For The Love of Easton (For the Love Of #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,39
You can live here as long as you want, though.”
“What? My stipend reduced? How can you?”
“It’s easy, believe me, Mom.” She despised it when we called her that, but I relished in it. The ice queen was getting doused with hot water today and we would see how she dealt with it. “I’ve got to go. I’ll be back later this week.”
I left, not taking another look back. Once in the car, I made a call to Ryan Cooper, asking him to check on Stanton’s car. “I have a feeling the steering was sabotaged. Locate the car and have it thoroughly checked for anything unusual. My brother was meticulous with his vehicles. If there was something wrong, he would’ve known.”
Chapter Eighteen
English
Stacey’s laugh was so obnoxious I had to hold the phone away from my ear.
“Oh, God, you just made my day. I adore that kid of yours. She’s priceless.”
“Priceless? I was mortified. When she asked to see his weenus, I pretty much choked.”
“At least she was supplying you with a great opening.”
“Opening? She dug a deep hole and I fell right into it. Good Lord! And what about the marriage part? It couldn’t possibly get any worse. Where the hell did she learn all that? I’ve never ever talked about it.”
“I loved that she told him he wouldn’t want to marry anyone who wasn’t pretty.”
“No, just no. That was crossing the line and too much. I’ve never talked about anything remotely like that. We don’t discuss how pretty people are. I’m concerned she’s hearing this stuff at school.”
“It’s possible. You know how kids are these days and everyone on TV and in the movies is beautiful. But just for the weenus line, I’m buying her something special.”
“Don’t you dare. She is so spoiled already. The last thing she needs is another toy.”
“Fine, I’ll take her to the movies then.”
The buzzer sounded, meaning someone had come into the office. Then I saw Tristian stride past my door.
“You there?” Stacey asked.
“Oh, sorry. He just got to work.”
“Does that mean you have to go?”
“No, I just haven’t seen him in the last couple of days. He’s been taking care of personal business. His dad died and all that.”
“Right. Well, go talk to the hottie.”
“Stop.” But I’d already started perspiring. “I have to go. Talk later.”
I grabbed some tissues out of the box and was dabbing the sweat away from under my arms when a shadow fell across my desk. Glancing up, I saw him standing there. Why didn’t I ever shut my damn door?
“Uh, hi.” I quickly stuffed the tissues into the trash bin under my desk.
“Hi. You okay?”
“Fine. Great. Excellent. You?” I rattled off like an idiot.
“Crazy. Family stuff. You sure you’re okay? You’re sort of flushed. Do you have a fever?”
“Nope. No fever. Just a little warm in here.” I fanned my face, which was probably as red as a beet.
“Lunch today?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Great. I’ll come get you.” He double-tapped the door and left.
Aw, fuck. I should’ve said no. Having a relationship with him was such a bad idea. Why had I said yes? I was so stupid. Stupid in lust. The guy was a cherry lollipop I wanted to lick. Or maybe a Fudgsicle. I loved Fudgsicles.
After he’d stuck his head in my office, my brain was consumed with images of him. I slapped my head, hoping to knock some sense into myself. Finally, lunch time arrived and he knocked.
“You ready?”
“As ever. Where to?”
“I have a place I think you’ll like.”
We rode over to a small deli not too far away. I’d never been there, but the food was delicious. As we ate, a blob of mustard plopped on my shirt. Not only did it fall, it landed square on my boob. I wiped it but only made it worse. Why had I worn a T-shirt, and a white one at that? I had dressed a bit on the sloppy side, not expecting him to be in today. He’d been gone for the week so I’d figured he’d miss today too.
His finger made a little circle. “Um, that looks kind of bad.”
“Yeah, I’m a klutz so I carry one of these.” I reached into my purse and pulled out a stain pen. “Plus, having a six-year-old, this comes in handy.” Not giving it a thought, I went to work on the stain, and it cleared up the mustard issue while creating a perfectly transparent background. My lacy bra shone through like a boob bullseye.