A Daddy for Jacoby(20)
Him and happily ever after didn’t mix.
“Don’t look now—” Racy glanced over her shoulder again “—but your witch is heading this way, thanks to a very determined little boy.”
Justin couldn’t stop himself. His eyes locked with Gina’s. He read surprise and annoyance in her gaze, but also an unwillingness to pull free from the small hand tugging her toward their table.
He forced himself to look away, but his gaze caught on her hair, straight and smooth today versus the sexy, curly mess from last night. The pink streak was still there and it matched the bright pink of her fleece jacket. Black jeans hugged her curves and she wore the same cowboy boots from last night.
Not that he’d noticed. Much.
“Look who’s here!” Jacoby announced when they arrived at the table.
“Hi, Gina,” Racy said.
“Hey, boss.”
Justin concentrated on the remains of his lunch until he felt the sharp nudge of Racy’s boot to his shin. He glared at his sister from beneath half-closed eyelids, but she only returned his stare, her mouth flat in a hard line.
He suppressed a sigh and turned to the girl he’d managed to keep out of his head most of the afternoon. Until now.
“Hi.”
Her blue eyes flashed the same sparks they’d held last night on his front porch. “Hi yourself.”
“Gina’s got food coming so I told her she could wait with us,” Jacoby said with a wide grin. Just as quickly as the smile appeared, it vanished. “Oh, shoot, I’ll be right back. Gina, you can sit over there.”
“Hey, where are you going?” Justin asked, overlooking the fact the kid offered the empty spot next to him.
“The bathroom. You said when I had to go I could just go.”
“At the cabin, sure, but out in public—well, you can’t just take off.”
Jacoby tilted his head to one side. “Why?”
Justin didn’t know how to answer that. He looked at his sister, but it was Gina who spoke first.
“Because we’d be worried,” she said. “You need to let Justin, or any adult you’re with, know where you’re going, especially if you plan to go off alone.”
Caution, an emotion Justin had witnessed many times since he met the boy, filled the child’s eyes. He looked from Gina back to him. “You’d be worried about me?”
He could feel Gina’s steady gaze on him, but he kept his focus on the kid. “Ah, yeah, sure.”
“Cool. Can I go to the bathroom now?”
Justin nodded, pointing out the entrance to the restrooms. The kid raced off and a long silence filled the air.
“Oh, Justin, I meant to tell you.” Racy snapped her fingers. “Nikki from the bar said she has a twin bed you can have for free if you can pick it up.”
“A what?”
“A bed. For Jacoby. He can’t camp out on the living room floor forever.”
“Wow, that’s so nice of Nikki,” Gina gushed, crossing her arms over her chest. “But I thought you weren’t interested in anyone’s help?”
He glared at her, trying to ignore how her actions caused a hint of lace and the smooth skin of her cleavage to appear.
“Then again, Jacoby is going to need a decent bed to sleep in,” she continued in a syrupy-sweet voice. “But I’m sure you already thought of that.”
He hadn’t.
Simple things like sneakers and a toothbrush, sure. But a place to sleep? Hell, he still hadn’t gotten the bed he planned to use for himself put together yet.
“No, I haven’t thought about getting the kid a bed.”
“Well, problem solved. You can pick it up on your way home.” Racy wore a quizzical look as her gaze shot between him and Gina. “Aren’t you going to sit?”
“Ah—”
“Here, take my place.” Racy stacked her dishes to one side before sliding out of the booth. “I need to get going. Tell Jacoby I’ll see him later. Bye!”
Gina stepped aside to let Racy get by, but remained standing next to the booth, arms crossed.
“Waiting for an engraved invitation?”
Okay, that wasn’t necessary, but at least it got her to sit. She dropped into the booth, her hands now shoved into the pockets of her jacket. An awkward silence stretched between them, so Justin said the first thing that popped into his head.
“I was an ass.”