Reckless(27)

Fuck. I did not just use the R-word right now.

I’m not in a good place to have one yet, not with the truckload of baggage weighing me down at the moment.

This gives me pause because I’ve always been a one-woman kind of guy. Sleeping around with random chicks does nothing for me. If given a choice, I’d always pick something special with one girl over meaningless sex with many.

But is this really something I should be exploring with my kids’ nanny?

Damn. I know how to get myself in messed-up situations.

Female voices come down the hall, and the second I see Tori, I smile. She looks more relaxed, and her face brightens when the kids go barreling into her for a hug.

I open my mouth to say hi, but my brother beats me to it.

“Hey, gorgeous. How’s your sister?”

I bristle at his term of endearment, and he smirks at me. Asshole. But she is gorgeous, even in cutoffs and an old t-shirt. It’s the affection in her eyes for my kids, though, that really hits me. I love how she gives them all her attention.

Tori’s laughing at Cody’s sloppy kisses. “Good. I swear Kat’s giving birth to a giant. Her baby is enormous, but don’t tell her that.”

Logan shivers like he’s about to have a seizure. “Pregnant women scare me. Too many hormones.”

Joey rolls her eyes.

I point to my brother’s best friend. “Tori, this is Josephine. She went to school with Logan and somehow manages to put up with this lazy bag of bones. She helped me out today with the kids so I could get some work done.”

Tori gives her a sweet smile. “I love your hair. It’s beautiful.”

Joey touches her blue locks. “Thanks. Someone told me I look like a deranged Smurf.” She punches my brother, and he puts her in a headlock with one arm while he scrolls through his phone on the other. She’s still hanging halfway upside down when she points to Tori. “But your hair is, wow. It’s so pretty.”

“Thank you. It needs a trim.”

“I could do it.”

Motioning toward Joey, I explain that she does hair.

“Yeah?” Tori perks up. “How much do you charge? Just to trim the dead ends?”

Joey wiggles her way out of my brother’s choke hold and strokes Tori’s hair gently, taking a moment to study the ends. “I’d do it for free. You know, the friends and family discount.”

“No way. My hair is a pain in the ass. Your arm will fall off by the time you’re done. I have to pay you something.”

“Um.” Joey tilts her head. “How about we trade? You show me how to make this recipe”—she points to her half-eaten plate of dinner—“and I’ll cut your hair.”

Tori leans over to see which leftovers we ate. “You want to learn how to make carne guisada? Sure. It’s super easy.”

“Dinner was dope, Tor,” my brother says, not looking up from his phone. “I can’t believe you made enough leftovers for the weekend. I think I love you.”

Tori laughs and stoops down to look at a painting Mila made for her. A few minutes later, Tori starts to lug her bag from the hall.

Logan stops her to pick it up. “You pack more than Joey does for two days.”

“I needed to do some laundry, but I didn’t get a chance. That’s okay. I’ll do it next weekend.”

What is she talking about? I get up and take the bag from my brother, whose eyebrows lift. I motion toward the kids, and he smirks again, offering to get them ready for bed. I watch as he and Joey take them down the hall before I return my attention to Tori.

I stand right in front of her until she looks at me. “Tori, why would you need to wait until you go to your sister’s to do your laundry? Are you too good for my washer and dryer too?”

She laughs and shakes her head. I like her laugh. I want to hear it again.

“No? Then why are you saving it for your sister’s?”

Her lips twist as she tries to contain that smile.

“That’s what I thought. C’mon.” I take her hand and drag her down the hall. “I didn’t think you needed a personal invitation to use all the amenities in this house, but apparently you do.”

Stopping in the laundry room, I hoist her enormous duffle bag onto the counter. “Here’s the washer and dryer. Now, it might not be as nice as your sister’s, but you should use it.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but I pull her into the adjacent office. “This place is a mess because I only have two hands and twenty-four hours a day, but this is my office.” I don’t think she’s been in here. “If you ever need to print anything or use my laptop, feel free. Or if you want to watch TV and we’re hogging the one in the living room, you can watch in here.”

“Thanks, but I don’t—”

Ignoring whatever she’s saying, I maneuver her back out and across the house. When I open my bedroom door, she falters. I turn around. “It’s okay. I’m not abducting you. Just wanna show you my tub. It has these fancy jets and all kinds of functions I haven’t even figured out yet. I thought you might want to use it after a long day watching my rugrats. You know, when you’re busy avoiding me at dinner.”

She looks embarrassed. “Ethan, I—”

I don’t wait for her to finish. Taking her hand, I tug her into my huge bathroom and flip on the lights. It’s beautiful. All custom marble and shit I don’t care about but my ex-wife did.