Halftime Husband -Erin McCarthy Page 0,70

I couldn’t guarantee they didn’t know. Or at least have an inkling we had feelings for each other. Carson’s theory wasn’t improbable. I hadn’t realized there was evidence of Dakota in my room. “Half that stuff can be explained away.”

“Try me.”

“The hair tie could belong to the girls. Water bottle and lotion I set there on my way walking from the bathroom. Pillows are because I like a nicely made bed. Boom.”

“Don’t say ‘boom.’ What about the shoes?”

“That one I don’t know.” Then again, even if they saw the shoes, they thought I was too old for Dakota. “They think she’s too cool to date me.”

“Well, there is truth in that,” Carson said.

“This is a lot of fun. I’m glad I invited you fuckers over.” I finished my bourbon and pointed to the door. “Get out of my room and let’s go to the bar.”

“I want the hottest pink you have,” Willow said to the nail technician. “Please.”

“I want yellow,” Poppy said.

I was studying the nail color samples, flipping through all the options at the uptown salon Brandon had booked for this birthday outing for Willow. My nails were useless nubs, so I was getting a full acrylic set that might last a week if I was lucky. I was hard on nails when I did my workouts. My mood was red hot. I didn’t want fall colors like navy and olive. I wanted cherry red.

While I was perusing nail colors, I got a text from my agent. Willow and Poppy were talking so I looked at the text.

Got a job offer for you. On the road, six weeks, backup dancer.

My heart started to race. Finally. A job. A real job.

For who?

Sneak. Said he had someone bail and he thought of you.

That was amazing. I didn’t care that we had dated. It really didn’t mean anything at this point. I took a huge sip of the champagne the receptionist had given me. Willow and Poppy had sparkling wine. Reaching out to Sneak for Willow’s video had probably put me back into his thoughts and had landed me this job. That was ironic.

When?

Starts next week.

Oh, shit. Because nothing could ever be easy. How could I leave Brandon and the girls on such short notice? I glanced over at the girls giggling and chattering away. How could I leave them at all?

I loved Brandon.

I loved the girls too.

But I didn’t have a choice. Not really.

We had agreed our arrangement was temporary, and when Brandon had brought it up in bed, his conclusion had been we couldn’t date. That left us exactly where we were—it was temporary until I got a job.

Now I’d gotten a job.

He’d never even once hinted at having feelings for me that went beyond affection and attraction. It was almost like we were friends with very regular benefits.

Benefits that had to end sooner than later, apparently, because I couldn’t say no to this opportunity.

I wanted to tell the girls, but I didn’t want to ruin Willow’s birthday. Maybe they wouldn’t care. They were used to a revolving door of nannies and maybe I cared more about them than they did me. Which would suck, but would be best for them, frankly. I didn’t want them hurt.

My stomach was churning. I reached for the champagne, then dropped my hand. That was the last thing in the world I needed right now.

I texted my agent.

Awesome. I’m in. Can’t wait.

That was a total lie. I should be excited, but instead I was a ball of anxiety.

I went to bed at eleven after getting an amazing hug from Willow thanking me for a “birthday that didn’t suck.” Brandon wasn’t home yet and I was actually relieved that I didn’t have to face him. I wasn’t sure I had the acting skills to pretend nothing was wrong.

But then I was startled awake a few hours later by the sound of my door opening. “Poppy?” I asked, concerned. It felt like the dead of the night. I’d been dreaming I was trying to perform and couldn’t remember the steps.

“No, it’s me,” Brandon said.

I realized he was coming in from the bathroom. I could see his outline and shape in the darkness moving toward me. “What are you doing? What time is it?”

“It’s four. I just got home and I’m drunk.”

I sighed. For once, I did not want to have sex. Not with a drunk Brandon. Not knowing I was leaving in a matter of days. “Then go to bed,” I said.

He sat heavily down on