Straight Up Love (The Boys of Jackson Harbor #2)(49)

“Helping,” Colton says. “Meaning he screws you and then goes on about his business while you raise a baby alone?”

“He hasn’t screwed me at all, Colt,” I blurt, and for this I get another look from Molly. “He’s . . .” What? Taking it slow? What am I going to tell my brother? Don’t worry, bro. Jake is going to make sure I’m hot for him before he fucks me. I’m pretty sure this would only make Jake look worse in Colton’s eyes.

“But Ellie said—”

“Yeah, well, Ellie should have kept her mouth shut.” I take a breath. “Colton, relax. I’m not a little girl. Jake is helping me out. We’re giving this a shot before I spend my savings on fertility treatments.”

“Yeah, real selfless of him,” he mutters.

“You’re the one who told me I should go after what I want.”

He folds his arms. “I thought you were taking the more clinical approach. I don’t like this. It feels sleazy.”

I squeak in my exasperation. “If anything, I’m taking advantage of him.”

He threads his fingers through his hair. “Fuck.”

Convinced he’s no longer determined to bloody Jake’s face, I turn my attention to my stepsister. “Molly, please don’t say anything to Jill and Dad.”

“So you and Jake aren’t . . . together?”

I shake my head. “He really is just my friend.” My friend who sucked my fingers and whispered dirty words into my ear. My friend who put ideas so hot in my head that I was aching in my sheets last night.

“He’s going to get you pregnant,” she says slowly, measuring the words. “Like, as a favor?”

“It sounds stupid, but it’s not a big deal.”

“If he’s sleeping with you, it’s a big fucking deal,” Colton says.

“If you have a baby together, it’s a big deal,” Molly says, her words a little sharper than before.

“I don’t want to talk about this with you two.” My phone rings, clattering against the end table as it vibrates, and I’m so grateful for the interruption that I snatch it up. I recognize the Florida area code and swipe to accept the call. “Hello, this is Ava.”

“Ava! It’s Penelope. I’m sorry to bother you again. I wanted to let you know that I emailed over the paperwork with the job description and some details about the school. I hope you’ll look it over and let me know a good time for us to bring you down for an official interview.”

Molly and Colton are both looking at me, and I climb off the couch and wander into the kitchen so they can’t see my face while I talk. It’s not like my reactions are going to give away the contents of the conversation, but I know Colton would freak about the possibility of me moving. “Thanks, Penelope. I’ll look for it.”

“That’s great. Talk soon?”

I nod, even though she can’t see me. “Talk soon.” I end the call, and when I turn around, Colton’s in the kitchen with me, studying me.

“What was that phone call about?” Colton asks.

“Nothing.”

“Ava, since when do we keep things from each other?”

I grunt. “Since always?” I love Colton and I do tell him a lot, but I’d confide in Jake long before him.

“Was it the job in Florida?”

I gape at him. “How did you know about that?”

“Dad told me. He thought maybe I’d remember the area well enough to help you get settled.”

My father is so determined that he knows what’s best for me and my career that he’s already mentally moved me down to Florida. “Well, don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m trying to keep all my options open in case I get laid off this summer, but as of now I don’t have any plans to move.”

He folds his arms. “You, Ava Drama-Is-My-Life McKinley, don’t want to move to Florida to teach nothing but theater classes to a bunch of private school kids?”

Nothing but theater classes? No composition? No grammar and rhetoric? I look to my computer and wonder if that’s what I’ll find in Penelope’s email. “My life’s here, Colton.”

But it’s not much of a life, is it? It’s days working at a private school for a man who has so little respect for me that he’d put his hand up my dress. The nights working at Jake’s bar are fun, but they aren’t the way I imagined I’d be spending my time at this age. Then coming home to an empty house? That’s the hardest part.

“The way you tell it, the job sounds a little too good to be true,” I say. “I think Dad pulled some mob-level favors to get a school to woo me before I’ve even had an interview.”

He shrugs. “Maybe he did. You know Dad. Nobody wants to disappoint him.”

“Present company included?”

He releases a puff of air. “Fuck that. I live to disappoint that man.”

I wave a hand. “This conversation is so premature. First of all, I have a job here. Second, this lady is just going through the motions as a favor to Dad.”

“You think Dad’s worked magic, when the truth is he had Jill send your résumé. Any magic is yours. It’s who you are and what you’ve accomplished that they’re after. Not Dad’s approval.”