The Last Mrs. Parrish(91)

He leveled a look at me and cleared his throat. “Be more responsible next time. Don’t make me cancel the subscription.”

“Of course.”

He scrutinized my face, put a hand on my cheek, and pressed. “Are your allergies acting up?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so, why?”

“You look puffy. You haven’t been eating sugar, have you?” He opened the cabinet containing the trash and looked through it.

“No, of course not.”

“Get me your diary.”

I ran upstairs and retrieved it. When I came back to the kitchen, he was looking through all the cabinets.

“Here.”

He snatched it from my hands, sat down, and went through it, tracing each item with his finger. “Aha! What’s this?” He pointed to an entry from yesterday.

“A baked potato.”

“That turns right into sugar. You know that. If you have to be a pig and eat a potato, make sure it’s a sweet potato. At least that has some nutritional value.” He looked me up and down. “You make me sick. Fat pig.”

“Daddy?”

Tallulah was standing in the doorway. She looked at me, worry in her eyes.

“Come give Daddy a hug. I was just telling your mommy she has to stop stuffing her face. You don’t want a fat mommy, do you?”

“Mommy’s not fat,” she said, her voice cracking.

He looked at me and scowled. “You stupid sow. Tell your daughter that you need to watch what you eat.”

“Daddy, stop!” Tallulah was crying now.

He threw his hands up in the air. “The two of you! I’m going to my study. Put the crybaby to bed, and then I want to see you in my office.” Then he leaned in and whispered in my ear. “If you’re so hungry all the time, I’ll give you something to suck on.”





Sixty-Two




Amber reached for the bottle of tanning lotion and squirted some in her hand. After she applied it to her arms and face, she handed it to me. “Would you do my back?”

I took it from her and caught a whiff of coconut as I rubbed my hands together.

“Want to go sit on the bench in the pool?” It was sweltering, and I wanted to cool off.

“Sure.”

Amber’s bikini was practically pornographic—all she had to do was sit the wrong way and all the goods would be on display. I was glad Tallulah and Bella were out for the day with Surrey. It was obvious that she hadn’t missed any time at the gym, although with the hours she was putting in working for Jackson, I didn’t know how she fit it in. I had purposely worn a one-piece that hugged my body and revealed the little pooch my belly was sporting. Jackson would notice it as soon as he looked at me.

We sat side by side on the built-in seat in the shallow end. The water was a perfect eighty-five degrees and felt wonderful. I looked out at the vast stretch of blue and the beach beyond, relaxing as I took a deep breath of salt air.

Jackson came outside for his daily swim.

“Hi, girls, I hope you put some sunscreen on. Hottest time of the day.”

I smiled. “I have, but Amber here is covered in tanning oil.”

She sat up straighter, sticking out her chest for full effect. “I like to tan.”

“That’s because you’re too young to know the sun gives you wrinkles,” I said.

Jackson walked to the diving board and surprised me by turning around and executing a perfect back dive into the pool. Was he showing off? When he broke the water’s surface, Amber clapped.

“Bravo! Well done.”

He swam to the side of the pool, pushed himself up and out and gave a little bow.

“It was nothing.”

“Come join us for a minute,” I said.

He grabbed a towel from the outdoor armoire behind the bar and sat on one of the cushioned seats across from us.

“I’ve got a little work to do before the party.”

“Anything I can help with?” Amber asked.

Jackson smiled. “No, no. It’s your day off. Don’t be silly. Besides, Daphne would kill me if I put you to work.”

“That’s right. You’re a guest today.”

“I’m really hot, just going to get all the way wet.” She pushed off the bench and slipped underwater. My eyes were on Jackson, who was watching Amber as she swam to the steps and climbed out, giving him a front-row seat to her wet body and see-through suit.

“That felt great,” she said, looking straight at him. She was getting quite brazen.

“Well, I’ve got to get to it,” Jackson said as he walked back to the house.

Amber came back to where I was and took a seat once again. “Thanks again for inviting me over today. This is such a treat.” Did she think I was an idiot? “What time is everyone coming again?”

“Around six. We can relax for a couple of hours and then go shower and change. I’ve asked Angela to come by at three to do our hair.” I had more planned for the afternoon, intending to let her see every little benefit Jackson’s money provided.

“How wonderful. Does she always do your hair?”

“Only when we entertain or I’m going somewhere special. We have her on retainer, so she pretty much drops whatever else she has if I need her.” What I now recognized as a look of resentment flashed in her eyes, but she quickly recovered.