The Summer of Sunshine and Margot - Susan Mallery Page 0,93
time he’d gotten home or what had happened on his date or why she cared or what she was going to do with her day off.
The second to the last one was a total lie, but she ignored it, along with a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. The obvious solution for all that ailed her was a plan for her day, including something fun. She had homework to do but maybe after that she could get a facial or go shopping or text Margot to see if she wanted to hang out. Assuming she wasn’t spending the day with Alec because, according to the text she’d gotten yesterday, things had certainly heated up between them.
She told herself that at least one of the Baxter sisters was having fun and later, it would be her turn. With that positive statement, she got dressed, then went to start coffee. She was still waiting for the pot to do its thing when Connor walked in looking all sleepy and adorable in his car pajamas. He crossed to her and hugged her tight.
“Morning.” She rubbed his back. “Did you sleep well?”
“Uh-huh. Can I have pancakes?”
“You can.”
Connor released her and scrambled onto a stool at the island while Sunshine got out the ingredients for pancakes. As it was her day off, she wasn’t required to make breakfast, but she wasn’t going to tell Connor no. Not only did she like taking care of him, she wasn’t sure how late Declan would be sleeping.
Or if he was even home!
The thought was equally unwelcome and upsetting. What if he’d stayed the night at Phoebe’s? She told herself he wouldn’t, or couldn’t. He would be worried about Connor, and Phoebe had Elijah, so even if they’d had sex, he would still come home.
She didn’t want to think about them together or anything else, but the image was in her brain and didn’t want to leave.
“We’re going to the zoo,” Connor told her. “Come with us.”
She cracked eggs into a bowl. “It’s my day off, Connor.”
“But it’s the zoo! Come on. It’ll be fun.”
“You need to spend time with just you and your dad.”
“Why?”
“We’ve talked about this,” Declan said as he walked into the kitchen. He kept his gaze on his son. “Morning, Sunshine.”
“Good morning.”
Declan hugged Connor. “Sunshine needs her time off. She has things she has to do.”
Connor shot her a glance. “Like what?”
“Like none of your business,” his dad said as he walked over to the pot and poured a mug of coffee. He added milk and then set it in front of her before pouring a second mug for himself.
Connor sighed heavily. “It’ll be better if Sunshine comes with us.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but we’ll have to struggle through it as best we can.”
Sunshine added the pancake mix and stirred. Was it just her or was Declan avoiding her gaze? Did he feel as awkward as she did? Was there tension or was it her imagination?
“I’m going to go make a list of all the animals I want to see,” Connor said as he slid off the stool. “Call me when breakfast is ready.”
He ran down the hall, leaving her alone with her boss. Sunshine wasn’t sure if she should start preheating the griddle or simply bolt for her bedroom. Settling on middle ground, she picked up her coffee.
“So, how was your date?”
As she spoke, she glanced at him and he finally met her gaze. His expression was two parts stricken and one part guilty. Their gazes locked.
“I slept with her.”
Sunshine felt the kick land squarely in her gut. She knew it wasn’t her business, that she shouldn’t care, that in the scheme of things, there was no way it could matter, but she still felt stunned by the news. Betrayal joined shock, both of which made her feel hurt and uncomfortable. All this before breakfast, she thought grimly.
She took another sip of coffee, hoping to buy herself time and hide any visible reaction.
“Good for you,” she said as lightly as she could. “The dry spell is over.”
She offered a fake smile he didn’t return.
“You’re not happy?” she asked.
“It wasn’t great.” He turned away.
“You mean the sex was—”
He leaned against the counter and swore softly. “No, the sex was fine. It’s everything else. I thought I wanted to get laid and she was certainly up for it but when we were done, it wasn’t what I wanted. Jesus, I sound like a woman.”