Baby Daddies - Tara Brown Page 0,34
and Ms. Banks will be pleased.”
“Fantastic. Thanks.” I offer him a light touch on the arm and walk into the house. It feels and smells how I remember it.
“Wow!” Sukii gasps as she spins in a circle in the foyer.
“Madam, your room is this way,” Mary, a housekeeper, offers.
“Come on,” Cap says and leads Sukii in the direction Mary is motioning.
“What the hell?” Bev walks across the grand foyer to the small parlor where the entrance to the veranda is. The view of the sea from here is my second favorite. She walks out the double doors with Jenny right behind her. The wind catches Jenny’s red hair and lifts it. She turns, struggling to contain her hair and shakes her head at me, forcing a smile.
A sigh slips from my lips, seeing her in my house. I don’t know if I’ve loved this house more than in this moment.
“Wanna see our room?” I hold a hand out.
“Okay.” She turns to Bev. “You going to the guesthouse?”
“Nope. I don’t need a room. I’m sleeping out here under the stars.” She leans against the heavy wood railing and stares.
Jenny walks across the parlor to me and puts her hand in mine. “This place is gorgeous.”
“I know.”
“I can’t believe you rent it out.”
“Rent might be a strong word. I let friends use it and Sorel ensures no one goes in my room.” I lift an eyebrow at her.
“Oh, so it’s not a real inn.” She laughs and I realize she thought I was running an actual inn.
“No.” I chuckle and lead her to the master bedroom.
“Oh man,” she says as she walks through the double doors. “How do you live like this?” she asks as she goes from room to room, inspecting the his and hers bathrooms and closets and massive deck overlooking the beach and ocean which stretches as far as the eye can see. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes and I can hear her decompressing. I step behind her and slip my hands around her, placing them on her stomach. She tenses again and turns, no longer finding her zen in the view.
“Sorry,” she says. “I’m just stressed.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed something’s up. Unload on me.”
“Thanks.”
“No, Jenny, I’m being serious. Give me your list. Hit me with it all! What is bothering you? Get it off your chest. I’m good at problem-solving.”
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath. “So, obviously you know I had to pack my apartment again. This time it’s going into storage because I’m not ready to have my own place.” She laughs but it’s tense. “If I take the job in BC, I’m moving to my brother’s apartment, which I hate the idea of.” She pauses and bites her lip.
“You mean you hate using someone else’s stuff or you hate your brother’s apartment?”
“Someone else’s stuff. I just always wanted to make my own way. It’s important to me.”
“Okay.” I hate and love that almost equally because of what Josh said in the limo. Judith has literally made Jenny like this by being mean to her.
“If I don’t take the job in Van, it’ll be a real challenge to stay in the city. Even though I’ll be near you and my friends.” She pauses, still keeping something back and I can’t figure what it is. “But then on top of all that, earlier this week Lady Tremaine—aka Judith—”
“What?”
“It’s from Cinderella. The wicked stepmother.” She shakes her head like it’s not important. “Anyway, she called and asked me to book a venue for my dad’s birthday and wants me to basically do all the organizing and pay for the venue and make invitations. Which I don’t mind—”
“But you’re jobless and broke.” A light comes on and I understand the tension. “That’s why you’re moving again. Your savings will cover the cost of the birthday, and if you take the job in Vancouver, you’ll be able to bounce back, no problem.”
“Yes,” she groans. “They’re retired and on a fixed income and she needs us to cover the cost, and I want to. Truly, I would have set aside money to pay for my dad’s birthday, but she didn’t give us any notice. Which, is fine for Josh. He’s rich.” She covers her eyes. “But it’s killing me that I’m not doing better. I’m almost thirty for God’s sake. I should be in a better position to help out.”
“Okay, first of all, that’s stupid. You’ve had an unbelievable couple of months. How could you predict the Ben fiasco