Secrets Whispered from the Sea - Emma St. Clair Page 0,55
Though … I could have been their babysitter. I imagined Alec as a younger man, the dad of girls I babysat, driving me home. Handing me cash and thanking me for watching his little girls.
I had to stop thinking about this and doing math, running scenarios in my head. I swallowed and looked up to see Alec watching me carefully. There were questions in his eyes, but the one he asked was not the one I expected.
“How was the rest of your day with the ex? Sorry about ditching you, by the way. Something I couldn’t get out of.”
Like a date? I didn’t want to be thinking about that. Not a bit. Thinking about Chuck was no better. Though it did take my mind off of feeling weird that Alec had daughters who were ten years or less younger than me.
I made a face. “I’m sorry for asking you to stay.”
I hadn’t asked though, not out loud anyway. Neither of us acknowledged the way we had been able to read each other so well the day before.
Alec’s grin was wicked. “Charles was pretty fun to mess with. Made it really easy too. Hopefully, that didn’t all land on you when I left.”
“It was entertaining,” I said. “He broke up with me again, but I don’t think that’s your fault.” It was most definitely mine. And my inability to commit or care enough to commit.
Alec’s brows furrowed. “How did he break up with you again? Did you get back together first?”
“No. We definitely didn’t get back together.”
“Then he couldn’t have broken up with you again.”
“It sure felt that way,” I muttered.
He was silent for a moment. The only sounds in the shop were whatever the girls were watching on YouTube and the music filtering over the speakers.
“Look. Clementine.”
No good conversations started out that way. I steeled myself for whatever was coming. Given Alec’s track record for saying awful things, other than a few rare exceptions, I needed the mental prep.
“I don’t know you well. I’m not sure what’s up with your father and his … wife. Or with your idiot ex.”
“That makes two of us.”
“It seems to me that you've got a fresh start here.”
Except I wasn’t staying. Chuck was right. I really needed to tell Alec. But he kept right on going, and the moment passed.
“Don’t keep letting people come into your world who don’t deserve to be there. And definitely don’t give them the power to tear you down. I have no idea why Charles wouldn’t be begging you to come back rather than trying to hurt you again, but as I said, he’s an idiot.”
And with those words, which continued knocking around in my brain, Alec got up and walked over to the couches. Sophie and Camille didn’t even look away from their screens. At least until Alec spoke. Then they both smiled up at him.
“Ladies, it was a pleasure. If I need any more consulting on the engineering or design, I know who to call.”
“What’s your pay for consultants?” Sophie asked.
“Our dad is a consultant, and he makes a lot of money,” said Camille.
Alec hid a laugh with a cough. “Great question. I’ll come up with a number that I think we’ll both find fair. How does that sound?”
“Depends on the number,” Sophie said, her eyes dancing. “But we’re willing to negotiate.”
This time, Alec didn’t hide his laugh. “I’ll look forward to it. Goodbye, girls.” He turned to me one last time and winked. “I’ll finish these up and message you. They’ll be done by the end of the week. With the changes from our mini-engineer and mini-designer.”
“Thanks,” I said, but Alec was already out the door, looking just as sexy in a pair of aviators as he had in his reading glasses.
When Ann came to pick up the girls later, they were in the last third of a princess movie on Nana’s couch. I’d gotten a few free trials for different streaming services so they could pick something. It was shocking that they’d agreed on the same movie, and now were shoveling their faces full of homemade popcorn. I wasn’t a chef, so this felt like quite the accomplishment.
I’d actually found the recipe in her journal, along with mistake number fifty-two: don’t burn the oil when making popcorn on the stove, and always remember a lid. I’d managed to avoid both mistakes. But I had forgotten how good real popcorn with fresh melted butter was. This needed to be a new staple in my life.