.
Although he’d immediately picked up on the voice, he needed visual confirmation.
A couple of aisles over, Sydney read the label on a bottle of wine, holding her phone against her ear. He started to make his way over but stopped when he heard his name.
“I don’t think thereisa right moment to tell Joel. Plus, he’s been spending all that time with Ayesha, and I don’t know how I feel about it.” She set the bottle down and picked up another. “I know, I know. I’m not saying she’d do that. It’s just that, I know Joel, and the way he looks at her sometimes, Larke…there’s something there.”
He went closer.
“You’re right. I am. No, don’t mince your words. I’m being a complete hypocrite. Here I am, worried about him and Ayesha, when I can’t say, ‘Joel, remember when we were in Malibu? So, I thought I was pregnant and didn’t say anything.’”
His blood flashed cold.
