Office Grump An Enemies to Lovers Romance - Nicole Snow Page 0,95
up the sponge.
I pat his arm. “It’s okay. I’ve got it. Your mom taught you well.”
“Thanks.” He gives me a quick smile.
As I wash the plate, Jordan takes off, his heavy footsteps drumming on the floor.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I like the sunroom. Even at night.”
Sunroom? Oh, right, that must be the room with all the crazy glass windows I found them in earlier. I nod at him, then follow him out and veer off to the living room.
“Mag, if I make you a cup of peppermint tea, will you drink it?” I ask.
“Do I have a choice?” He smirks.
“Not tonight, and I’m thinking you should get some sleep soon, too.”
I find a gooseneck kettle with M.H. engraved into it, and when the water’s done, take a peppermint tea bag from my purse and drop it in, then carry the steaming cup to him.
He curls his fingers around the handle and places his other hand on the side of the mug.
“Thanks, Brina. Did he actually eat?” Mag asks.
I nod happily.
“He ate all four eggs. Scrambled. It’s a start.” I pause, unsure how to approach the next question. “How long will he be here?”
He looks at me.
“Jordan. How long is he staying with you?”
He shakes his head. “I’m not sure. A couple of weeks. Maybe longer. The medical team can’t estimate when she’ll wake up yet.”
My lips tighten, and it happens then while I’m studying him, staring into his icy, worried eyes.
God help me, I feel sorry for Magnus, king of the jerks.
“I’m going to order a few groceries. You can’t keep a kid in the house with no food. I know you’re used to eating all your meals at the office, but that’s not going to work for this.”
“Good thinking,” he says. “I owe you again.”
“You’re welcome.” The response is automatic for me. But then I realize Mag isn’t one to say thank you often, much less several times in one night. “Umm—for what?”
He gives half a laugh and finally takes a sip of tea.
“Getting him to eat. I’ve been trying all day and failing hard. The groceries should help, too. What are you ordering?”
“Well, do you cook?” I ask, grazing a finger against my chin.
“Not if I can avoid it,” he says.
“Okay. So it’s frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets, taquitos, and chips,” I say. “All the best things in life for a growing boy.”
He gives me a smile that makes my heart twitch.
“We’ll find a way to get some vegetables in him, sooner or later. I’m a lucky man. You accomplish any task I hand you without fail. I wish I’d known that includes taking care of a minor.” He takes a sip of his tea. “At the door, you asked what I had to break the truth about...”
My breath stalls, and I sit down next to him.
I nod. “Yes. If I have to play CEO so you can babysit, I should at least know why.”
“Of course,” he sighs.
Mag stares down at the warm cup in his hand for a long time, and at first I think he’s not going to say anything.
“I already told you Jordan’s my little brother. My half brother.” He closes his eyes. “He’s the product of a wretched move—if you could even call it that—my father made. A terrible fucking mistake.”
A chill sweeps up my spine at the smolder in his voice.
I frown. “I’m not sure what your dad did, but Jordan seems like a sweet kid. It’s not the end of the world that you got an adorable half brother out of the deal. What’s the big—”
“My mother was dying from terminal cancer when the puke I called dad cheated on her. I knew he was doing it for years, stepping out on her, but he swore he’d stopped after I came back to Chicago from the military.”
It’s like a shot through his chest. I can’t even breathe when I look at him, gazing into the harsh, furious shine in his eyes.
“God, Mag. I’m sorry.” I want to reach over, throw my arms around him, and just hold him, but from the way he looks, I’m scared he’ll push me away.
“He not only fucked around on her till her dying day, he got his fling pregnant,” he growls, raking stiff fingers through his messy hair. “Then he bullied her into silence.”
I drop my head against the couch because I can’t reach out, can’t comfort him behind that unreachable stone wall. “Oh, Mag...”