stuffed up tonight. Don’t worry. It’s the grape-flavored kind. She likes it and won’t give you a hard time about taking it. Dosage information is on the bottle. She weighs forty-six pounds—”
“Lily, wait—”
“Brittany’s pillow, the one she won’t sleep without, is in the bag. Please make sure it comes back with her on Sunday—”
“Lily, I’m trying to tell you—”
“And try not to load them up on sugar when you do the birthday thing with Brittany. A piece of cake at a restaurant is plenty—”
“Lily, I can’t take them this weekend,” he said.
She stopped talking at that, mouth hanging open, annoyance building inside of her like mercury rising in a thermometer on a scorching hot day. “What do you mean, you can’t take them?”
“I mean, I can’t. Something came up.”
“Richard, it’s Brittany’s birthday!”
“Not until next Thursday. I’ll come by then. Or the day before.”
“You said you were going to take her to the zoo this weekend for her birthday. She’s been looking forward to it for two weeks.”
He didn’t even have the grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I have a job to do.”
“And you have a daughter who’s turning seven!” she said, glaring at him.
Jake was home, standing in the kitchen with the door wide-open, staring outside, when Nick came downstairs to see if there were any leftovers from the previous night’s dinner that had survived this long.
“Hey,” Nick asked, grabbing a glass and hoping there was something to drink, too. “What’s going on?”
Everything simply disappeared around Jake the human disposal unit.
“Lily’s ex is giving her a hard time,” Jake said, still standing there.
Nick turned around and went to stand behind the boy, staring at Lily on her driveway with a guy in a really expensive suit who was up in her face about something.
They weren’t yelling, so Nick couldn’t hear what was going on, but he didn’t like how close the guy was or the look on his face.
“You sure it’s the ex?” Nick asked.
“Yeah. He was supposed to take the girls this weekend, but he’s backing out,” Jake said, then looked like Nick might have thought he was doing something wrong. “I was walking home when he showed up, and I just wanted to make sure Lily was okay.”
“Good for you,” Nick told him, putting a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “A man should always look out for a woman. Some of them won’t ever thank you for it, because they think they’re invincible, but they’re not. And some men are just asses. This guy looks like one of ’em. What else did you hear?”
“He doesn’t even want to go in and tell the girls himself that he’s backing out on their weekend. He wants Lily to do it for him,” Jake said.
Which meant Nick had a choice.
Stay away from Luscious Lily.
Stop wondering why that fool of a man would ever have left her, and stop being mad that he’d apparently decided to walk out on their kids this way, too.
Or go do something about it.
Nick definitely tended to be the kind of man who’d do something about it when anyone was doing something he didn’t like to a woman.
And surely teaching her ex some manners was one thing he could do without getting distracted by how much he wanted to nuzzle Lily’s delectable neck.
Surely there was no danger here.
Still, he knew it was better to keep his distance, and Lily struck him as an immensely capable woman. She might not thank him for interfering. She might not even want him to know she was fighting with her ex about something like this.
“Let’s give it a minute. See how this plays out,” Nick said.
“Why? The guy’s a real jerk,” Jake said, still staring.
Now he had a scrawny, little finger that he was shaking in Lily’s face, and then it looked like he was poking her in the shoulder with it, trying to get her to back away from him.
Nick saw red.
“You’re right. We’re not going to stand here and let him get away with
“Lily, wait—”
“Brittany’s pillow, the one she won’t sleep without, is in the bag. Please make sure it comes back with her on Sunday—”
“Lily, I’m trying to tell you—”
“And try not to load them up on sugar when you do the birthday thing with Brittany. A piece of cake at a restaurant is plenty—”
“Lily, I can’t take them this weekend,” he said.
She stopped talking at that, mouth hanging open, annoyance building inside of her like mercury rising in a thermometer on a scorching hot day. “What do you mean, you can’t take them?”
“I mean, I can’t. Something came up.”
“Richard, it’s Brittany’s birthday!”
“Not until next Thursday. I’ll come by then. Or the day before.”
“You said you were going to take her to the zoo this weekend for her birthday. She’s been looking forward to it for two weeks.”
He didn’t even have the grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I have a job to do.”
“And you have a daughter who’s turning seven!” she said, glaring at him.
Jake was home, standing in the kitchen with the door wide-open, staring outside, when Nick came downstairs to see if there were any leftovers from the previous night’s dinner that had survived this long.
“Hey,” Nick asked, grabbing a glass and hoping there was something to drink, too. “What’s going on?”
Everything simply disappeared around Jake the human disposal unit.
“Lily’s ex is giving her a hard time,” Jake said, still standing there.
Nick turned around and went to stand behind the boy, staring at Lily on her driveway with a guy in a really expensive suit who was up in her face about something.
They weren’t yelling, so Nick couldn’t hear what was going on, but he didn’t like how close the guy was or the look on his face.
“You sure it’s the ex?” Nick asked.
“Yeah. He was supposed to take the girls this weekend, but he’s backing out,” Jake said, then looked like Nick might have thought he was doing something wrong. “I was walking home when he showed up, and I just wanted to make sure Lily was okay.”
“Good for you,” Nick told him, putting a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “A man should always look out for a woman. Some of them won’t ever thank you for it, because they think they’re invincible, but they’re not. And some men are just asses. This guy looks like one of ’em. What else did you hear?”
“He doesn’t even want to go in and tell the girls himself that he’s backing out on their weekend. He wants Lily to do it for him,” Jake said.
Which meant Nick had a choice.
Stay away from Luscious Lily.
Stop wondering why that fool of a man would ever have left her, and stop being mad that he’d apparently decided to walk out on their kids this way, too.
Or go do something about it.
Nick definitely tended to be the kind of man who’d do something about it when anyone was doing something he didn’t like to a woman.
And surely teaching her ex some manners was one thing he could do without getting distracted by how much he wanted to nuzzle Lily’s delectable neck.
Surely there was no danger here.
Still, he knew it was better to keep his distance, and Lily struck him as an immensely capable woman. She might not thank him for interfering. She might not even want him to know she was fighting with her ex about something like this.
“Let’s give it a minute. See how this plays out,” Nick said.
“Why? The guy’s a real jerk,” Jake said, still staring.
Now he had a scrawny, little finger that he was shaking in Lily’s face, and then it looked like he was poking her in the shoulder with it, trying to get her to back away from him.
Nick saw red.
“You’re right. We’re not going to stand here and let him get away with
Similar Books
