Penthouse Prince(33)
“Daddy, look!”
Grier’s piercing squeal breaks through our awkward moment, sending both of our heads swiveling in her direction. I couldn’t tell you when or how it got there, but suddenly she’s pulling a big clump of seaweed from out of her swim diaper.
“I swear, you take your eyes off a two-year-old for one second . . .” Lex grumbles to himself as he pulls his little girl into his arms, taking the seaweed from her tiny fist and flinging it as far away as possible. “Love bug, we don’t put things in our swim diaper. Not seaweed. Not anything.”
I bite my lip, holding back laughter. Kids never fail to crack me up, especially this little munchkin. I love my first graders, but I think I’m really starting to develop a soft spot for toddlers.
As I listen to Grier’s babbling while her dad wraps her in a towel, my chest suddenly feels tight. I can’t shake the story of Grier’s mom, how she didn’t feel any connection with her or have any desire to keep her in her life.
How could anyone not want this sweet little angel? I mean, just look at her. She’s a little blond beach burrito, all snuggled up in that towel, her bright blue eyes blinking curiously at the world around her. Just being around this little girl makes my life brighter.
It’s one more reason why I can’t get mixed up with her dad. No matter how hard those butterflies in my stomach are flapping their wings, or how insanely hot his dad bod is.
Because Grier is already one of the highlights of my summer, and if things got messy with her dad, she would end up hurt. She’s already lost out on having her mother in her life. The last thing she needs is a revolving door of women coming in and out of her father’s life.
14
* * *
LEXINGTON
Normally, I fall asleep in only a few minutes, exhausted by the demands of work and toddler-herding, but tonight I stare into the darkness for what feels like hours. My head is spinning, replaying the day’s events over and over.
Corrigan’s smile, her body in that swimsuit, the land mines of our conversation about my chat with Dak, the unbearable sexual tension, how natural it felt playing with Grier together . . . and then the bomb Corrigan dropped.
A date. She’s going out on a date in less than forty-eight hours. And he’s another teacher, a teacher at her school, so they’re sure to have tons in common. Sure to get along just fucking fantastic. Bastard. Who is this asshole, anyway? I should have asked for his name so I could snoop online.
Abruptly, I sit up. What the hell am I thinking? Of course I shouldn’t have.
Get a grip. They’re going on one date; it’s not like they’re getting married. And even if they were, I sternly tell myself, she has the right to do whatever the hell she wants. I’m not her boyfriend. She doesn’t have any obligations to me. She’s a grown-ass woman, and I need to act like a grown-ass man.
He probably isn’t a single dad.
No, dammit, stop this!
I’m acting like a lunatic, and if I keep sitting alone in the dark letting all this shit rattle around my mind, I’m going to become one. I need to talk this out with someone who doesn’t have any skin in the game, unlike Mom or Dak. Someone who can commiserate with me and maybe offer some advice.
I grab my phone and open the group text with Bryce, Lesley, and Devin.
LEXINGTON: Hey, guys, is anyone still up?
Surprisingly—or maybe not, given that none of them have kids—it’s only a few minutes before Devin replies.
You forget all about your big-city friends?
I type, Sorry I’ve been AWOL for so long, a lot’s happened since I left. I actually wanted to talk about some of it.
BRYCE: Sure, what’s up?
I type out my reply. So, do you guys remember Corrigan?
It’s Lesley who responds first.
LESLEY: Your old high-school sweetheart? Yeah. Did you run into her?
I chuckle and decide to come clean. A little more than that . . . I hired her as a nanny.
DEVIN: OMG, dude, I can’t tell if you’re a genius or a moron.
His message is accompanied by a cry-laughing emoji.
BRYCE: You still into her?
LEXINGTON: Way too much. And even though she’s still mad about how I fucked up our relationship when I left, I’m pretty sure the attraction isn’t one-sided. I’ve definitely caught her checking me out. Like today, when we were at the beach.
LESLEY: See? I told you there’d be women into the single dad scene.
I huff out a sigh and start typing again.
LEXINGTON: But a few nights before that, she said no when I asked her out, and today she said she had a date this weekend, and now I’m losing my shit.
I shift on the mattress, worried for a second I’ve said too much. But I’ve never had to censor myself around them before, so why start now?
BRYCE: Spoke too soon, Les.
LESLEY: How did that come up? Did she just bring it up out of the blue or what?
LEXINGTON: I said I asked her brother what was going on with her, dating-wise— BRYCE: Why the hell would you tell her about that? Or do it at all, actually?
LEXINGTON: Summarizing makes it sound worse than it was. It seemed like a good idea at the time, just let me finish. So I said her brother didn’t like the idea of us dating, but I didn’t care what he thought, the only important thing was what she thought. And that’s when she told me about the other guy.