Monster A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,35
food, so I wandered toward Jennesy’s.
Jennesy wasn’t rich, but she got by. The club stocked her fridge and chipped in for diapers when her baby daddy died. A moldering playhouse stood on a patch of overgrown grass. I passed it and knocked on her door.
My leggy cousin swung open the door, baby hitched on her hip. Jennesy’s apple-like cheeks bloomed with two bright patches of fuchsia. White and pink waves brushed her tanned, muscular shoulders. Army-camo patterned leggings stuck to her thick thighs.
Benjamin clung to her tank top. Blond strands spilled over a sweet face. He shared her nose and her expressive eyes.
“Evie! What a surprise.” She tickled the fifteen-month-old’s cheek. “Lookit, Benji. It’s Auntie Evie.”
Ben smiled, his grin split by the cutest gap in his front teeth. “Hot, hot, hot.”
I laughed.
“That’s his new favorite word.” Jennesy gave him a wry smile as she waved me inside. “I came back from class one day and he was saying it. My dad’s fault. I guess that’s the price you pay for free babysitting. Here, take him.”
Jennesy pushed Ben into my arms. He gaped at me, his finger prodding my cheek. The weight of him felt nice. I kissed the top of his head, following Jennesy as she chatted up a storm, bemoaning the state of her house.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Whatever is fine.”
She fished out Budweisers and used the bottle opener on the wall. The cap pinged to the floor as the beer hissed. Foam sprayed everywhere. She mopped her dripping shirt as Ben shrieked with pleasure.
“Happens all the time.” Jennesy caught Ben’s eye, grinning. “Can you say uh-oh? Uh-oh?”
“Ah…oh.”
“Good boy!”
Ben’s face broke with a ridiculous grin.
I placed him in the high chair as Jennesy grabbed her beer and drank. She closed her eyes and swallowed.
I held up my palm. “High five?”
Ben stuck out his hand, and I bumped mine against his. I clapped, and Ben did the same. My heart thawed and squeezed.
“I still can’t believe something this sweet came from Crash.” Jennesy retrieved a jar of applesauce from the fridge and scooped the golden sludge, waving a spoonful at Ben. “Mmn. Num-nums.”
They’d had a brief fling that Crash ended dramatically by kidnapping his old flame and getting murdered by her husband. It’d been quite the relief for everyone involved, especially Jennesy.
It made me wonder what Tony would do if I got pregnant. He’d probably shove me into another penthouse, throw credit cards at me, and forget I exist.
Depressing.
“So, what did Costa do?”
I silenced my phone. “What makes you think anything’s wrong?”
“Come on, girl.” Jennesy wiped Ben’s sauce-covered cheeks and addressed me with a businesslike tone. “You show up here, unannounced, looking raw, glancing at your phone every two seconds.”
“He doesn’t even know I’m here.”
“He’ll be pissed,” she warned, eyes flashing. “Better text him, or you’ll be in for a beating.”
“He’s not violent,” I blurted, unnerved by her suggestion. “He’s a snarky asshole, but he lets me do what I want. He raised my credit limit to fifty grand.”
“No kidding? Wow.” Jennesy’s expression flickered from caution to outright disbelief to delight. She bumped her drink into mine. “He’s wrapped around your thumb, babe.”
“I cut the card in half.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because fuck his money. He only offered it so I’d stop coming here.”
“And yet here you are.” Jennesy sat back, lips curled into a mischievous slant. “Something tells me that if push came to shove, you’d come out on top.”
“You don’t know how stubborn he is.”
“And you’re not?”
True.
Jennesy put down her beer and coaxed Ben into eating more applesauce. “What’s his problem with the club?”
“No idea.”
“Did you ask your dad?”
“Yeah, but he wouldn’t tell me much. Club business.” I stood up, sighing. “Why is it such a big fucking mystery?”
“Speaking of mysterious Italian men, what about Christian?”
“It’s too soon since his wife passed.” I grimaced, placing the empty bottle in the sink. “Sorry. He got a kick out of your messages, though. He blushed when I told him what the eggplants meant.”
Jennesy sighed. “Bless his heart.”
“I’m going to take a walk. Get some fresh air.” I smoothed baby Ben’s wayward curls before I headed for the door. “Text me when you’re free. I need to keep Tony on his toes.”
“Of course!”
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Anytime.”
She waved at me, and Ben copied her. The sweet image of mother and son stayed with me, another nagging wound that pulsed with every step. I looked at Jennesy’s mobile home, at the siding that was falling off.